• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Phoenix Sports Today

Phoenix Sports News Continuously Updated

  • Cardinals
  • Diamondbacks
  • Coyotes
  • Basketball
    • Mercury
    • Suns
  • Soccer
  • Colleges
    • Arizona State
    • Grand Canyon University
    • Northern Arizona
    • University of Arizona

Coyotes Game 1 Preview: Blue Jackets host Coyotes for first game of 2021-22 season

October 14, 2021 by Five For Howling

Arizona Coyotes v Columbus Blue Jackets
Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images

The regular season is officially underway today as the Columbus Blue Jackets host the Arizona Coyotes.

Game Preview

The 2021-22 season is officially underway, with the Arizona Coyotes playing their first game of the season tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

These two teams haven’t met since December 3, 2019, a game that saw the Coyotes pull off a 4-2 win, with Clayton Keller, Christian Fischer, Lawson Crouse, and Carl Söderberg.

A lot has changed since that matchup. Both teams have new coaches, Brad Larsen for the Blue Jackets and André Tourigny for the Coyotes, and both teams have had substantial roster shakeups as both teams traded veterans for picks to jumpstart their rebuilds.

For the Coyotes, that meant saying goodbye to captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Conor Garland, and goaltenders Darcy Kuemper and Adin Hill. On the other hand, the Blue Jackets said goodbye to Seth Jones and Cam Atkinson.

Arizona had a surprisingly successful pre-season, winning all of their games except for a 6-3 loss to the Dallas Stars at the Kraft Hockeyville USA game. The Coyotes didn’t face the top talent in the league, playing both the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks twice, but they did beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 last Thursday.

The Blue Jackets had a mixed pre-season and finished with a 4-2-2 record. Two of those wins came against teams also expected to finish at the bottom of the league, the Buffalo Sabres and the Detroit Red Wings, but they also have wins against better teams like the St. Louis Blues and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Neither team is expected to do well this season, and it would be a surprise if either team made the playoffs. However, both teams are still in the early stages of rebuilds, and things will likely get worse before they get better.

Players to Watch

Arizona: Jakob Chychrun – Chychrun is the Coyotes’ undisputed star player and was second on the team in goals (18) and points (41). Going into the rebuild Chychrun was the team’s only untouchable player, and he will likely be a major part of the franchise moving forward.

Columbus: Oliver Bjorkstrand – Bjorkstrand has been with the Columbus organization since being drafted by 89th overall at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He came into his own during the 2018-19 season and has been on pace for 20 goals over 82 games for the past three seasons.

Injuries

Arizona: Alex Galchenyuk (upper body), Kyle Capobianco (lower body)

Columbus: Max Domi (questionable, shoulder)

Puck Drop

Tonight’s game will be an early one, with puck drop at 4:00 pm Arizona time. The game will air on Ballysports Arizona and on Arizona Sports 98.7.

Filed Under: Coyotes

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Thursday Tidbits: 2020 Draft Retrospective
  • (no title)
  • GM Brian Gregory on Devin Booker’s contract extension: He is the embodiment of the Phoenix Suns
  • Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #93: 7/10 @ Padres
  • Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #93: 7/10 @ Padres

Categories

Archives

Our Partners

All Sports

  • 247 Sports
  • ArizonaSports.com - 98.7 FM
  • Bleacher Report
  • Heat Waved
  • OurSports Central
  • The Arizona Republic
  • The Sports Fan Journal
  • USA Today

Baseball

  • Arizona Diamondbacks
  • AZ Snake Pit
  • Last Word On Baseball
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Venom Strikes

Basketball

  • Phoenix Suns
  • Amico Hoops
  • Basketball Insiders
  • Bright Side Of The Sun
  • High Post Hoops
  • Hoops Hype
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball
  • Pro Basketball Talk
  • Real GM
  • Valley Of The Suns

Football

  • Arizona Cardinals
  • Cardinals Gab
  • Cards Wire
  • Deep Dive
  • Last Word On Pro Football
  • NFL Trade Rumors
  • Our Turf Football
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Football Talk
  • Raising Zona
  • Revenge Of The Birds
  • Words From The Birds

Hockey

  • Elite Prospects
  • Five For Howling
  • Howlin Hockey
  • Last Word On Hockey
  • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Talk
  • The Hockey Writers

Soccer

  • Last Word on Soccer
  • MLS Multiplex

College

  • AZ Desert Swarm
  • Busting Brackets
  • College Football News
  • College Sports Madness
  • Devils In Detail
  • House Of Sparky
  • Last Word On College Basketball - Univ of Arizona
  • Saturday Blitz
  • Zags Blog
  • Zona Zealots

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in