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| 6:00 PM PT7:00 PM MT8:00 PM CT9:00 PM ET2:00 GMT10:00 7:00 PM MST9:00 PM EST6:00 UAE (+1)21:00 ETNaN:� BRT, January 19, 2023 Mullett Arena, Tempe, Arizona Attendance: 4,600 |
Seeking first winning streak in nearly a month, Coyotes host Caps
Washington Capitals at Arizona Coyotes
- Arizona won the first meeting with Washington this season, 3-2, at Capital One Arena on November 5. The Capitals have won just three of their last 10 trips to Arizona dating back to the 2008-09 season, but came away with a 2-0 win in Glendale last season.
- Washington went 0-for-3 on the power play in Tuesday's loss to Minnesota, extending its man-advantage drought to a season-long six games. The Caps are 15-4-4 (.739) when scoring a power-play goal, including wins in their last nine such games; they are 9-13-2 (.417) when held without a power-play score.
- Martin Fehervary scored a goal and added an assist in Tuesday's loss and has seven points (4g, 3a) in his last 12 games. He had just two points -- both assists -- in his first 23 games this season despite averaging more ice time (20:24 vs. 18:01).
- Nicklas Backstrom is sitting on 749 career assists, third most among active skaters behind Sidney Crosby (923) and Patrick Kane (770). 278 of those have come on Alex Ovechkin goals, the fourth-highest total by any assister-scorer combo in NHL history.
- Arizona snapped its nine-game losing streak and earned its first victory of 2023 with a shootout win over Detroit on Tuesday. The Coyotes never led in the game and have held the lead for just 40:17 (7.4 percent) in their nine games this month, fewest in the NHL.
- Lawson Crouse assisted on all three Coyotes goals in Tuesday's win, setting a new career high for helpers. Crouse has 27 points (16g, 11a) in 43 games this season, already the second-most in a season in his career (34 points in 65 games last season).
The Arizona Coyotes will look for their first two-game winning streak since December when they face the scuffling Washington Capitals on Thursday night in Tempe, Ariz.
Arizona snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 4-3 shootout win against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. Connor Ingram made 37 saves, Nick Bjugstad had a goal and an assist and Lawson Crouse had three assists.
"We're going to play a full 60 minutes no matter what's going on," Coyotes forward Travis Boyd said after Arizona rallied from third-period, two-goal deficit. "It was a big win for everyone in here. I think we've been playing better than some of the results that we've been getting, so now maybe we can snowball this into a bit of a run."
Boyd and Dylan Guenther also had goals, but scoring remains a problem for the Coyotes. Tuesday marked the first game over their last 10 where they've scored more than three goals, as Arizona was outscored 35-16 during its losing streak.
Clayton Keller tops Arizona with 38 points, including 15 goals, and Crouse leads the way with 16 goals.
Ingram has been a bright spot as of late, compiling a 2.38 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage over his last five games.
"I don't know what else to say, he's been really good," Boyd said. "He kept us in it and made a lot of big saves for us."
The Capitals might also be wishing the calendar still read December. After going 11-2-2 during the final month of 2022 -- despite a lengthy injury list -- Washington has been healthier but less successful in 2023, posting a 3-4-1 record this month.
Veteran forwards Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom have returned from injuries and coach Peter Laviolette essentially has 14 forwards to play 12 spots. Veterans Anthony Mantha, Dylan Strome and Lars Eller have all taken turns as healthy scratches recently.
On Tuesday, the Capitals took an early lead but surrendered three second-period goals in a 4-2 loss to the visiting Minnesota Wild. Martin Fehervary had a goal and an assist, and Alex Ovechkin had two assists for Washington, which has lost three of four.
The Capitals outshot the Wild 36-22 despite playing the second game of a back-to-back set.
"There's not much that I didn't like about it," Laviolette said afterward. "There's things that I thought could be a little bit better, but I thought our guys pressed and played hard the entire night."
The Capitals are in a bit of a scoring slump as well, averaging only 2.2 goals over their past five games. Ovechkin leads Washington with 30 goals but has only one in his past six games.
Washington's power play is struggling as well. The Capitals have gone 0-for-13 over the past six games.
"I don't know, it's tough to say. It's one of those confidence things," forward Marcus Johansson said of the unit, "but I feel like we got two really good groups and we've got to keep working on it and keep getting better at it because it can win games for you. ... So, got to dig in."
--Field Level Media
Updated January 18, 2023
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