Arizona Coyotes First Five Games Prediction
Sep 22, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty (8) and Arizona Coyotes right wing Steve Downie (17) battle for the puck in the first period at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
- Game One: Arizona Coyotes at Los Angeles Kings October 9, 2015
The Kings beat the Coyotes twice in the pre-season, but this time it counts. Will both teams be pumped? You bet. Do both teams not particularly like each other? That’s an understatement, just ask any player on each team. The fact that the Kings eliminated the Arizona (then Phoenix) Coyotes in their Western Conference run in 2011-12 still must be stored in their memory banks.
The L.A. Kings got bigger with Milan Lucic, and they’ve had the whole summer off to rest and get focused. They’ve had lots of controversy with players getting in trouble with the law, and that could affect their play a bit. But, this is a team who has gone the distance and brought home the hardware to prove it. They will be a tough opponent.
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The Arizona Coyotes are just looking to gel with some new faces themselves. Max Domi and Anthony Duclair give them some added offense, and if the defense starts to play better, they have a chance to win this game. They’ve gotten tougher too with the addition of Middle Linebacker… (oh sorry) LW John Scott. You can bet he was picked up mostly to play against the bigger, badder teams like the Kings.
The Arizona Coyotes also added Steve Downie, who is no stranger to the penalty box. In fact, he camped out in there last season to the tune of 238 minutes, the high in the entire NHL. In other words, with Scott, Downie, and Chipchura the Coyotes should not be intimidated by the size and nastiness of the Kings.
Prediction: L.A. Kings 4, Coyotes 1
Next: Game Two: Pittsburgh Penguins