Preview: Coyotes Face Blue Jackets in Columbus on Thursday

Nov. 16, 2023 | 5:00 pm MST | Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio

WHERE TO WATCH:
• Antenna: 15.2 Phoenix, 9.2 Tucson, 15.2 Cottonwood/Prescott/Flagstaff/Lake Havasu/Kingman
• Phoenix Cable: Cox 95, Orbitel 200, Mediacom 107 (Pinal County)
• Tucson Cable: Cox 85, Xfinity 1179, Orbitel 208
• Flagstaff: American Cable channel 4
• Sedona: Optimum Cable channel 6
• Prescott: Cable One Prescott channel 61
WHERE TO LISTEN:
• Radio: Stream Only -- Arizona Coyotes App; NHL mobile App

The Arizona Coyotes travel to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets on Thursday, set to kick off the fourth game in a five-game road trip. Thursday’s game marks the first meeting this season between the two teams, who play once more at Mullett Arena on March 26.

Arizona won both games last year, 6-3 and 3-2 in overtime.

The Coyotes are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to the Central Division-leading Dallas Stars on Tuesday, rallying from a late one-goal deficit to take a brief lead before the Stars forced overtime. Clayton Keller notched his team-leading seventh goal in the game, and is on a four-game point streak, having recorded three goals and four assists over that span.

Arizona’s power play continues to dazzle, as it was 1-for-2 against the Stars and ranks fifth in the league with a 29.82 success rate.

The Coyotes are dealing with a few injuries on the blue line, as defensemen Travis Dermott and Juuso Välimäki are both sidelined with upper-body injuries.

Though Thursday’s lineup was not yet available prior to posting, both Michael Kesselring and Vladislav Kolyachonok have been recalled from the Tucson Roadrunners, and will be available to play tonight.

Goalie Connor Ingram is expected to get the start tonight, and the 26-year-old is 5-1-0 with a 2.87 goals-against average and .911 save percentage this season. He’s 2-0-0 against Columbus, and is just one win away from matching his total from all of last season (6-13-8).

Player to Watch: Forward Travis Boyd is playing in an elevated role as Jack McBain continues to recover from a lower-body injury, and the 30-year-old forward has had success against Columbus in the past: In seven games against them, he’s recorded five points on two goals and three assists.

ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS
Columbus is 0-4-2 in its last six games and looks to get back in the win column following its most recent 5-3 defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. Though the Blue Jackets are currently in last place in the Metropolitan Division, they bring plenty of offensive firepower to the table, led by Boone Jenner, Adam Fantilli, Kirill Marchenko, Zach Werenski, and Ivan Provorov, who have nine points each.

Between the pipes, Elvis Merzlikins and Spencer Martin have split duties thus far, with the former posting a 3-4-3 record with a 3.24 GAA and .901 SV%, while the latter is 1-4-1 with a 3.26 GAA and .905 SV%. Merzlikins is expected to get the nod tonight, and the 29-year-old is 2-0-1 with a 2.87 GAA and .898 SV% in his career against the Coyotes.

The Blue Jackets rank 26th in the league with 2.75 goals-for per game, and allow the sixth-most at 3.56. They rank 27th with a 12 percent power-play success rate, but their penalty kill has been much more stingy this season, posting the league’s third-best success rate at 89.36.

Player to Watch: Columbus brings plenty of talent to the ice, but keep an eye on rookie Adam Fantilli, who some project to be the NHL’s top rookie this season. The 19-year-old has four goals and five assists in 16 games this season, recording three points over his last four games.