Vegas Hockey Knight
Fansided

Vegas Golden Knights at Coyotes: View from the enemy camp

By Andrew Steele-Davis

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 05: Michael Grabner #40, Vinnie Hinostroza #13, Oliver Ekman-Larsson #23, Jason Demers #55 and Brad Richardson #15 of the Arizona Coyotes stand on the blue line before the singing of the national anthem prior to a game against the Boston Bruins at Gila River Arena on October 05, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 05: Michael Grabner #40, Vinnie Hinostroza #13, Oliver Ekman-Larsson #23, Jason Demers #55 and Brad Richardson #15 of the Arizona Coyotes stand on the blue line before the singing of the national anthem prior to a game against the Boston Bruins at Gila River Arena on October 05, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

It is a crucial Pacific Division matchup for the Vegas Golden Knights who face the Arizona Coyotes on the road tonight at Gila River Arena – 7:00 p.m. PT.

For the Vegas Golden Knights tonight will all be about bouncing back after they dropped their first game of the year to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, after previously opening the 2019-20 NHL regular season with back-to-back wins over the San Jose Sharks.

They are 2-1-0 to start the year and they will be looking to take advantage of an Arizona team who haven’t got going yet this season, scoring just one goal in two games where they have a record of 0-2-0.

Phil Kessel, the Coyotes’ big off-season acquisition, has yet to score although he has one assist after tallying a primary helper on Derek Stepan‘s first goal of the year in the season opener against the Anaheim Ducks.

The Coyotes do have offensive talent in Clayton Keller, the 7th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, and the likes of Derek Stepan, Nick Schmaltz, Michael Grabner and Vinnie Hinostroza can provide an offensive punch.

However, it is on the blueline where Arizona are arguably at their strongest with captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson and veteran Niklas Hjalmarsson leading the defensive core, and they are supported by the likes of Jordan Oesterle, Jakob Chychrun and Alex Goligoski.

GLENDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 05: Clayton Keller #9 of the Arizona Coyotes skates the puck up ice against the Boston Bruins at Gila River Arena on October 05, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 05: Clayton Keller #9 of the Arizona Coyotes skates the puck up ice against the Boston Bruins at Gila River Arena on October 05, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images) /

They are also deep in goal with Darcy Kuemper who has emerged as the No. 1 goalie for the Coyotes, and the 29-year-old has started both games for Arizona so far.

Overall, the Coyotes boast a lot of speed and skill and that will be what they have to focus on tonight if they are going to pick up their first win of the season. Vegas are an elite team and they can beat up on people, so Arizona are going to need their big hitters to show up.

We teamed up with our good friends at Howlin’ Hockey ahead of tonight’s Pacific Division matchup, with Jimmy Lynch giving us the following scouting report on the Arizona Coyotes:

"“The Arizona Coyotes have only played two games thus far this season. Having had no games since Saturday, the Coyotes are hungry for a new opponent. The Yotes have played well throughout the first two games but have no wins to show for it, due to an inability to score goals. Our top line of Phil Kessel, Derek Stepan and Clayton Keller is the line to watch out of Arizona. If they get rolling Vegas will be in trouble. Arizona has not yet registered a Power Play goal so don’t expect our PP to give much of a threat to Vegas. Our bread and butter is our defensive play, with players like Niklas Hjalmarsson and Oliver Ekman-Larsson leading the blue line. Vegas is going to want to take advantage of any opportunity they get in the offensive zone.”"

That will be the key for the Golden Knights tonight; try to break down what is a very stubborn and organized Arizona defense, while putting the shackles on Phil Kessel and the Coyotes’ other offensive threats.

Next. Knights at Coyotes: All the info you need. dark

Arizona have called up their No. 5 overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft in Barrett Hayton, who will make his NHL debut against the Golden Knights and he is expected to get significant time on the power play.

While they haven’t won a game yet in 2019-20, the Arizona Coyotes have actually performed well through the two games they have played and they will be extra motivated to pick up the W in-front of their home crowd, and the Vegas Golden Knights are going to have to be wary of that.

Home/Analysis