Arizona Coyotes Focused on Ottawa Senators
Arizona Coyotes are primed for Saturday’s game against Ottawa Senators!
The Arizona Coyotes will be looking for their third straight win on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. when they play the Ottawa Senators in a matinée game at Gila River Arena.
The ‘Yotes defeated the highly skilled Nashville Predators 5 to 2 on Thursday night in a game where the power play came alive and the unit scored three goals, two of them by Coyotes forward Phil Kessel.
The defense, too, played particularly well against the potent Predators attack, especially considering that they played with only five defensemen after only 17 seconds into the game. Jordan Oesterle was hit in the back of the head by the puck following a deflected shot taken by the Predators Ryan Johansen and had to leave the game. He didn’t return, but the remaining 5 defenders covered well.
Perhaps under different circumstances, the tilt against the “Sens” could be considered a “trap” game based upon the caliber of teams that the Coyotes have recently played against and beaten.
For the Arizona Coyotes to look past the Senators (1-4-1) and toward the opponents, they’ll be facing during next week’s upcoming Eastern Conference road trip (both of the New York teams, the New Jersey Devils, and the Buffalo Sabres), however, would be a costly mistake.
The Senators were defeated 3 to 2 in a shootout by the Golden Knights in Vegas on Thursday night. They played well and have given no reason for anyone to believe, especially the Arizona Coyotes’ players and staff, that the Senators should be taken lightly this early in the NHL regular season. The Senators have too much talent on their roster for any team not to be focused on the task at hand.
Center Jean-Gabriel Pageau, for example, leads his team with 2 goals and 5 points in 6 games, while right-wing Connor Brown already has 5 assists.
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Center Vladislav Namestnikov has contributed 2 goals and 2 assists in 6 games, while teammates Brady Tkachuk, Bobby Ryan, Chris Tierney, and Thomas Chabot have recorded 3 points apiece.
The Saturday afternoon task for the Arizona Coyotes then is simple: Focus on the team that’s right in front of you. Play smart, attack-oriented hockey. Use your team speed and aggressiveness to wreak havoc in the neutral zone. Unleash your smothering defense – one game at a time!
Can the Coyotes do it? Of course they can! Let’s go Coyotes!