Preview: Coyotes Host Islanders in Second Game of Homestand

Jan. 4, 2024 | 7:00 pm MST | Mullet Arena, Tempe, Ariz.

WHERE TO WATCH:
• Antenna: 61.1 Phoenix, 9.2 Tucson
• Phoenix Cable: Cox 95
• Phoenix Satellite: DirecTV Channel 61, Dish Network Channel 61
• Bullhead City / Lake Havasu: Optimum channel 6
• Flagstaff: American Cable channel 4, Optimum Cable channel 6
• Maricopa: Orbitel channel 11
• Pinal County: Mediacom channel 13
• Prescott: Sparklight channel 61
• Sedona: Optimum Cable channel 6
• Show Low / Winslow Sparklight channel 61
• Tucson: Cox channel 85, Xfinity channel 1179, Orbitel channel 208

WHERE TO LISTEN:
• Radio: ESPN 620
• Stream: Arizona Coyotes App, NHL Mobile App

The Arizona Coyotes are set to host the New York Islanders at Mullett Arena on Thursday, marking the second-and-final time the two will meet this season. New York won the first meeting 1-0 on Oct. 17.

The Coyotes most recently dropped a 4-1 game to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, but have won six of their last eight games overall, and will still play their next four games within the friendly confines of Mullett Arena, including Thursday's tilt.

Arizona will play 12 games over the next 24 days, and is right in the mix of the Wild Card race, one point ahead of both the Edmonton Oilers and Seattle Kraken for the Western Conference’s second spot.

“This is a big stretch for us, we know that, obviously it’s really tight,” forward Jack McBain said. “We have to make a good push to position ourselves well.”

Forward Alex Kerfoot has 17 points over his last 16 games, and recorded a shorthanded goal against the Panthers on Tuesday. The 29-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Coyotes last July, and has become an integral part of the team’s top line while Barrett Hayton continues to recover from an upper-body injury, centering the line between Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz.

Goalie Connor Ingram is expected to get the start tonight after most recently posting a 2-0 shutout against the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 29. He has won three of his last four games, and is tied with Pittsburgh’s Tristan Jarry with four shutouts on the year.

He has never faced the Islanders, and four of his five career shutouts have come in his first appearance against the team (Tampa Bay, Vegas, Washington, and San Jose).

Arizona ranks 19th in goals per game, averaging 3.03, while allowing the 10th-fewest at 2.86 per game. The Coyotes’ power play ranks 11th with a 22.88 percent conversion rate while they have killed off 79.46 percent of their penalties taken, which ranks 19th.

Player to Watch: Forward Matias Maccelli has the second-most points at home this season, and has an assist in three games against the Islanders.

ABOUT THE ISLANDERS
New York’s 17-10-10 record puts them third in the Metropolitan Division, one point ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers. The Islanders most recently dropped a 5-4 game in overtime to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, and have dropped two straight and three of their last four.

Mathew Barzal’s 37 points lead the way, while Noah Dobson (36), Bo Horvat (35), and Brock Nelson (32) are close behind. Barzal scored the only goal when the two teams met back in October, and goalie Ilya Sorokin made 14 stops to earn the shutout.

“They’re obviously a good team, they play a tough style of hockey,” McBain said. “It’s going to be a good test for us, and we’ve been playing some good hockey so we just need to keep it going.”

Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov have split time in net this season. The former is 11-6-8 with two shutouts, a 3.19 GAA and .910 SV%, while the latter is 6-4-2 with two shutouts, a 2.78 GAA and .918 SV%.

Sorokin is expected to start tonight’s game after playing in five straight for the Islanders, and is 3-2-0 with a 1.22 GAA and .947 SV% in five career games against the Coyotes.

New York is directly above Arizona when it comes to scoring, ranking 18th with 3.05 goals-for per game. The Islanders allow the 12th-most goals (3.27), while ranking 10th on the power play (23.30) and 29th on the penalty kill (72.81). Their lone goal against Arizona in October came with the man advantage.

Player to Watch: Nelson is coming off a two-point game against the Avs, and leads the team with 17 goals. He has an even eight goals and eight assists in 19 career games against the Coyotes.