Preview: Coyotes Close Out Australia Trip against Kings

Sept. 23, 2023 (USA), Sept. 24, 2023 (AUS) | 9 pm MST (USA), 2 pm AEST (AUS) | Rod Laver Arena
TV: NHL Network, ESPN+, Go9/Now, ESPN Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia -- All good things must come to an end.

The Arizona Coyotes wrap up their trip to Melbourne on Saturday night (Sunday afternoon in Australia) against the Los Angeles Kings, bringing to a close a memorable start to the 2023-24 preseason.

Arizona won the first of two preseason games 5-3 yesterday at Rod Laver Arena in front of 13,097 fans, highlighted by goals from Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse, Matias Maccelli, Logan Cooley, and Barrett Hayton. Nick Schmaltz finished with two points, while Connor Ingram earned the win with 29 saves.

Karel Vejmelka is expected to get the start today, while yesterday’s scratched skaters – Matt Dumba, Jack McBain, Victor Soderstrom, and Michael Carcone – are also expected to play.

Player to Watch: Cooley electrified the crowd with a highlight-reel goal yesterday, but keep an eye on forward Nick Schmaltz, who quietly notched two points yesterday. The Keller-Hayton-Schmaltz line accounted for five points, picking up right where it left off last season.

ABOUT THE KINGS
Los Angeles is in a slightly different position as the Coyotes, as their team had seven players scratched yesterday, all of whom coach Todd McLellan said would play today. As a result, their lineup will look much different than it did just one game ago.

Those names include forwards Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Samuel Fagemo, Carl Grundstrom, Alex Turcotte, Defensemen Tobias Bjornfot and Jacob Moverare, and goalie Cam Talbot.

Talbot, who signed a one-year deal this offseason, is expected to start for the Kings.

L.A. was anchored by a strong offensive performance yesterday, peppering the Coyotes with 36 shots while rallying from a 4-1 deficit to put the game in doubt until Hayton’s empty net goal. Adrian Kempe, Viktor Arvidsson, and Trevor Moore each found the back of the net.

Player to Watch: Talbot, who was 17-14-2 with a 2.93 goals-against average and .898 save percentage last season with the Ottawa Senators. The 36-year-old netminder has played 432 games with six different teams prior to joining the Kings, and has 28 career shutouts.