The Vegas Golden Knights are back in action tonight at T-Mobile Arena as they take on the visiting Arizona Coyotes.
Vegas went 2-2-1 on its recent five-game road trip, suffering two 3-0 shutout losses to Washington and Pittsburgh, defeating Montreal 6-5 and losing and winning in overtime against Philadelphia and Dallas, respectively.
Jack Eichel’s overtime winner against Dallas — as well as Adin Hill’s stellar performance — helped Vegas finish the road trip on a high note. The Golden Knights will look to build on that momentum and get things back on track with their final home game of the month before heading out on a three-game road swing through Western Canada.
The Coyotes (8-9-2) are three points out of the second wildcard seed with three games in hand over Seattle. Arizona alternated wins and losses for most of November, including going 2-2-1 on a five-game road trip of its own, but enters tonight’s game on a three-game losing streak, most recently falling 6-5 to St. Louis on Wednesday.
The Coyotes have not had trouble generating offense this season. The team is ranked 16th in the NHL with 3.21 goals per game, the highest average the Arizona Coyotes have ever generated since the franchise moved to the desert. It’s a small sample size, but this offense is far from anemic.
The Coyotes are in the middle of the pack defensively as well, yielding 3.32 goals against per game, good for 19th overall.
Vegas ranks 14th with 3.30 goals per game while giving up an average of 2.40, which ranks third overall in the league.
Clayton Keller leads the Coyotes in scoring with 18 points (Nick Schmaltz is second with 15), while Lawson Crouse has a team-high nine goals. Nine players have point totals in the double digits, and the Coyotes have been getting offense from throughout the lineup on a consistent basis.
The Golden Knights are 18-8-0 all-time against Arizona and went 2-1-0 in the season series last year.
2022-23 season series recap
Game 18 of 82: Vegas vs. Arizona (4-1 VGK)
After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Alex Pietrangelo converted on the power play to give Vegas a 1-0 lead. William Carrier scored just 31 seconds into the third period, and Mark Stone made it 3-0 just over five minutes later. Keller scored at 11:29, but the Golden Knights took the game 4-1. Pietrangelo had three points.
Game 35 of 82: Vegas vs. Arizona (5-2 VGK)
Once again, neither team lit the lamp in the opening frame, and Vegas got on the board first thanks to Daniil Miromanov. The Coyotes scored 78 seconds later, but Vegas scored four goals in the third period. On the night, Vegas scored twice on the power play and added a shorthanded marker.
Game 48 of 82: Vegas @ Arizona (4-1 ARI)
The Golden Knights were forced to chase all night after giving up a goal just under two minutes into the game. Vegas did the same in the second period and almost did it again in the third, but Logan Thompson came up with a big save. It was a flat and sloppy performance that saw Keller pot a hat trick while Vegas went 1-for-4 on the man-advantage.
Special teams report
Power play
Vegas: 23.2 percent (16-for-69) — 10th overall
Team 2: 26.1 percent (18-for-69) — 6th overall
Penalty kill
Vegas: 85.5 percent (53-for-69) — 8th overall
Team 2: 79.4 percent (54-for-68) — 14th overall
In the crease
Golden Knights
Logan Thompson
Record: 5-2-1
GAA: 2.48
SV%: .920
Coyotes
Connor Ingram
Record: 6-3-0
GAA: 2.94
SV%: .910
Keys to the game
Home sweet home: The Golden Knights are returning from a tough road trip on which they got outscored 16-11. Vegas is 8-1-1 on home ice this season and could use a strong 60-minute effort at T-Mobile Arena, especially before hitting the road for three straight division matchups to close out the month.
Discipline: The Coyotes have the sixth-ranked power play in the NHL; the Golden Knights would be wise to keep Arizona’s man-advantage off the ice. This also extends to puck management, which has been an issue for the Golden Knights throughout the month. Vegas needs to clean things up instead of making things easier for the opposition.
Honorable mention: Chandler Stephenson needs to get his game going. Without his dynamic play and offensive contributions, the Golden Knights are not nearly as effective or threatening.
Projected lineups
Golden Knights
(Based on morning skate)
Ivan Barbashev — Jack Eichel — Jonathan Marchessault
Brett Howden — Chandler Stephenson — Mark Stone
Paul Cotter — William Karlsson — Michael Amadio
William Carrier — Nicolas Roy — Keegan Kolesar
Nicolas Hague — Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb — Zach Whitecloud
Ben Hutton — Brayden Pachal
Logan Thompson
Adin Hill
Coyotes
Clayton Keller — Logan Cooley — Nick Schmaltz
Matias Maccelli — Nick Bjugstad — Lawson Crouse
Michael Carcone — Alex Kerfoot — Jason Zucker
Jan Jenik — Travis Boyd — Liam O’Brien
J.J. Moser — Sean Durzi
Troy Stecher — Michael Kesselring
Vladislav Kolyachonok — Josh Brown
Connor Ingram
Karel Vejmelka
How to watch
Game 21: Golden Knights vs. Coyotes
When: 7 p.m. PT
Where: T-Mobile Arena Arena — Las Vegas, NV
TV: Scripps
Radio: Fox Sports 98.9 FM