Howlin' Hockey
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Attache ta tuque! Coyotes take on Montreal Canadiens

By Chris Donovan

TEMPE, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 16: Goaltender Karel Vejmelka #70, Josh Brown #3, Nick Schmaltz #8 and Clayton Keller #9 of the Arizona Coyotes celebrate after defeating the New York Islanders in the NHL game at Mullett Arena on December 16, 2022 in Tempe, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Islanders 5-4. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TEMPE, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 16: Goaltender Karel Vejmelka #70, Josh Brown #3, Nick Schmaltz #8 and Clayton Keller #9 of the Arizona Coyotes celebrate after defeating the New York Islanders in the NHL game at Mullett Arena on December 16, 2022 in Tempe, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Islanders 5-4. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Hold on tight! The Arizona Coyotes face off against the Montreal Canadiens tonight at Mullett Arena. The Coyotes have been playing surprisingly well at home (4-3-1) and look to get back to their winning ways versus a Canadiens team who are 7-6-2 on the road.

This game should be a tough matchup for the Coyotes as Montreal has a pretty deep roster, featuring captain Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, Sean Monahan, and rookie fan favorite Arber Xhekaj (also known as ‘WIFI’ as his last name looks like a wifi password).

The Coyotes have faired pretty well this season against teams with top heavy rosters. Looking at Montreal, who is a tough road team and is pretty solid up and down the roster, they match up well against the ‘Yotes, and should have no problem against our top line.

Our boys are big, physical, and love to get the puck deep in the zone and out work the defense for dirty goals. Montreal is a physical team that hits and fights. Expect both of those in the game tonight. I would be surprised if WIFI and former Coyote Christian Dvorak both do not get into fights against our guys.

This has the feel of a game where both will be getting 5 for fighting.

The Canadiens have lost their last three games, being outscored 13-5. Goaltending has been an issue, but in their defense they did take on Tampa Bay and Ottawa in two of those matchups. The Coyotes are 1-2 in their last three and have been outscored 12-8. Very similar numbers, so this game should be evenly matched.

The Coyotes win if…

Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, and Matias Maccelli each get on the scoreboard.

Jakob Chychrun dominates this game and pushes his trade value through the roof.

Karel Vejmelka plays like an All-Star. This seems to be a recurring theme this season for the Coyotes but in reality, the team goes as far as he takes them. Nightly.

the team dominates the Canadiens physically and are not intimidated by the few skill players on the Habs. Respect them, do not fear them.

Lawson Crouse dominates this game in all areas  (hitting, scoring, fighting, etc).

The Canadiens win if….

Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield light it up. I can see our guys shutting them down, but they are sneaky great players.

the quieter secondary scorers on the Habs get going early. This team does have Johnathan Drouin, Mike Hoffman, and Brendan Gallagher, who have yet to get going this season. Lets hope they don’t find their game tonight. This is what happened with the Oilers a few games back when the team focused on Draisaitl and McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins feasted on weaker matchups.

Jake Allen plays like an All-Star. In his career, Allen has shown flashes of brilliance. He can be great at times, or mediocre. Remember, Montreal was willing to part ways with Carey Price and keep Allen in the Seattle Expansion Draft. He can play.

As of right now (11:05 am) both Rotoworld and DailyFaceoff both have Jake Allen and Karel Vejmelka predicted to start in net. Tonight’s game should be a fun one to watch. The puck drops at 8:00pm MT and can be seen on Bally Sports Arizona. Give these Habs hell boys!

Happy Howlin’!

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