The Arizona Coyotes hopefully can benefit from a day of rest before they face off tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. Today is January 2nd, 2020, and let’s jump right in!
The Anaheim Ducks are coming to town to face off against our beloved Arizona Coyotes. Although Anaheim is further down in the standings this should not be a game the Coyotes take lightly, especially when you consider where teams are shaking up within the Pacific Division. (Howlin’ Hockey)
The Arizona Coyotes have also made some changes to their blue line. Kyle Capobianco has been recalled from Tucson, while Aaron Ness was reassigned to the AHL. I wouldn’t look too far into these moves. The team is just continuing to prepare for Hjalmarsson’s return soon, and circulating a few young defensemen into the lineup will only help the team in the long run. (Arizona Sports)
The future schedule represents an opportunity to succeed for Coyotes. The Coyotes play two games at home before heading out on a three-game road trip that might prove challenging. The Coyotes have two home games against the Ducks and Flyers before they need to head out and play teams like Florida, Tampa, and Carolina. Points are not going to come easily out east, so getting the win in our home stadium is a necessity.
One big question I have going forward is there any opportunity for the Coyotes to participate in an outdoor game in the future? We have teams like Chicago playing in the game every season, and although I understand the argument that bigger markets mean bigger numbers for them, that should not take away from the fact that fans out in Arizona would love to see their team in an outdoor game.
Who knows maybe we can see a game in Winnipeg between the Coyotes and Jets, or in a few years in St. Louis, heck maybe even in Arizona or Vegas the way technology is going. The game was just in Texas so anything is possible!
News from around the league:
Stars’ Corey Perry ejected for elbowing in Winter Classic (ESPN)
NHL fines John Tortorella for criticism of referee (Yahoo Sports)
Artemi Panarin On His Way To Becoming Russia’s Premier NHL Player (Forbes)