Arizona Coyotes: Three Studs and Duds Versus STL and Vegas
A grueling stretch continues for the Arizona Coyotes. After wrapping up the road trip and returning home to play the Los Angeles Kings, next up was the St. Louis Blues. The Coyotes and Blues faced off in an early game-of-the-year candidate, with the Coyotes losing a heartbreaker 6-5. Arizona then made the trip to Las Vegas to play the defending champion Golden Knights. In a gritty effort, the Coyotes reversed their fortunes and ended a three-game skid, defeating Vegas 2-0. In both games, the Coyotes showed off the tenacity that is starting to become the DNA of this team. That tenacity will continue to come in handy, as they face a slew of recent Stanley Cup champions over the next several games.
In every game that is played, there are guys that stand out for many different reasons and we’ve identified three studs and three duds from each game.
Arizona Coyotes vs. St. Louis Blues
Three Studs
Lawson Crouse
Lawson Crouse is absolutely on fire in the month of November. He is arguably the NHL player of the month, generating most of the Coyotes’ offensive pressure and maintaining a stat line of 10 goals, 1 assist, 11 points, and a +/- of +2 in November. He was at it again, and seemingly involved everywhere on the ice. The offense ran through Crouse and his linemates, accounting for two of the six goals and three assists against the Blues.
The Penalty Kill
The penalty kill has been a major source of strength for the Coyotes this season and it was on display again. The unit ranks in the top 15 in the NHL, and when pressed into duty they stood firm. The Blues had three opportunities and were shut out on all three. The PK seemed to be the only time all game where the Coyotes made a defensive stand.
Matias Maccelli
Maccelli continues to impress. He continued his historic streak of scoring a point in eight straight home games, tying a franchise record. He accounted for two assists in this one, and alongside Crouse, was the driving force of the offense against the Blues.
Three Duds
The Power Play
What has typically been a strength this season was a definite weakness against the St. Louis Blues. The Coyotes’ power play was atrocious, blanking on their two opportunities and playing sloppy. So sloppy, in fact, they gave up two short-handed goals to St. Louis.
The Defensive Lineup
Much like the power play, the defensive lines were essentially nonexistent. They surrendered a ton of zone time to the Blues and were constantly on the chase. When they actually had the play in front of them, they often were out of position, leading to easy goals.
Karel Vejmelka
Vejmelka was yanked in this one after surrendering four goals on only twelve shots, including two short-handed goals. While the defense and power play did him no favors, he was completely outmatched and never seemed to settle in. This was another game this season where he has been extremely inconsistent, a stark contrast to the player we saw last year. At this rate, Ingram could be the primary goaltender sooner rather than later.
Arizona Coyotes @ Vegas Golden Knights
Three Studs
Connor Ingram
Ingram was lights out against the defending champs and looked every bit the part of a number one goalie. He and Vejmelka have seemingly flipped roles, as last year Ingram was the streaky one and Vejmelka was the solid starter. Ingram was the main reason the Coyotes won this game, as he shut down everything Vegas threw at him. The result was a 2-0 Coyotes win and Ingram’s second career shutout.
Jason Zucker
While only accounting for 13:57 TOI, Zucker absolutely made the most of it. He was around the puck every time he was out there, generating offensive plays and stepping up defensively. He blocked multiple shots and was also physical on the ice.
The Coyotes Fourth Line
Next to Lawson Crouse, the Coyotes’ fourth line was the group that generated the most offensive pressure. They made the most of their limited time and their play was noticed and rewarded by Head Coach André Tourigny, as they received a good amount of shifts during crunch time in the third period. It’s great to have a fourth line you can trust as much as your top lines, especially in games like this where it comes down to the wire and not much offense has been generated.
Three Duds
The Blue Line
The blue liners as a whole did not play well against Vegas. They were consistently beaten and on the chase, giving up multiple breakaways that Ingram turned away. They also committed turnovers and gave up the zone far too often. Ingram bailed them out big time in this game.
The Power Play
Again the power play was nonexistent and could not generate anything when given the opportunity. They have gone ice cold, going 0 for 12 over their past four games.
The Forecheck and Offensive Zone Time
From puck drop the Coyotes struggled to establish the offensive zone. The few times they were able to do so, they played aggressively and kept up the pressure. But far too often the result was a one-and-done or establishing the offensive zone for a minimal amount of time. This team is young, exciting, and growing, but they will have struggles throughout the season if they cannot become more consistent.
As a bonus, Coyotes Assistant Equipment Manager Tony Silva got some well-deserved recognition during the broadcast. The game against Vegas was his 2,000th NHL game.