Preview: Coyotes Close Road Trip in Vancouver on Thursday

Jan. 18, 2024 | 8:00 pm MST | Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC
TV: Arizona 61 | Radio: 98.7 FM Arizona Sports

The Arizona Coyotes are set to wrap up their three-game road trip in Vancouver on Thursday, having earned three of a possible four points to this point. The Desert Dogs are looking for their first win in Vancouver since 2020, when Nick Schmaltz and Lawson Crouse helped the team to a 4-2 win.

Forward Clayton Keller has recorded four goals and four assists over his last five games, and is in the midst of his second five-game point streak of the season. The 25-year-old is two goals shy of tying Laurie Boschman and Jeremy Roenick for ninth-most goals in franchise history (152), and seven behind Radim Vrbata (157).

Defenseman Sean Durzi recorded a goal and an assist in Arizona’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Flames on Tuesday, and has four points over his last two games. He is tied for sixth on the team with 25 points, and is fourth among all NHL defensemen since Dec. 21, averaging 1.09 points per game.

Goalie Connor Ingram is expected to make his third consecutive start, having posted a save percentage of .956 over his last two games. He ranks first in the league with five shutouts (tied with Pittsburgh’s Tristan Jarry), ninth in save percentage (.918) seventh in goals saved above average (11), and eighth in wins (15).

Thursday’s game marks the first of three games between the Coyotes and Canucks, with the two set to play again on April 3 in Tempe, and again on April 10 in Vancouver.

Player to Watch: Keep an eye on Durzi, who has seven points over his last five road games, and is tied for the second-most points on the road by a Coyotes player this season. 

ABOUT THE CANUCKS
Vancouver has earned at least one point in six straight games, and currently leads the Pacific Division with 62 points in 44 games. The Canucks have played extremely well at home, posting a 14-4-1 record at Rogers Arena, and are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, with the lone overtime loss coming on Monday at Columbus.

Vancouver boasts one of the league’s top offenses, led by forward J.T. Miller’s 60 points, which ranks fourth in the league. The Canucks have four players with over 45 points, as Elias Pettersson (58), Quinn Hughes (52), and Brock Boeser (46) round out the top four.

Boeser’s 27 goals lead the team, while also ranking fourth in the NHL, helping the Canucks to the league’s top mark of 3.82 goals-for per game. Pettersson, meanwhile, was named the NHL's First Star of the Week for the week ending Jan. 14 after posting five goals and four assists in four games.

Vancouver’s defense has been just as stout, allowing the second-fewest goals per game at 2.55. All-Star goalie Thatcher Demko has been a huge reason for that success, boasting a 22-8-1 record with four shutouts, a 2.47 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. He ranks second in the league in wins and shutouts, eighth in SV%, and 10th in GAA.

The seven-year veteran is 2-3-0 with a 2.63 GAA and .912 SV% in his career against the Coyotes, and a start on Thursday would mark his 200th career NHL appearance.

Backup Casey DeSmith has been just as solid for Vancouver when called upon, posting a 7-3-3 record with a 2.55 GAA and .915 SV%.

The Canucks’ power play ranks 11th in the league with a 23.24 percent conversion rate, while their penalty kill is 20th, killing off 78.79 percent of penalties taken.

Player to Watch: Miller is having a career year, and his 112-point pace would eclipse his 99-point season in 2021-22. The 30-year-old veteran had a goal and an assist against the Blue Jackets on Monday, and has five goals and 15 assists in 20 career games against the Coyotes.