Capitol Hill in the Desert: The Coyotes host the Capitals

The Coyotes host a ravenous group from Capitol Hill

Hey, Coyotes fans! Good news — the team is hosting the Washington Capitals Tuesday night, bringing the Desert Dogs back to the night things really started to turn around for them.

Live Feed

Puck Prose

Bad news — what the Capitals may lack in present-day structure, they make up for in memory and Alex Ovechkin. The team captain may have one of the most highly criticized defensive games in the league, but he had three points against Arizona during their first matchup; if there’s anyone who’s going to be out for revenge, it’s this Russian forward.

The Coyotes have looked better in the past two weeks, but the three game changers — Devan Dubnyk, Tobias Rieder, and Brandon Gormley — combine for severely limited starting experience. Rieder is in his first NHL season, Gormley has only eleven games with the club spanning two years, and Dubnyk has been relegated to backup behind Mike Smith.

A couple good starts for Dubnyk (and his ninja puck-assassin skills) should make this a good game in net, regardless of who starts. Smith wants to prove he’s still number one, Dubnyk wants to prove the past two starts haven’t been a fluke. Hopefully, this — combined with the new young stars on the team — will push them past a Metropolitan Division franchise with something to prove.

Details for Tuesday night’s game:

DATE: Tuesday, November 18th 
TIME: 6:00 p.m. (PST) 
LOCATION: Glendale, Arizona 
ARENA: Gila River Arena 
TV INFO: Fox Sports AZ, CSMA 

Update: Brandon Gormley has been placed on injured reserve, so David Schlemko has been recalled.

Players to Watch For:

• Lucas Lessio: Dave Tippett wanted to keep the Vancouver shutout lineup intact for one additional game on Sunday night, so Lessio had to spend his first game after being recalled sitting in the press box. This two-way player, though, hopes to make a big impact with the team. Good thing, because Tippett hopes the same thing; adding a big player who knows how to play defensively as well as he knows how to score could be just what the Coyotes need. Lessio has been compared to Patrice Bergeron in the past — imagine what a player like that could do for Arizona.
• Tobias Rieder: Rieder had a good game against his old franchise, but this 21-year-old forward needs to keep up his scoring in order to stay in the team’s top six. Hopefully, a chance to play against a fast Eastern Conference team will give Rieder the motivation to fire a couple goals past whomever Washington puts in net.
• Mikkel Boedker: Boedker went nearly an entire month without scoring after getting five goals in three games to start out the season; he’s recorded points in his last two games, but streaky play could re-earn this winger the label of ‘unreached potential’ once more. Hopefully, though, his drop-off had more to do with the line inconsistencies and developing chemistry than it did with his own sustainable talent — a goal or two from Boedker could do wonders for the team.
• Michael Stone: Maybe the most underrated player on the Coyotes’ blue line, Michael Stone is back to wondering who he’s going to skate out alongside. While he may not be as offensive as Keith Yandle, OEL, and Connor Murphy, though, Stone has remained the one bright spot on the Coyotes’ third defense pairing. He’s big, aggressive, and able to hold down his own end of the ice. Watch to see how Stone reacts to playing with Chris Summers again instead of Gormley,

Line Combinations:

Forwards: 
Lauri Korpikoski – Antoine Vermette – Mikkel Boedker
Tobias Rieder – Martin Hanzal – Martin Erat
Lucas Lessio – Sam Gagner – Shane Doan
Brandon McMillan – Joe Vitale – B.J. Crombeen
Extra Skater: Kyle Chipchura
Injured List: Rob Klinkhammer, David Moss

Defense: 
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Zbynek Michalek
David Schlemko/Keith Yandle – Connor Murphy
Chris Summers – Michael Stone
*If Yandle skates out tonight, David Schlemko will be the extra skater
Injured List: Brandon Gormley

*No confirmation in net

Predictions:

The Coyotes are desperate to keep this win streak alive; now that they’ve started to really finalize the roster, they don’t want to slip back into bad habits. Expect another dynamic game, but expect the Coyotes to come away victorious at home…. just don’t be surprised if it takes extra time or even a shootout to get there.

More from Howlin' Hockey

• How the Arizona Coyotes could line-up with Logan Cooley signed
• Report: Logan Cooley could be closer to signing Arizona Coyotes ELC
• Arizona Coyotes sign Matias Maccelli to three-year deal
• Ivan Prosvetov signs one-year deal with Arizona Coyotes
• Arizona Coyotes cut Galchenyuk after reported police incident