Game 59: Montreal Canadiens vs. Arizona Coyotes
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Coyotes region: Scripps Sports
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN
A productive third period for the Arizona Coyotes on January 22 turned an uncomfortable 3-2 lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins into a 5-2 score. It gave the team consecutive wins, and with the Nashville Predators dropping two games in a row, the Coyotes moved to within two points of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, with two games in hand.
That was the latest win Arizona has managed this season. All 12 matches since have ended in losses, a 0-10-2 run. Rather than fighting for a berth in the playoffs, what would have been their first appearance since 2020, they’re now down toward the bottom of the standings, one point behind the Montreal Canadiens in 28th place.
Perhaps the loss of Troy Stecher, their number-three defenceman and top player in terms of plus/minus this season at +7, around the time the losing began was too great to overcome, especially as the Coyotes played several of the league’s top teams during the current losing streak, including Florida, Carolina, Las Vegas, Edmonton, Colorado, Toronto, and Winnipeg. It was a tough test for a team trying to become competitive once again, and one the club was unable to pass.
| Canadiens | Statistics | Coyotes |
|---|---|---|
| 22-28-8 | Record | 23-29-5 |
| 45.1% (29th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 49.0% (22nd) |
| 2.74 (28th) | Goals per game | 2.88 (26th) |
| 3.53 (28th) | Goals against per game | 3.30 (23rd) |
| 19.4% (19th) | PP% | 22.0% (16th) |
| 73.4% (31st) | PK% | 78.0% (21st) |
| 0-1-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 1-0-0 |
Teasing the 4,600 fans attending games at Mullett Arena with a post-season spot wasn’t the only deception the Coyotes were responsible for this year. There was also a time early on when Canadiens fans were looking on in envy as 2022 draft selection Logan Cooley accumulated points while Juraj Slafkovský struggled to find his footing in his sophomore season in the NHL.
While Cooley has maintained the half-point-per-game pace he held in mid-December, Slafkovský has taken off since that time. Playing on a couple of different lines in Montreal, Slafkovský has produced 23 points in the past 29 games, now surpassing Cooley’s point total on the season. Does that mean it can be definitively said that Slafkovský is turning out to be the better player? Not when you’re talking about teenagers cutting their teeth on rebuilding clubs. But the opposite statement that was repeated at the start of the season is rarely spoken now.
Neither player has the upper hand in terms of recent performance coming into tonight’s game at the Bell Centre. Each has been held pointless in the past three games, which is the longest drought for Slafkovský since December 16. An apparent injury to Cole Caufield is having a detrimental effect on the cycle game that has been so strong for the top line, and the power play is also having trouble adjusting to the loss of Sean Monahan. Slafkovský has just a single shot on target in each of the last three contests, when he was generally getting two or three during his eight-game point streak.
Yet offence isn’t the top concern for the Canadiens at the moment. They’ve scored three goals on three occasions during a five-game regulation losing streak, but given up at least four in four of them. It’s been a combination of allowing opposing forwards to stand in front of the net to set screens or tip pucks and poorly executed pinches or transition passes that end up in odd-man rushes against that have been leading to goals, breakdowns in stretches of otherwise good play that lead to high-quality chances. The Coyotes may be one of the bottom 10 teams in terms of expected goals for at even strength this season, but they are in the middle of the pack when it comes to converting high-danger opportunities. The Canadiens will need to stop gifting those to the opposition if they want to put an end to the current skid.
