Back at home after a seven-game road trip that saw the Vancouver Canucks pick up 11 of a possible 14 points, the team now sets its eyes on the visiting Arizona Coyotes and improving their 14-4-1 record at Rogers Arena.
Thursday’s game will be the first home game since January 2nd when the Canucks beat the Ottawa Senators by a 6-3 count. It will also be the first time that the fans at Rogers Arena have a chance to celebrate the five players as well as head coach Rick Tocchet on their selection to the NHL All-Star Game.
Coming into Vancouver with a 21-18-3 record, the Coyotes currently sit 5th in the Central Division and are just four points out of a wild-card spot. They have slipped a bit since the year changed over – holding a 2-4-1 record in 2024.
The Yotes feasted on Minnesota this past Saturday, picking up a 6-0 win to kick off their three-game road trip. They followed that win up with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night.
We will see a lot of young talent at the top end of the Coyotes lineup. It all starts with Clayton Keller. The 25-year-old winger/centre is 10 points clear of second place on the Coyotes with his 39 points in 42 games this season. Keller has been playing alongside Jack McBain and Nick Schmaltz on their top line and while the trio has only been together for 40 minutes this season, they have shown well in their limited time as a trio.
Arguably, the most exciting player on the Coyotes roster is Logan Cooley. The 19-year-old was selected third overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and is 42 games into his rookie season. Cooley has picked up four goals and added 17 assists in his freshman season.
It may surprise you that the Coyotes have the ninth-ranked power play in the league. They are clicking at 23.5% so far this season and their leading goal scorer while up a man is Nick Schmaltz with seven power play goals -- Clayton Keller is close behind with six.
Sean Durzi is the leading minute man on the defence. He is averaging 22:20 of ice time per game this season and will see time on the first power play unit but he doesn’t do much penalty killing. Of late, Durzi has been paired up with 23-year-old J.J. Moser on their top pairing.
Their top pairing has been strong this season. Durzi and Moser have played 373 minutes of five-on-five as a pairing this season and have been on the ice for 22 goals for and only 16 against.
Quick Hits on the Competition:
- Connor Ingram has gotten the bulk of the starts this season. He’s started 25 of the team’s 42 games while Karel Vejmelka has started 17. Ingram has had a strong first half and boasts a .918% save percentage to go with a 2.52 goals-against average.
- Ingram is tied with Tristan Jarry for the league lead in shutouts with five on the season.
- Keller is the only Coyote with over 100 shots on the season. He has 121 through 42 games.
- Liam O’Brien is the only member of the 100 hits club on the Coyotes. He’s at exactly 100 through 42 games played.
- The Coyotes are the second-worst faceoff team in the league. They currently have a 46.2% win percentage in the dot. The only team that is worse than them in the circle is the Chicago Blackhawks, who are at 44.4% on the year.
- Barrett Hayton is still injured and will not be in the lineup for the Coyotes.
The Canucks are 6-1-0 over their last seven games at Rogers Arena and will look to build on the strong play in their home barn this season.
J.T. Miller is one of five players in the league with 60+ points this season. He’s got an even 20 goals and 40 assists through 44 games. Miller has five goals and 12 assists for 17 points in his last 13 games.
Inching closer and closer to the 60-point club, Elias Pettersson has been on a tear of late and was named the first star of the week by the NHL.
