'Yotes Notes: Goligoski & Demers Welcome Reunion

GLENDALE -Coyotes defensemen Alex Goligoski and Jason Demers, former teammates in Dallas, could be reunited as a defensive pair by the time the regular season begins on Oct. 5.
Arizona acquired Demers, 29, on Sunday in a trade with the Florida Panthers. Goligoski, of course, is entering his second season after notching six goals and 30 assists in his first with the Coyotes.
"That was a great pickup for us," Goligoski, 32, said of Demers. "He's a really solid player and a guy that if he's on your team, he helps your team. He moves the puck well and he's a real efficient player, so if I play with him, great. He's an easy guy to play with."

Demers would welcome an on-ice reunion, too.
"I have a great relationship with him," Demers said. "We had a great time in Dallas and I thought we had some good success playing a little short time together. Being on the same team, we had some good success. We had a good culture in the room in Dallas and hopefully we can bring that here .. It's going to be fun to get reunited with him again."
• Prospects Christian Fischer and Clayton Keller snagged the spotlight in the team's first of six exhibition games played Wednesday at Anaheim. Both forwards tallied two goals and one assist in a 5-1 win as both try to make the Opening Night roster.
"That's been my goal since the end of last year," Fischer said. "This whole summer that's what I've been working towards. I'm pretty excited that the (exhibition) games are finally starting to happen … It's a whole different world when you play in a game. You've got to read and react, and it's been good so far. The first game, it was a nice win. (We're) moving on."

Keller, too, is hoping to use his performance in Wednesday's preseason opener as a solid base for the rest of the exhibition games.
"Obviously, it's a good thing to produce in the first preseason game and get a little confidence," Keller said. "You can't stop now. It's a matter of keep moving forward and doing that every night. It was good to do that, and being smart on both sides of the puck and not just focusing on offense but on defense as well. That leads to offense."

• Head Coach Rick Tocchet said the Coyotes played well on Wednesday, but he doesn't want their success in one game to go to their heads, regardless of what point it is in the season.
"We want to be even keel around here," Tocchet said after Thursday's practice. "Whether we lose 5-1 or win 5-1, it's business-like the next day. It's that kind of attitude that I'm looking for around here. You've got to get to work. Just because you win and you have a good night, you can't let your practice habits drop off. The best players in the world are the best players in the world because they can maintain that level. And that's something we're really going to harp around here."

• The Coyotes who did not travel to Calgary on Thursday will practice at Gila River Arena on Friday after a week away from the building. Arena crews installed a new sheet of ice this week after the original ice was deemed unplayable following a concert last Saturday. This Saturday's game vs. the San Jose Sharks at Gila River Arena will go on as planned.
• Forward Derek Stepan likely won't play in too many preseason games this weekend. His wife, Stephanie, is expected to give birth to their second child, a daughter, any day now.

• Here's the updated radio schedule for Arizona's remaining preseason games:
Sept. 23: ARI vs SJS - KTAR News 92.3 FM 6 p.m.
Sept. 25: ARI vs ANA (at Tucson) - KTAR News 92.3 FM 7 p.m.