The Arizona Coyotes are back from their Holiday Break tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. There is a lot on the line tonight for the Coyotes, so this is a must-win.
Arizona has not played since Monday when they lost to the Nashville Predators despite a late-game push from the road team. Luckily now the Coyotes will have the chance to set the tone for the rest of the season.
The ‘Yotes have been playing mediocre hockey the last few weeks, going 5-5 in their last 10 games. Despite that they find themselves tied for first in the Pacific Division. However, now is the opportunity to move farther up in the standings.
Arizona and Vegas are tied for the pacific division lead with just 46 points, however, the Coyotes have two games in hand on Vegas, so a win tonight could propel them to at most a 6 point lead over Vegas.
I understand it is only December and that the standings will look a lot different in March, but at the same time, winning games now will only help the team in January and February. A win tonight will help the Coyotes show themselves that they are a playoff team, worthy of a trade for Taylor Hall.
A win tonight will help propel the team into the second half of the season. With three games left in 2019, against three teams that were in the playoffs last year, I would like to see three wins. The Pacific Division has been weaker than usual, with the three California teams all on the outside looking in.
Not having powerhouses like San Jose, Anaheim, and LA in the playoffs allows other teams to make a run in the postseason. However, don’t expect anyone to roll over and give the division to Arizona. Teams like Calgary, Edmonton, Vegas, and Vancouver are all competing for the postseason and things can change pretty quickly.
One thing needs to remain constant Arizona needs to take things one game at a time, and that starts tonight in Vegas against one of the best teams in the NHL. Watch out for the tough players like Ryan Reaves tonight. Reaves showed last night that he is willing to layout anyone, even his own teammates.
Ryan Reaves crushes his own guy pic.twitter.com/cU6OxeNpuM
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) December 28, 2019
Vegas played last night, so expect them to be ready to play. Marc-Andre Fleury should be in net tonight for Vegas, as Malcolm Subban played last night against Anaheim. Sometimes a long break can result in a little bit of rust from a team, hopefully, that is not the case for the Coyotes!