The Arizona Coyotes have won their last two games and look to keep the wins coming tonight against the Sharks.
Game Preview
The Arizona Coyotes have had a lot of slow starts and poor efforts this season. And after all those poor games, it was nice to see the Coyotes come out and have a good, complete game. This time, it was a 5-2 win over the San Jose Sharks.
Arizona could use last night’s game as a blueprint for the rest of the season. They scored early, got a power play goal, and were defensively sound.
The Coyotes started early, with Christian Dvorak getting his 10th 6:20 into the first period. And even with that first goal, they kept up the pressure.
And even after Tomáš Hertl tied the game short-handed, the Coyotes still kept the momentum. They would score the next four games, three 5-on-5, and Phil Kessel scoring on the power play.
Christian Dvorak would finish with two goals, with Nick Schmaltz, Phil Kessel, and Dryden Hunt getting the other goals. Arizona getting a balanced offense from all four lines is rare, but it was nice to see it work.
Goaltending will be an interesting decision for the Coyotes today. Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper are both listed as injured, and Adin Hill played last night. Hill was solid against the Scottsdale Sharks, but it may be Ivan Prosvetov’s time.
The Coyotes drafted Prosvetov in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Entry draft. Since then, he has had a very successful season with the Saginaw Spirit in the OHL and a great season with the Tucson Roadrunners last year. It’s still early but Prosvetov is definitely one of the most intriguing players in the Coyotes’ prospect pipeline.
Players to Watch
Arizona: Christian Dvorak – Dvorak’s two goals gave him a team-leading 11 goals, which would be tied by Phil Kessel just over two minutes later.
San Jose: Tomáš Hertl – Hertl’s goal made him the third player on the Sharks to reach the ten-goal plateau this season. He is third on the team in points and can generate offense.
Injuries
Arizona: Jakob Chychrun (questionable, undisclosed), Tyler Pitlick (lower body), Antti Raanta (undisclosed), Niklas Hjalmarsson (upper body), Darcy Kuemper (lower body)
San Jose: Radim Simek (questionable, undisclosed), Matt Nieto (questionable, undisclosed)
Puck Drop
Tonight’s game is at Gila Rive Arena at 7:00 pm Arizona time. It will air on Fox Sports Arizona and Fox Sports 910 AM.
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