Preview: Coyotes Host Ducks in Home Opener on Saturday Afternoon

Oct. 21, 2023 | 1:00 pm MST | Mullett Arena, Tempe, Ariz.

WHERE TO WATCH:
• Antenna: 15.2 Phoenix, 9.2 Tucson, 15.2 Cottonwood/Prescott/Flagstaff/Lake Havasu/Kingman
• Streaming: N/A
• 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: ESPN 620 AM
• Stream: Arizona Coyotes App, Arizona Sports App

The Party is back on in The Party Barn.

The Arizona Coyotes officially open their home schedule on Saturday afternoon, hosting the Anaheim Ducks at Mullett Arena in a Saturday matinee. The Coyotes split the first four games of their schedule, finishing 2-2-0 in a season-opening road trip against playoff caliber teams, as well as a divisional opponent.

Now, it’s time to restore Mullett Magic.

“It’s exciting. Home openers are fun, but it’s good to be back because we created a tough environment here last year,” forward Lawson Crouse said. “We need to continue where we left off.”

All Arizona players will walk the red carpet on the Gila River Resorts & Casinos Patio, beginning at 10 am MST.

Arizona’s offense showed out against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, closing out their road trip with a 6-2 win over the Blues at Enterprise Center. Six different Coyotes scored, five finished with two points, and Arizona outshot St. Louis 42-26 in the win.

Coyotes head coach André Tourigny confirmed at practice on Friday that goalie Karel Vejmelka will start in net, continuing the alternating pattern between him and Connor Ingram. The 27-year-old is 1-1-0 this season with a 1.95 goals-against average and .943 save percentage. He is 0-2-0 in two career games against the Ducks.

The Coyotes’ defense has played well through four games, allowing just three 5-on-5 goals over that span.

“That’s what we want it to be, we want to be stingy defensively” Tourigny said. “We have speed, we can be an aggressor on the puck carrier all the time. We want to play really well defensively, and we know the offense will come.”

Forwards Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz lead the team in offensively, as both have recorded two goals and three assists in four games played. Rookie Logan Cooley has yet to score his first NHL goal, but that hasn’t stopped him from being an impact player just four games into his professional career. The 19-year-old has four assists on the season, as he leads all NHL rookies in points and assists while averaging 18:37 of ice time per game. He has also won 23 of the 40 faceoffs he’s taken.

Arizona finished 1-1-1 against the Ducks last season, with their lone win coming in overtime on April 8, 2022.

Player to Watch: Forward Jason Zucker has fared well against the Ducks in his career, recording 17 points in 23 games against them. The 31-year-old notched his first goal of the season on Thursday in St. Louis.

ABOUT THE DUCKS
The Ducks also opened their season against three perennial playoff Stanley Cup contenders (including the defending champs), starting 1-2-0 after losses to Vegas and Dallas, and a 6-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Anaheim is stocked with young talent, including 21-year-old forward Mason McTavish, 22-year-old Trevor Zegras, 20-year-old Pavel Mintyukov, 21-year-old Jamie Drysdale, and 18-year-old Leo Carlsson, who scored his first career goal in his first-ever NHL game on Thursday.

The Ducks selected Carlsson second overall in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Defenseman Jamie Drysdale is expected to miss the game after suffering a lower-body injury against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.

Though Anaheim and Arizona faced each other three times during the preseason, Tourigny said Saturday’s matchup is against a much different team.

“With their full lineup, they have more depth,” Tourigny said. “It’s a team with a lot of talent … They have a really aggressive style, they’re really heavy on the forecheck. It will be interesting for us, we need to be ready for that, but I like the way we’ve played and we just need to make sure we’re focused at the right place tomorrow.”

Lineups were not yet available, but John Gibson has started two of Anaheim’s three games this season, and the 30-year-old netminder is 0-2-0 with a 3.06 GAA and .902 SV%. Backup Lukas Dostal has the team’s only win this season, stopping 32 of the 25 shots he faced in route to a victory over the Hurricanes. 

Player to Watch: Center Trevor Zegras has just one assist this season, but always seems to play well against the Coyotes – in 11 games against the Desert Dogs, he’s recorded four goals and six assists.