Preview: Coyotes Continue Road Trip in Dallas on Tuesday

Nov. 14, 2023 | 6:00 pm MST | American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

WHERE TO WATCH:
• Antenna: 15.2 Phoenix, 9.2 Tucson, 15.2 Cottonwood/Prescott/Flagstaff/Lake Havasu/Kingman
• Phoenix Cable: Cox 95, Orbitel 200, Mediacom 107 (Pinal County)
• Tucson Cable: Cox 85, Xfinity 1179, Orbitel 208
• Flagstaff: American Cable channel 4
• Sedona: Optimum Cable channel 6
• Prescott: Cable One Prescott channel 61
WHERE TO LISTEN:
• Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (pregame is stream only)
• Streaming: Arizona Coyotes App

Fresh off a 7-5 win in Nashville on Saturday, the Arizona Coyotes continue their five-game road trip in Dallas tonight, facing off against the first-place Stars in a Central Division matchup. 

The Stars won all four games between the two last season, 7-2, 4-0, 4-2, and 5-2.

Arizona looks to continue its hot play on the power play, as the Coyotes’ 29.09 percent success rate currently ranks fifth in the league. Moreover, the team has recorded at least one goal with the man advantage in each of its last five games, notching a total of seven over that span.

Forward Clayton Keller’s 15 points lead the way, but the Coyotes have five players with 10-or-more points, including Nick Schmaltz (13), Logan Cooley (11), Sean Durzi (10), and Matias Maccelli (10). Nine of Keller’s 15 points have come on the power play, which leads the team, while Cooley’s eight power-play points lead all NHL rookies.

Karel Vejmelka is expected to get the start tonight, and the 27-year-old netminder is 2-5-1 with a 2.96 goals-against average and .908 save percentage in eight appearances this season. He’s 0-1-0 in his career against the Stars.

Arizona and Dallas play twice more this season, on March 20 in Dallas and March 24 in Arizona.

Player to Watch: Forward Jason Zucker has had success against the Stars in the past, notching nine goals and 10 assists in 32 games against them.

ABOUT THE STARS
Dallas has won three straight, all on the road, and six of its 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.

The Stars boast a strong goalie tandem in Jake Oettinger and former Coyotes goalie Scott Wedgewood. The former is 7-2-1 with a 2.19 goals-against average and .929 save percentage this season, and the latter is 3-1-0 with a 3.02 GAA and .917 SV%. Oettinger is expected to get the start tonight, and is 3-1-0 with a 1.51 GAA and .938 SV% in his career against the Coyotes.

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, a 91.84 percent success rate. Their power play ranks 17th with a 20 percent conversion rate.

Player to Watch: Robertson is coming off a three-point performance against the Wild on Sunday, and four goals and eight assists in just eight career games against the Coyotes.