Yotes Notes: Yotes Wagon Rolling & Ingram’s First Star

The Arizona Coyotes Wagon just rolled right over the past six Stanley Cup champions.

Arizona defeated the 2018 champion Washington Capitals on Monday, finishing a streak in which they also recorded wins over the Vegas Golden Knights (2023 champs), Colorado Avalanche (2022), Tampa Bay Lightning (2021, 2020), and St. Louis Blues (2019).

That’s one heck of a way to win five straight, and it has been a collective effort.

Goalie Connor Ingram has been stellar, beginning with a 2-0 win over the defending champion Golden Knights on Nov. 25. The 26-year-old earned NHL First Star of the Week honors on Monday, and he leads the league in wins (5), shots against (154), saves (149), save percentage (.968), goals-against average (.99), shutouts (2), and points (1) over that span.

That’s only the beginning.

Alex Kerfoot has recorded two consecutive three-point games; Michael Carcone leads the team with 12 goals, leads the league in shooting percentage (35.3), and has scored in four straight games; Clayton Keller recorded three primary assists in the same game for the first time in his career; Nick Schmaltz has recorded a power-play goal in three straight games and has scored four goals in his last three games; and Michael Kesselring has recorded a point in four straight games. 

That’s quite a streak.

Arizona gets right back to it on Thursday, closing out its five-game homestand against the Philadelphia Flyers before hitting the road to play three games at Boston, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh.

On to the show!

The Week in Review

Thursday, Nov. 30 | vs. Colorado | 4-3 win (OT)
Stats | The Wrap

The Coyotes topped the Central Division-leading Avalanche in a thrilling overtime win behind goals from Travis Boyd, Nick Schmaltz, Michael Carcone, and Nick Bjugstad, who’s overtime winner sealed the Desert Dogs’ third straight victory.
 
The win gave Arizona its best record 22-game record since the 2019-20 season, and the Coyotes battled back from two separate one-goal deficits to ultimately come out on top. The two teams meet three more times this season: Dec. 23 and Feb. 18 in Denver, and Dec. 27 at Mullett Arena.

Saturday, Dec. 2 | vs. St. Louis | 4-1 win
Stats | The Wrap

The Coyotes continued their scoring ways against the Blues on Saturday, earning a season split against St. Louis behind three first-period goals from Michael Carcone, Nick Schmaltz, and Matias Maccelli. Brandon Saad brought the Blues to within two goals midway through the third, but Kerfoot’s empty-netter with 1:15 remaining in the game sealed the win.

It was much of the same from Ingram, who stopped 31 of 32 shots against the 2022 Stanley Cup champs. It marked his fourth straight win (he wasn’t done yet, though), and the penalty kill got back to perfection, killing off all three Colorado opportunities.

Monday, Dec. 4 | vs. Washington | 6-0 Win
Stats | The Wrap

Arizona’s last game during its run of facing the last six Stanley Cup winners couldn’t have ended any better, with Ingram pitching his second shutout of the season while the Coyotes scored five goals in the first period to take early control of the game.

Schmaltz scored twice, Logan Cooley, Carcone, Jason Zucker, and Bjugstad each added goals, while both Kerfoot and Keller notched three points in the win. The Coyotes’ penalty kill was perfect on yet another night, killing off all four opportunities against them, while the power play potted two goals, finishing 2-for-4 on the evening.

The Coyotes and Capitals play once more this season, on March 3 in Washington.

Down on the Farm

Tucson Roadrunners (12-6-1-1, 4th Place, Pacific Division)
-    2-0-0-0 Last Week
-    Dec. 1: vs. San Jose Barracuda, 5-1 Win
-    Dec. 2: vs. San Jose Barracuda, 7-5 Win

The Roadrunners carried over their winning ways into December, sweeping their two-game series against San Jose in Tucson. Forward Travis Barron recorded the team’s first hat trick of the season in Saturday’s 7-5 win, and Tucson scored four goals in the first period of both games against the Barracuda.

Josh Doan scored twice in the Roadrunners’ 5-1 win on Friday, along with Zach Sanford, Barron, and Victor Söderström. Tucson is now 5-1-1-0 over its last seven games.

Team Leaders
•    Points: Guenther (17)
•    Goals: Doan (9)
•    Assists: Guenther (11)
•    GAA: Villalta (2.34)
•    SV%: Villalta (.926)

Geekie continues to develop at an impressive pace and has recorded three consecutive four-point games, including a four-goal performance on Saturday against the Portland Winterhawks. The 19-year-old made Team Canada’s roster invitation list for the 2024 World Junior Championship, and is on pace for an eye-popping 50 goals and 73 assists this season. He was named the WHL's Player of the Week on Monday.

The 6-foot-3 forward is more than halfway to his point total of 77 last season, which took him 66 games to achieve with the then-Winnipeg ICE. He’s played in 25 this year, and continues to progress following his selection at the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal.

The Sweet Spot

Nov 30: Nick Bjugstad is awarded the game ball after he scored the overtime winner against the Avalanche.

Bear's Necessities

"I think it’s a testimony of the character and what kind of a care level we have in that room. I think our guys, they really tuned in, and the way we played the last three games, not just the result, but the urgency we have, and the focus level we have, it’s unbelievable. – André Tourigny following Arizonas 4-3 overtime win over the Colorado Avalanche.

What to Watch For

Thursday, Dec. 7 vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 7 pm MST
The Coyotes wrap up their five-game homestand against the Flyers, marking the first time the two teams meet this season. Philly is third in the Metropolitan Division at 13-10-2, and is coming off back-to-back wins over the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-3 in a shootout and 2-1 in overtime.

The Flyers are led by Travis Konecny’s 19 points and 12 goals, while Travis Sanheim’s 15 assists are tops. Carter Hart and Samuel Ersson have split time in net, with the former posting a 7-6-1 record, 2.55 goals-against average and .913 save percentage, while the latter is 5-3-1 with a 2.78 GAA and .885 SV%. Ersson won the first game against Pittsburgh on Saturday, while Hart picked up the victory on Monday on the backend of the home-and-home series.

The Flyers rank 22nd in the league with 2.88 goals per game, but play a strong defensive game, allowing the ninth-fewest goals at 2.80. Their power play has struggled at times this season, ranking 28th with a 12.20 percent success rate, but their penalty kill is seventh at 85.37 percent. Philly has allowed just one power-play goal over its last eight games.

The Coyotes and Flyers meet once more this season, on Feb. 12 at Mullett Arena.

TV: Scripps Sports (Antenna: 61.1 Phoenix, 9.2 Tucson | Cable: DirecTV 61, Dish 61, Cox 95 Phoenix, Cox 85/Comcast 1179 Tucson) | Radio: ESPN 620

Saturday, Dec. 9 vs. at Boston Bruins, 11 am MST
Arizona kicks off a three-game road trip with a Saturday matinee against the Bruins, who are in a three-way tie for the league’s best point total with 37 (17-4-3). The Bruins have proven to be one of the top teams in the league yet again this season, and are even more lethal at home, posting a 9-1-1 record at TD Garden.

Boston has won three straight games and hosts the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday before Saturday’s game against the Coyotes. Their current streak is the third time the Bruins have won at least three consecutive games, as they won three straight from Oct. 28 – Nov. 2, and six straight to open the season from Oct. 11 – Oct. 24.

Boston features one of the most potent offenses in the game today with names like David Pastrnak (36 points), Brad Marchand (23), Charlie Coyle (20), Pavel Zacha (19), and Charlie McAvoy (17), and ranks 10th in the league right now with 3.33 goals per game. Its defense has been even stronger, ranking third with 2.46 goals allowed per game, with Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark both posting eye-popping numbers. Swayman is 9-1-2 with a 2.08 GAA and .932 SV%, while Ullmark is 8-3-1 with a 2.65 GAA and .918 SV%.

Swayman is second in the league in save percentage (Ullmark ranks ninth), third in goals-against average, and fourth in goals saved above average.

Boston’s special teams have also been playing well, as its penalty kill is second-best with an 89.01 success rate, while its power play converts on 22.78 percent of its chances, which ranks 10th.

The Coyotes and Bruins meet once more this season, on Jan. 9 at Mullett Arena.

TV: Scripps Sports (Antenna: 61.1 Phoenix, 9.2 Tucson | Cable: DirecTV 61, Dish 61, Cox 95 Phoenix, Cox 85/Comcast 1179 Tucson) | Radio: 98.7 FM Arizona Sports (subject to change)