Arizona Coyotes Begin Homestand vs Familiar and Vengeful Blues
The Arizona Coyotes have returned to friendly territory and will host the very frustrated and vengeful St. Louis Blues on Friday night at Gila River Arena.
As the Arizona Coyotes prepare for an 11-game homestand at Gila River Arena, they know that they’ll first be meeting an angry bunch of talented and physical hockey players commonly known in these parts as the St. Louis Blues. That malevolent, irritable band of brothers are in a foul mood and traveled to Glendale, Arizona for one particular purpose: To sweep three games from the Desert Dogs, wreaking physical havoc on the hometown boys in the process.
Intentions, however, are one thing and accomplishing what you have set out to do is another. That’s exactly why the games on Friday and Saturday nights, and a matinee on Monday afternoon, will be so darn fun to watch. As two gangs of professionals go head-to-head with sticks and pucks and shots a-blazing, and with pride on the line, only time will tell if the Arizona Coyotes can survive the impending onslaught at the hands of the Blue Notes from St. Louis. After all, the Blues were embarrassed in their own building three times in a row, and as far as they’re concerned, it’s payback time. The Blues don’t go “gently into the night.”
The Yotes know full well that they need to defend their home ice in front of their loyal and hyped-up fans. If Captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson is able to play, Gila River Arena will be even more amped up. These contests will become nail-biters for many watching from across the land, and might even get the attention of the NHL honchos that would normally turn their backs on professional hockey in the western USA.
Regardless, there will be plenty of “mano y mano” battles in an intense and exciting atmosphere, and what more could you ask for?
We know that Blues Captain Ryan O’Reilly will have his boys ready right from the initial faceoff, and goalkeeper Jordan Binnington will need to be sharp for the Blues if they hope to prevent the likes of Conor Garland, Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Lawson Crouse, and Christian Dvorak from cycling in the “O” zone and scoring. Likewise, the Coyotes can’t afford to relax just because they’re home, as they know the Blues will be coming at them hard and often. Thus, it’s incumbent upon the Yotes to attack and defend as a 5-man group and minimize penalties.
It will be a fun weekend of entertaining hockey in the Valley, so let’s enjoy what we’re fortunate enough to have in Arizona! Let’s go Coyotes!