Yotes Notes: Heading Home Happy & Trade Deadline Looms

The Arizona Coyotes are heading home happy from their five-game road trip.

The Coyotes earned five of a possible 10 points on that trip, finishing with back-to-back wins over the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals. The Desert Dogs have now won 10 games away from Mullett Arena this season, marking three more than they won on the road all of last year, with nine left to play.

Friday also marks the NHL trade deadline, and General Manager Bill Armstrong will likely receive more than a few calls as playoff-bound teams try to stock up prior to postseason play beginning next month. The Coyotes will have a number of unrestricted free agents when the 2023-24 season concludes, including forwards Jason Zucker and Liam O’Brien, as well as defensemen Matt Dumba, Josh Brown, Troy Stecher, and Travis Dermott.

Alex Kerfoot, Nick Bjugstad, Michael Carcone, and Karel Vejmelka all have contracts that expire following the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.

“Everybody’s trying to put some pieces on their teams that will help them, and people are trying to look for the best value possible,” Armstrong said. “If you need a piece, whether that might be depth or an injury that has occurred, you have to get it done.”

The Coyotes’ GM said the team is open and honest with everyone as the deadline nears, especially players who have their contracts expiring at the conclusion of the season.

“There’s been some transparency and some openness all the way through, not only with the players, but also with their agents,” Armstrong said. “Our goal is to go through this deadline and keep our core together here, and move forward and take another step. That’s the biggest thing. We’ve got some good pieces that we like.”

Whatever transpires, make sure to stay tuned to arizonacoyotes.com for the latest on all of the moves made.

On to the Show!

The Week in Review

Tuesday, Feb. 27 | at Montreal Canadiens | 4-2 Loss
STATS | RECAP

Montreal jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but Alex Kerfoot brought the Coyotes to within a goal in the second intermission with his ninth of the season. Though the Canadiens jumped ahead by two at 5:14 of the final frame, Nick Bjugstad made it a one-shot game late to keep Arizona in the mix.

Nick Suzuki added an empty netter with three seconds to play, icing the game and securing the win for Montreal. The Coyotes split the season series with the Canadiens, 1-1-0.

Thursday, Feb. 29 | at Toronto Maple Leafs | 4-2 Loss
STATS | RECAP

The Coyotes rallied from a 3-0 deficit behind goals from Alex Kerfoot and Logan Cooley, again pulling to within a goal in the third period. William Nylander’s empty net goal with one minute remaining put the game out of reach.

Toronto swept the season series between the two teams, 2-0-0.

Friday, March 1 | at Ottawa Senators | 5-3 Win
STATS | RECAP

The Coyotes broke out of their 14-game winless streak in a big way, racing out to a 3-0 lead en route to their 5-3 win over the Senators. Michael Carcone, J.J. Moser, and Nick Schmaltz scored within the first 15:37 of the game to give Arizona an early advantage before Ottawa clawed all the way back to tie they game at 15:52 of the middle frame.

Dylan Guenther’s power-play goal at 4:18 of the third period put the Coyotes back on top, though, and Maccelli sealed the deal with an empty net goal with 1:15 to play in the game.

Karel Vejmelka was spectacular, turning aside 34 shot, and the Coyotes swept the season series against the Senators.

Sunday, March 3 | at Washington Capitals | 5-2 Win
STATS | RECAP

Arizona closed out its five-game road trip with a second consecutive victory, sweeping the season series against the Capitals while outscoring them 11-2. 

Dylan Guenther recorded his first career three-point game, notching a goal and two assists, marking five points over his last two games played.

Vejmelka was stellar in net yet again, making several critical saves to help preserve Arizona’s lead multiple times throughout the game. The Coyotes never trailed in the win and finished the trip with five of a possible 10 points.

Logan Cooley, Michael Kesselring, and Nick Schmaltz also scored in the game, marking the team’s second straight five-goal output.

Down on the Farm

Tucson Roadrunners (30-18-2-2, 3rd Place, Pacific Division)
- 1-1-0-1 Last Week
- Feb. 28 vs. Bakersfield Condors, 7-2 Loss
- March 1 at Henderson Silver Knights, 4-3 Loss (Shootout)
- March 2 at Henderson Silver Knights, 5-2 Win

The Roadrunners came up with a critical win on Saturday night in Henderson, snapping a four-game winless streak with a 5-2 win at Henderson. Tucson rallied from an early deficit behind goals from Austin Poganski, Jan Jenik (two goals), Nathan Smith, and Miloš Kelemen to get back to their winning ways, and remain in third place in the Pacific Division, five points behind the Colorado Eagles with two games in hand.

Team Leaders
• Points: Doan (38)
• Goals: Doan (22)
• Assists: Kirkland, Räty (18)
• GAA: Villalta (2.60)
• SV%: Villalta (.911)

Bear’s Necessities

"That shows how much the guys care. We've talked about process for the last, whatever, our guys care. We have a hell of a good group in that room, I've said it many, many times. I was proud of the way they fought back, and finally we got the two points." -- André Tourigny on the Coyotes' winning effort after Ottawa rallied from a three-goal deficit to tie the game.

What to Watch For

Tuesday, March 5, vs. Chicago, 7 pm MST
The Coyotes and Blackhawks meet for the second time this season, in what will also be the second time over a span of five days. Arizona won 8-1 on Oct. 30, and the Central Division rivals meet for the third-and-final time on Sunday at United Center in Chicago.

Rookie Connor Bedard leads all Blackhawks with 41 points, averaging 19:19 as an 18-year-old in the league. Philipp Kurashev (34), Jason Dickinson (28), Nick Foligno (27), and Tyler Johnson (18) round out the top five scorers on the team.

Between the pipes, Petr Mrázek has done the lion’s share of work, posting a 13-23-4 record in 40 starts with a 3.04 goals-against average and .908 save percentage. Backup Arvid Söderblom is 2-18-1 with a 3.97 GAA and .875 SV%.

The Blackhawks score the fewest goals per game in the league (2.03) while giving up the fourth-most (3.56). Their power play also ranks last with a 12.99 percent conversion rate, while their penalty kill is 24th overall with a 77.53 percent success rate.

Chicago has dropped six straight games, and is 1-11-3 over its last 15 games.

TV: Arizona 61 | Radio: ESPN 620

Thursday, March 7, vs. Minnesota, 7 pm MST

Arizona and Minnesota meet for the third time this season, as the Coyotes took the first meeting 6-0 on Jan. 13, while the Wild won 3-1 at Mullett Arena on Feb. 14. They will play for the final time on March 12.

Minnesota is sixth in the Central Division and still in the Wild Card hunt, eight points behind the Nashville Predators, who own the second spot with 72 points. The Wild most recently beat the San Jose Sharks on Sunday, snapping a three-game losing streak in the process.

The dynamic Kirill Kaprizov leads the team with 66 points on 29 goals and 37 assists, followed by Joel Eriksson Ek (55), Mats Zuccarello (50), Matt Boldy (49), and Brock Faber (34).

Between the pipes, Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury have split time, with the former posting a 17-15-3 record with two shutouts, a 3.30 GAA and .892 SV%, while the latter is 12-11-1 with a 2.89 GAA and .892 SV%.

Minnesota’s 3.08 goals-for per game rank 19th in the league, while it allows the ninth-most goals at 3.32. Their power-play percentage of 21.76 is 16th in the league, but the penalty kill has struggled, ranking 28th with a 74.53 percent success rate.

TV: Arizona 61 | Radio: Stream Only (Arizona Coyotes, NHL, and Arizona Sports App)

Friday, March 8, vs. Detroit, 7 pm MST
The Red Wings are in a playoff push for the first time in years, six points out of third place in the Atlantic Division and currently holding the second Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference. They have dropped two straight games – most recently a 4-0 home defeat to the Florida Panthers – and kicks off a four-game road trip in Colorado on Wednesday before visiting Mullett Arena on Friday.

The two teams will have concluded both of their matchups this season within a week of each other, as Detroit Hosts Arizona at Little Caesar’s Arena on March 14.

Captain Dylan Larkin’s 54 points lead the way, and Alex DeBrincat (53), Lucas Raymond (51), Daniel Sprong (39), and former Coyotes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere (39) round out the top five in scoring. Former Blackhawks star Patrick Kane has also had strong production numbers since joining the team, posting 31 points in 30 games played.

It was just announced, however, that Larkin is expected to miss two weeks because of a lower-body injury.

Goalie Alex Lyon has surprised this season, posting an 18-10-2 record with two shutouts, a 2.79 GAA and .911 SV%. James Reimer has filled in with backup Ville Husso currently out with an injury, and has a 3.55 GAA and an .892 SV%.

Detroit’s offense is one of the most improved in the league this season, ranking sixth with 3.51 goals-for per game. Their defense has also been better than years past, but still allows the 12th-most goals per game at 3.20.

The Red Wings rank 10th in both their power play and their penalty kill, boasting success rates of 22.73 percent and 80.85 percent, respectively.

TV: Arizona 61 | Radio: 98.7 FM Arizona Sports

Sunday, March 10, at Chicago, 3 pm MST
As noted above, Sunday’s game marks the second game in five days between the two teams. See above!

TV: Arizona 61 | Radio: ESPN 620