'Yotes Notes: Perlini Makes NHL Debut

Rookie Brendan Perlini made his NHL debut on Monday night as the Coyotes played the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
With his parents and older brother in the arena, Perlini skated at left wing on a line with Jordan Martinook and Jamie McGinn. He played 13:45 and delivered one hit in the game, which Columbus won, 4-1.

"I thought he was all right," Head Coach Dave Tippett said. "He skates well. He can play at the tempo up here. He has some things to learn, but you've got to like some things about his game."
Perlini, whom the Coyotes drafted 12th overall in 2014, is the sixth rookie to make his NHL debut with Arizona this season.
"It was pretty special," Perlini said. "Obviously, it would have been nice to get a win, but in the same sense it was good to get out there with the guys."
Perlini did not play when the Coyotes were on a power play or when they were killing penalties.
"It's a little different when you don't play special teams," Perlini said. "You have to find ways to stay in the game. I thought I handled it pretty good and was ready every time I was called upon to go out there."
Perlini liked the pace at which his first NHL game was played.
"They're fast-paced players," Perlini said of NHLers. "That's good because that's my style of game, playing fast, so I thought I played pretty decent with them ... To be honest, I thought the pace was really similar (to the AHL) and it wasn't anything I was blown away by or anything like that. I got the first one out of the way. (I'll) just keep my confidence up and keep rolling from what I've done already this year."
• To make room for Perlini in the lineup, the Coyotes scratched forward Anthony Duclair for the first time this season.
"I talked to Anthony this morning just about a reset," Tippett said after Monday's morning skate. "He just needs to reset. He's pressing a little bit. The point totals haven't been where he'd like them this year ... He'll go back in tomorrow (at Chicago), and we'll hopefully get him up and going from there."
Duclair, who notched 20 goals as a rookie last season, has just one goal and three assists in 23 games as an NHL sophomore.
• Backup goalie Louis Domingue made 30 saves in his first start since Nov. 17.
"Tonight was a case of a bad backup goalie job," Domingue said. "You come in here fresh, you've got to give more to the team. I think I could have gave a better game today to the boys, but it didn't turn out my way at all."

Mike Smith is expected to start in goal on Tuesday at Chicago.
• Tobias Rieder scored Arizona's lone goal at 9:28 of the first period. It was Rieder's seventh goal of the season.

• The Coyotes were called for eight penalties and allowed two power-play goals.
"Every time we got our footing a little bit, we'd take a penalty to put us behind," Tippett said. "They're a good team on the power play, which we gave them too many of tonight. We were better than we were the other night but not good enough ... In the end, the penalties caught up with us and we couldn't create enough offense to overcome it."

• Before Monday's game, Tippett addressed the demotions of center Laurent Dauphin and defenseman Tony DeAngelo to the American Hockey League on Sunday.
"He's going to be a good player for a long time," Tippett said of DeAngelo, who notched two goals and five assists in 11 games. "He got a little taste of the NHL. Now he can go back and get to work. He'll get another chance. He's a good player."
Tippett said Dauphin, who had one goal and one assist in 18 games, was sent to the AHL to work on aspects of his game beyond penalty killing.
• USA Hockey on Monday announced that Coyotes prospect Clayton Keller was among 27 players included on its preliminary roster for the 2017 National Junior Team. Last week, Hockey Canada announced that Coyotes prospects Dylan Strome and Nick Merkley were included on its preliminary roster for the 2017 National Junior Team. All three players are first-round draft picks.
• The radio station for Tuesday's game at Chicago has been changed to KTAR News 92.3 FM. The puck drops at 6:30 p.m. Arizona time.