The Preds head south to take on the Arizona Coyotes this afternoon. The two teams are in the middle of the Central Division, but there’s a much bigger gap between the Preds and the Coyotes than the Coyotes and the two teams right behind them. If the Coyotes are looking for a win–and since the league has yet to implement gold drafting, they are–those standings points would be a great motivator.
Clayton Keller holds the team lead in points with 39. He’s tied for the lead in goals (17) with Lawson Crouse, and in assists (22) with Matias Maccelli, who’s second in points with 29. Nick Schmaltz rounds out the top three in points (as well as making some great defensive contributions), with Crouse and several others right behind.
Connor Ingram is having a great year in goal. His .918 sv% on the season is well above league average, and he hasn’t exactly had a light workload. The Coyotes have been only a little worse than average defensively at even strength, but despite an awful penalty kill they don’t actually give up that many goals while shorthanded.
Offensively, they’ve had great luck, with a successful power play that also doesn’t look good on paper, and good shooting luck at even strength as well. They may struggle to get to the front of the net, but they’re still outperforming expectations.
Keep an eye on Jack McBain today. The 24-year-old forward only has 12 points on the season, though he’s done it in just 28 games, but he’s one of the team’s best at controlling puck movement when he’s on the ice, and one of the few positive xG-share players at all. Young defender JJ Moser might also be worth watching, for similar reasons.
The game airs at 2PM Central on Bally Sports South and 102.5 The Game.
Statistics from naturalstattrick.com. Additional background from hockeyviz.com.