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The Arizona Coyotes won’t have long to dwell on their Wednesday loss to the Anaheim Ducks, as they return home to face the Montreal Canadiens in Tempe, Ariz., on Thursday.
Two teams that entered the season with lesser expectations, the Coyotes and Canadiens have strung together competitive campaigns so far. They sit on nine and 12 points, good for third and fourth in the Central and Atlantic Divisions, respectively.
For the Canadiens, coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Golden Knights in Las Vegas on Monday, getting their second-line scoring more often is critical as they approach the second game of a three-stop Western Conference road trip.
The members of that second line — Alex Newhook, Josh Anderson and Juraj Slafkovsky — have played 42 minutes together at even strength through nine games but have yet to combine for a goal despite creating 24 scoring chances. Individually, Newhook has three goals, while his linemates have yet to hit the back of the net.
“They’re three players with a lot of assets,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “It’s about finding better balance on the ice in space. As soon as they start with that balance, they’re going to get a lot more shots.”
Although the second line has yet to connect, Montreal’s top players have delivered as advertised, with Cole Caufield registering four goals and 10 points and Sean Monahan scoring a team-high five goals. Canadiens goaltenders Jake Allen and Sam Montembeault have split starts, with the former going 3-0-1 thus far.
As for the Coyotes, they come into Thursday on an offensive high, having scored three or more goals in each of their past four games. That includes an 8-1 drubbing of the Chicago Blackhawks and top pick Connor Bedard on Monday.
After its most recent result, the 4-3 overtime loss in Anaheim on Wednesday, Arizona sits 10th in the NHL’s power-play rankings at 23.7 percent, with Jason Zucker, Clayton Keller and Sean Durzi each having a pair of power-play goals.
In addition, the emergence of Logan Cooley provides a lift to the Coyotes heading into the clash with Montreal, especially after the third overall pick in the 2022 draft scored his first NHL goal against the Ducks.
With the Montreal matchup being his 10th game, the 19-year-old will soon find out whether he will stick with the NHL club for the foreseeable future or be sent down to the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. That first goal may turn out to be vital for the University of Minnesota alumnus, given his status with coach Andre Tourigny just last week when he was benched for part of a game against the Los Angeles Kings.
“He knows exactly what his expectations are,” Tourigny said of speaking with Cooley about reduced minutes. “What I really loved about our conversation was that he told me before I told him so he knew what happened and why it happened. He is a young man who is extremely competitive.”
The Canadiens and Coyotes will conclude their two-game season series in Montreal on Feb. 27. The Canadiens won both matchups last season.
–Field Level Media