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Arizona Coyotes To Have One NBCSN Televised Game

By Adam Pierce

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Arizona Coyotes will play only one game on NBC Sports Network this season.

The NBC Sports Group will televise 105 NHL games this season, and the Arizona Coyotes will be featured just once. 105 games are the most scheduled by NBC going into a National Hockey League season. This is fantastic for the sport of hockey, and its’ continuous growth in the United States.

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To no surprise, teams like the Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, and Washington Capitals take up most of these NBC games. Being the small market team that they are, the Arizona Coyotes will be televised just once this season. The game to be televised will be the Arizona Coyotes against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday, March 7th.

The Arizona Coyotes-Colorado Avalanche match-up beat out six other games for the prime time television spot on March 7th. Tampa Bay-Philadelphia, Buffalo-Toronto, Boston-Florida, San Jose-Calgary, Washington-Anaheim, and Vancouver-Los Angeles take the back seat to the Coyotes.

Howlin’ Hockey takes a look at the only televised match-up for the Arizona Coyotes.

Arizona Coyotes @ Colorado Avalanche:

This game pits two struggling teams of the Western Conference against each other. The Arizona Coyotes finished last season with a 24-50-8 record (56 points) and the Colorado Avalanche finished with a 39-31-12 record (90 points). Both teams are looking to improve this October.

March 7th will not be the first time Arizona and Colorado see each other this season. These teams will face each other two times before their game on NBCSN. The first match between the two is set for November 5th in Arizona and the second will be December 27th in Colorado.

The Arizona Coyotes played the Colorado Avalanche three times last season with the Avalanche coming out on top each time:

With a combined score of 19-7, the Arizona Coyotes have a lot of work to do.

Smith vs. Varlamov:

Goaltender performance will have a heavy influence on who comes out ahead in this game between the Arizona Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche. These teams feature two veteran players in between the pipes with Mike Smith, and Semyon Varlamov.

Mike Smith:

Dec 1, 2014; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Arizona Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith (41) stops a shot during warmup against the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Smith has had a lot of success against the Colorado Avalanche in the past. In 13 career games, his record against the Avalanche is 8-1-4. In those thirteen games, he has maintained a 2.02 goals against average, and a .935 save percentage. If the Arizona Coyotes can provide scoring up front, Smith can do the rest.

Semyon Varlamov:

Mar 25, 2015; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Colorado Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov (1) makes a save in warmup against the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

Semyon Varlamov has been decent in net, when it comes to playing the Arizona Coyotes. In twelve games he has a 6-5-1 career record against the Desert Dogs. The Coyotes seem to find a way to get pucks past him whenever they meet. Along with his record, Varlamov has a 2.93 goals against average, and a .901 save percentage against Arizona.

It’s safe to say, that the goaltenders will be headlining this televised match-up on March 7th in Colorado.

Next: Arizona Coyotes: Burke Gone--New Goalie Coaches Named

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