Preview: Coyotes Host Canucks on Wednesday at Mullett Arena

April 3, 2024 | 7 pm MST | Mullett Arena, Tempe, Ariz.
TV: Arizona 61 | Radio: ESPN 620

The Arizona Coyotes have two games remaining on their seven-game homestand, set to host the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday. The two teams will meet twice within the span of one week to close out their season series after Vancouver won 2-1 on Jan. 18 at Rogers Arena; They’ll wrap up the series in Vancouver on April 10.

The Coyotes most recently fell 8-5 to the New York Rangers on Saturday, but have won two of three overall and three of their last five. 

Forward Nick Bjugstad is just five points shy of tying his career-best in points, which he set with 49 in the 2017-18 season. The 31-year-old has recorded at least one point in each of his last six games, and has 13 points over his last 12 contests.

“It’s a system that I enjoy playing, and I understand it, and I think that’s important,” Bjugstad said. “Sometimes they’re just going in, and sometimes the stats are there, or they’re not there. When it’s not going in, you’re wondering what’s going on, but as long as you’re getting chances, that’s the biggest thing. For me, right now, I’m getting chances and they just happen to be going in.”

Nick Schmaltz, meanwhile, has recorded multiple points in three straight games, which marks the longest such stretch in his career. He’s also just four points away from setting a new career-high in points for a season, with eight games remaining.

Matias Maccelli has a three-game goal streak, the longest of his career.

Connor Ingram is expected to get the start on Wednesday, and most recently earned a win after stopping 33 of 37 shots faced in an 8-4 win over the Nashville Predators last Thursday. He is 0-1-0 with a 2.04 goals-against average and .923 save percentage in his career against Vancouver.

Player to Watch: Rookie Logan Cooley has been hot as of late, as he has seven points over his last five games. 

ABOUT THE CANUCKS
Vancouver is in the midst of a special season under head coach Rick Tocchet, having already clinched a playoff spot while leading the Pacific Division with 100 points in 74 games.

Vancouver will be playing in the second of back-to-back games after visiting the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, where they fell 6-3.

“We got loose a little bit defensively in some situations, so we want to get back to tightening up our game,” Coyotes head coach André Tourigny said. “Sometimes we’re a little bit behind on our pressure, we need to be a little bit better at covering the middle, so we are working on that, and keep working on our tracking.”

J.T. Miller leads the way with 95 points on 35 goals and 60 assists, while Elias Pettersson (84), Quinn Hughes (84), Brock Boeser (70), and Filip Hronek (46) round out the top five in scoring. Between the pipes, starter Thatcher Demko has not played since sustaining an undisclosed injury on March 9, so Casey DeSmith has taken over starting duties. He’s 11-8-6 with one shutout, a 2.84 goals-against average and .895 save percentage this season, while callup Arturs Silovs is 1-0-0 in his only start this season.

Demko has returned to practice, but he is not expected to be ready to play on Wednesday against the Coyotes. DeSmith started on Tuesday night, so even though lineups were not yet available, it’s likely Arizona will face Silovs.

The Canucks average the sixth-most goals per game (3.44) while allowing the fifth-fewest (2.68). Their power play is 13th in the league at 22.36 percent, and the penalty kill ranks 19th at 79.13 percent.

Player to Watch: Miller has five goals and 16 assists in 21 career games against the Coyotes.