Arizona Coyotes: Niklas Treutle To Make First NHL Start Against Anaheim
Arizona Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett announced today that AHL call-up Niklas Treutle will start in goal tonight against the Anaheim Ducks.
The Arizona Coyotes are hoping for a fresh face to lead them to their first victory in seven games.
Head coach Dave Tippett confirmed that AHL call-up Niklas Treutle would be starting in goal tonight for the Coyotes. It will be the first NHL start of his career.
Treutle previously went in for 10 minutes in relief of Louis Domingue against the St. Louis Blues on February 20th. He stopped all four shots he faced before Domingue returned to the net to complete the game.
The start for Treutle is the first for an Arizona Coyotes goalie other than Louis Domingue since Anders Lindback started on February 5th against the Anaheim Ducks.
The German netminder is excited to get his chance. “I’m just happy and I want to stop some pucks.”
The move to give Treutle the nod in goal doesn’t come as a huge surprise. Over the past month, Louis Domingue’s numbers are have slipped from somewhere near the league’s elite to below average.
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Since being pulled and then returned to the game during intermission on February 20th, Domingue has had just one game with a save percentage above the league average of .915. He’s had three consecutive starts with a save percentage below .900.
Louis’ slide came at a critical time for the Arizona Coyotes.
With playoff hopes on the line, they embarked on a five game road trip and dropped all five contests. An inability to score was a huge factor, but Domingue’s growing penchant for allowing soft goals contributed to knocking the wind out of the Coyotes’ sails.
With playoff hopes all but dashed, it’s the perfect time to give Domingue an extra night off and see what the German goaltender can do against a very good Anaheim Ducks team.
Niklas Treutle has played In 26 games for the Springfield Falcons of the AHL. He’s posted a 9-11-5 record with a 2.91 goals against average and a .909 save percentage this season.
Those are not exactly inspiring numbers but the Falcons are not exactly an inspiring team, either. The team is last in the Atlantic Division and has given up more goals than all but three teams in the entire American Hockey League. They are tied with the San Antonio Rampage for the 4th most goals allowed this season.
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Treutle and the Coyotes will hope for better returns in his first NHL matchup.
With that said, let’s welcome the turtle to the Arizona Coyotes. Perhaps we’ll see some magic tonight.