Yotes Notes: Powerful Power Play & Music City Triumph

The Arizona Coyotes are humming along with the man advantage this season.

The Desert Dogs have converted on 16 of their 55 attempts (29.09 percent), which ranks fifth in the NHL through 14 games this season. Forward Clayton Keller leads the way on the team with four goals and five assists with the man advantage, and Logan Cooley has chipped in eight assists (five of them primary).

Forward Nick Schmaltz and defenseman Sean Durzi have also made their presence felt, notching seven and five points, respectively.

Arizona’s success with the power play was on full display in its win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday, as the Coyotes were 2-for-4 with goals from Keller and Durzi en route to their 7-5 win in Music City. The team is now 1-1-0 on its five-game road trip, with upcoming games in Dallas, Columbus, and Winnipeg before returning home to Mullett Arena next Monday.

Collectively, the Coyotes have received contributions from up-and-down the lineup, as Keller (15 points), Schmaltz (13), Cooley (11), Durzi (10), and Matias Maccelli (10) have accounted for 59 points through 14 games.

On to the show!

The Week in Review 

Tuesday, Nov. 7 | vs. Seattle Kraken | 4-3 Win (SO)
STATS | THE WRAP

Clayton Keller notched two points, and the Coyotes rallied from a 3-2 third-period deficit to win in a shootout. Nick Bjugstad recorded his second shootout winner of the season, while Connor Ingram turned aside 35 of the 38 shots he faced in the game, as well as all three Kraken attempts in the shootout.

The game featured three lead changes, as Seattle led twice (1-0 and 3-2), and Arizona led once (2-1). Maccelli notched his second goal of the season in the first period, and Barrett Hayton scored his first of the season with a power-play tally in the second period.

The Coyotes and Kraken play twice more this season: March 22 at Mullett Arena and April 9 at Climate Pledge Arena.

Thursday, Nov. 9 | at St. Louis Blues | 2-1 Loss
STATS | THE WRAP

Arizona kicked off its five-game road trip in the Gateway City, dropping a close 2-1 game to the Blues on Thursday. The Coyotes were hampered by penalties – they were shorthanded seven times including a full two-minute 5-on-3 – but finished a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill.

Lawson Crouse potted Arizona’s only goal of the game – a power-play tally to draw the Coyotes even late in the first period – but Robert Thomas’s second-period goal stood as the game-winner, and the Blues skated away with the win.

Arizona and St. Louis play twice more this season: on Nov. 22 and Dec. 2 at Mullett Arena.

Saturday, Nov. 2 | at Nashville Predators | 7-5 Win
STATS | THE WRAP

Arizona put up a touchdown against the Predators on Saturday, becoming the second team in the NHL to score 7-or-more goals twice this season in the process. The game itself was a see-saw affair, and the Coyotes rallied from two separate two-goal deficits to come away with the win.

Michael Carcone scored two critical goals in the game, bringing his total for the season to six, tied with Keller for the team lead. Six other Arizona players scored, including Alex Kerfoot and Troy Stecher, who recorded their first goals with the team.

Ingram improved to 5-1-0 with the win.

Down on the Farm

Tucson Roadrunners (7-4-0, 6th place, Pacific Division)
-    2-1-0 Last Week
-    Nov. 8: at Ontario Reign, 4-3 Win
-    Nov. 10: at Ontario Reign, 2-1 Loss
-    Nov. 12: at Coachella Valley Firebirds, 5-3 Win

Tucson improved to 7-4-0 with a win over the Firebirds on Sunday, led by Cameron Hebig’s two-goal performance. Aku Raty, Milos Kelemen, and John Leonard also scored in the win, marking Raty’s first-career AHL goal. The Roadrunners kicked off the week with a win over the Reign, highlighted by goals from Maksymilian Szuber, Victor Soderstrom, Justin Kirkland, and Vladislav Kolyachonok.

Team Leaders
•    Points: Guenther (11)
•    Goals: Doan (5)
•    Assists: Guenther (8)
•    GAA: Villalta (2.31)
•    SV%: Villalta (.921)

The Sweet Spot

Nov. 11: Sean Durzi scores the go-ahead goal against the Predators with under four minutes to play in the game, and it ultimately stood as the game-winner.

Bear’s Necessities

“We have a proud group and good leadership. The room, there's a good group of guys who want to be successful together, and they're proud to be together." – André Tourigny on the Coyotes’ rally against the Predators on Saturday.

What to Watch For

Tuesday, Nov. 14 at Dallas Stars, 6 pm MST
Arizona plays the third game of its road trip at American Airlines Center in Dallas, taking on the Central Division-leading Stars on Tuesday. The Stars have won three straight, all on the road, and six of their last eight overall en route to the league’s fifth-best record at 10-3-1.

Perhaps what’s been most impressive about the Stars this season is their well-balanced scoring attack, as Wyatt Johnston, Joe Pavelski, and Jason Robertson lead the team with 13 points each. Roope Hintz (12), Matt Duchene (11), Jamie Benn (11), and Miro Heiskanen (10) round out the top seven in scoring.

Dallas won all four games in the series last season, 7-2, 4-0, 4-2, and 5-2.

The Stars boast a strong goalie tandem in Jake Oettinger and former Coyotes goalie Scott Wedgewood, as the former is 7-2-1 with a 2.19 goals-against average, and .929 save percentage, while the latter is 3-1-0 with a 3.02 GAA and .917 SV%.

Dallas averages 3.36 goals per game (11th in the league), and allows the fifth-fewest goals per game, at 2.50. They also own the league’s best penalty kill, allowing just four power-play goals on 49 attempts, at 91.84 percent success rate.

TV: Scripps Sports (Antenna: 15.2 Phoenix, 9.2 Tucson | Cable: Cox 95 Phoenix, Cox 85/Comcast 1179 Tucson) | Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (subject to change)

Thursday, Nov. 16 at Columbus Blue Jackets, 5 pm MST
The Blue Jackets are currently in last place in the Metropolitan Division, have dropped five straight, and are 1-5-4 in their last 10 games. Columbus hosts the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday before the Coyotes come to town, and will be looking to finish a two-game stretch at home strong before hitting the road for two straight.

Boone Jenner, Adam Fantilli, and Ivan Provorov lead the way with nine points each, while Jenner’s seven goals are tops on the team. Between the pipes, Elvis Merzlikins and Spencer Martin have split duties thus far, with Merlikins posting a 3-3-3 record with a 3.15 GAA and .901 SV%, while Martin is 1-4-1 with a 3.26 GAA and .905 SV%.

The two will play once more this season, at Mullett Arena on March 26. Arizona won both games last year, 6-3 and 3-2 in overtime.

The Blue Jackets currently rank 25th in the league with 2.73 goals-for per game, and allow the ninth most at 3.47. They rank 27th with a 13.04 percent power-play success rate, but their penalty kill has been much more stingy this season, posting the league’s third-best success rate at 89.13.

TV: Scripps Sports (Antenna: 15.2 Phoenix, 9.2 Tucson | Cable: Cox 95 Phoenix, Cox 85/Comcast 1179 Tucson) | Radio: Stream Only (Arizona Coyotes App)

Saturday, Nov. 18 at Winnipeg Jets, 5 pm MST
Arizona and Winnipeg meet for the second time this season after the Jets won 5-3 at Mullett Arena on Nov. 4. Though Winnipeg most recently dropped a 3-2 game to the Stars on Saturday, they have still won three of their last four games, and are third in the Central Division behind the Stars and Colorado Avalanche.

The two teams will still meet twice more this season, on Jan. 7 at Mullett Arena and Feb. 25 in Winnipeg.

Nino Niederreiter notched a hat trick in the first meeting between the Jets and Coyotes, though his five goals rank second on the team, tied with Mark Scheifele. Forward Kyle Connor has led the way with 11 goals and six assists in 14 games this season, and he ranks third in goals and 16th in points in the NHL.

Connor Hellebuyck has done the lion’s share of work to this point, posting a 6-4-1 record with a 2.98 GAA and .892 SV% in 11 games this season, while Laurent Brossoit is 1-1-1 with a 3.25 GAA and .872 SV% in his three starts.

Hellebuyck was in net for the team’s win over the Coyotes earlier this month, and has won two of his last three starts. The Jets host the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres before the Coyotes arrive on Saturday.

TV: Scripps Sports (Antenna: 15.2 Phoenix, 9.2 Tucson | Cable: Cox 95 Phoenix, Cox 85/Comcast 1179 Tucson) | Radio: ESPN 620 AM