Arizona Coyotes : Top 3 key players to watch against Golden Knights

When it comes to the Arizona Coyotes anything is possible, well maybe except scoring goals. Going into tonight’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights lets look at 3 players that need to have great games.

You look to your big name players to offer a spark. Your leaders need to be your best players it is that simple. Looking at the Coyotes the team has shown sparks of how great they can be.

Whether or not it was the first 10 minutes of the first game of the season, or the second game minus not being able to score a goal, the Coyotes have shown they can play hockey. The Arizona Coyotes just need to improve their goal scoring and then they can be a legitimate threat in the league.

We have already mentioned how the Coyotes can be dark horse candidates to win the Stanley Cup, now that all hinges on a few players providing a spark with the team. A spark that starts tonight.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Your captain should be your best player. Ekman-Larsson needs to give the team with the spark to succeed. I would like to see Oliver Ekman-Larsson score the first goal for the team tonight. In front of a home crowd with fans on edge the captain should lead the team.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson has scored 116 goals during his 10 year career. Now is the time to step up for the ‘Yotes.

Phil Kessel

Phil Kessel was brought to Arizona to score goals. He has not done that for the Coyotes yet. Kessel is tied for the most points for the Coyotes this season, with 1 point. That number needs to go up.

Nick Schmaltz / Clayton Keller

The young guns need to be more than just young players. Keller and Schmaltz are the two leaders of this next generation of Coyotes. They are signed long-term and are going to be here for a while.

Neither player has scored a goal this season, and have competed on the Coyotes power play this season. The Coyotes power play has been anything but great this season, so it is up to these guys to step up.

Watch for big games from Schmaltz, and Keller if not do not expect a win from the Coyotes yet again.

For a little more on the enemy tonight here is what our friends at Vegas Hockey Knight had to say about their team:

"The Vegas Golden Knights are 2-1-0 to start the year and have been impressive for the most part. They beat up on the San Jose Sharks in a home-to-home double header to start the year, outscoring their bitter rivals 9-2 while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 55 of 57 shots. They suffered their first loss against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, where turnovers cost the Knights dearly with the B’s explosive top line wreaking absolute havoc. However, the Knights have a lot of positives going for them, including three shorthanded goals already this year, their power play has also been productive with a 30.0 percentage and their top six is firing on all cylinders led by Mark Stone who has six points (two goals, four assists) through three games. They have elite goaltending, solid defense but their lack of secondary scoring hurt them against the Bruins, as did cheap turnovers, two areas that will need to be improved going forward."

Via Andrew Steele-Davis