Preview: Coyotes Wrap Up Road Trip in Detroit on Thursday

March 14, 2024 | 4 pm MST | Little Caesar’s Arena, Detroit, Mich.
TV: Arizona 61 | Radio: Stream Only (Arizona Coyotes, Arizona Sports, NHL apps)

DETROIT -- The Arizona Coyotes are set to wrap up their three-game road trip on Thursday, facing the Detroit Red Wings for the second-and-final time this season.

Arizona won the first matchup 4-0 at Mullett Arena on March 8 behind a 28-save effort from Connor Ingram, as well as goals from Jack McBain, Logan Cooley, Alex Kerfoot, and Nick Bjugstad.

“It will be a good test for the maturity of our team,” head coach André Tourigny said. “We played a really good game against them last week, but I think everybody knows what happened in their practice yesterday, they will be pretty fired up.

“If you look at the standings, they will be a desperate team. We will get their absolute best effort.”

Bjugstad has three goals over his last four games, and has 16 goals and 19 assists in 65 games this season. The 31-year-old has played 129 games with the Coyotes, registering 58 points over that span.

Clayton Keller has scored three goals over his last four games as well, including a two-goal performance in Chicago on Sunday. He has recorded seven goals and five assists in 10 career games against the Red Wings.

“They’re going to come out strong, they’re fighting for a playoff spot,” Keller said. “We have to be ready right from the puck drop, go at them, and use our strengths, our speed, and go from there.”

Goalie Connor Ingram is expected to get the start tonight, and is tied with Tristan Jarry for the league lead with six shutouts. He is 2-0-0 with a 1.44 goals-against average and .956 save percentage in his career against Detroit.

Player to Watch: Nick Schmaltz has one goal and four assists over his last four games, and nine points in eight career games against Detroit.

ABOUT THE RED WINGS
Detroit remains in the Western Conference’s Wild Card hunt, tied with the New York Islanders for the second position, though New York has a game in hand.

The Red Wings have dropped six consecutive games.

Captain Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat are tied for the team scoring lead with 54 points each, but Larkin remains sidelined with an injury that is expected to keep him out for at least another week. Lucas Raymond (53), Shayne Gostisbehere (42), and Daniel Sprong (39) are close behind. Gostsibehere spent two seasons in Arizona, amassing 24 goals and 58 assists in 134 games with the Coyotes.

Sprong will also be out for tonight’s game, replaced by Austin Czarnik. The 31-year-old Detroit native has one assist in 18 games with the Red Wings this season.

“What’s important for us is to progress as a team,” Tourigny said. “I talk about our maturity, our game management. Make sure, tonight, that we’re ready for that kind of a test.”

Alex Lyon has made the most appearances in net this season, posting an 18-13-2 record with two shutouts, a 3.03 GAA and .905 SV%. James Reimer is 6-7-2 with a 3.09 GAA and .903 SV% this season.

Lyon was in net when the Coyotes and Red Wings faced each other last week, and has played six of Detroit’s last seven games. He is 0-1-0 in his carer against the Coyotes.

“We know it will be different than that game in Mullett,” Tourigny said. “There will be more desperation, more drive, more physicality from them. We need to be ready and able to deal with that.”

Detroit has one of the top offenses in the league, ranking sixth with 3.42 goals-for per game, but the Wings do allow the 10th-most goals, at 3.35. Their power play also ranks 10th (23.04), while their 80.69 percent penalty kill is 11th-best.

Player to Watch: DeBrincat has just one point over his last five games, but historically has fared very well against the Coyotes, recording six goals and nine assists in 16 games against them.