Arizona Coyotes vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, December 12, 2016
Where: PPG PAINTS Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

TV: 7 p.m. ET, TVAS, FSN Arizona, ROOT (Pittsburgh)
PREDICTION: Penguins 5, Coyotes 2

Oddsmakers currently have the Penguins listed as 340-moneyline favorites versus the Coyotes, while the game’s total is sitting at 5½.

PITTSBURGH — Both teams are coming off meaningful wins Saturday night, but the Pittsburgh Penguins and Arizona Coyotes are in markedly different places going into their game on Monday at PPG Paints Arena.

The Penguins staged yet another comeback for their season-high fifth win in a row, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in Tampa, Fla., and are near the top of the NHL standings.

The Coyotes broke a season-long six-game losing streak (0-4-2) with a 4-1 win over Nashville but remain near the bottom of the league standings.

Pittsburgh has a fully healthy roster and is getting great production from its stars. Sidney Crosby leads the league with 20 goals (in 22 games) and, with 31 points, is an early challenger for the Art Ross Trophy. Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel are on Crosby’s heels with 30 points each.

Crosby and Malkin each scored twice and Kessel and Kris Letang each had three assists Saturday, when the Penguins overcame a two-goal deficit for the 14th time in Mike Sullivan’s 51 wins since he took over as coach a year ago Monday.

It was also the league-leading sixth time Pittsburgh has won when trailing after two periods.

“We shouldn’t make a habit of (falling behind), but we believe we can score when we’re playing the right way,” Crosby said.

Pittsburgh was 5-5-1 in its 11 games before this winning streak, which has the players feeling nearly invincible.

“We have lots of confidence,” Malkin said. “We know we can score two, three goals if we’re losing after the second. We have a good feeling. We come back to the ice and it doesn’t matter. Play our hockey.”

That’s easier with an intact club. The Penguins have lost several players to injury for periods of time, including Crosby, Letang, Patric Hornqvist, Chris Kunitz and Matt Murray, the young goalie who seems likely to start Monday. Now they are at a point where it is just a matter of determining who will be healthy scratches.

“To have a full complement of players makes our decisions difficult, but they’re good challenges to have,” Sullivan said.

Arizona has different challenges.

Winger Max Domi, second on the team with 16 points, is out on what the club calls a week-to-week basis because of an upper-body injury.

“He was coming around after a bit of a slow start, but he creates a lot of chances,” Coyotes coach Dave Tippett told the Arizona Republic. “He’s an impact player, so when you lose a guy like that, it’s opportunity for other guys. But when you lose top players like that, you have to overcome it.”

The Coyotes did that Saturday with a lot of help from their youth.

Rookies Laurent Dauphin (one goal), Brendan Perlini (one goal), Lawson Crouse (one assist), Jakob Chychrun (one assist) and Tyler Gaudet (one assist) combined for five points.

“That’s we’re hoping for,” Tippett said. “We need to get these young players up and going, as well as have our veterans kind of lead the charge for us.”

Still, the Coyotes are trying to sort things out with their lineup, particularly in search of offense. Their win Saturday marked their first time scoring four goals in more than a month. They made Anthony Duclair and Michael Stone, normally regulars, healthy scratches against the Predators.

Before Domi got hurt, Arizona lost center Brad Richardson for an extended time because of two broken leg bones.

At least partly in response to that, the Coyotes acquired Peter Holland in a trade with Toronto last week and on Sunday claimed Josh Jooris off waivers from the Rangers. Both could make their Arizona debut against Pittsburgh.

The post Arizona vs. Pittsburgh Odds & Prediction appeared first on IdealCapper.

Calgary Flames vs Arizona Coyotes
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 8, 2016
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona

TV: 9 p.m. ET, Sportsnet (Calgary), FSN Arizona
PREDICTION: Flames 4, Coyotes 2

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Calgary Flames are on a four-game winning streak, and they won seven of their past 10 (7-2-1).

The Arizona Coyotes are on a five-game losing streak, and they dropped 10 of their past 13 (3-6-4).

Why the disparity in play? Sometimes, the simplest explanation is the best.

“For me, it’s been three things,” Flames general manager Brad Treliving said Wednesday as the team took part in an off-ice workout at Gila River Arena. “We’re getting stops from our goalie, our top guys have been excellent and in this little run we’re on, I think our power play is top 10 in the league and our PK (penalty kill) is like fifth. It really is that simple.”

Calgary (14-13-2) opened the season at 5-10-1, and the struggles were compounded by left winger Johnny Gaudreau’s broken pinkie, which forced him to miss 10 games.

Even before Gaudreau returned to the lineup on Sunday, however, the Flames were getting big contributions from center Sean Monahan (three goals, seven points in his last five games), goalie Chad Johnson (9-2 with a .931 save percentage since assuming the starting goaltending duties from Brian Elliott) and others.

Gaudreau has two goals and four points in the two games since his return, and the Flames are rolling.

“I think we did a good job through the time Johnny wasn’t here in establishing a base of play,” Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said. “Now that we get an offensive catalyst like Johnny in the mix, it just gives us a few more chances every game.”

The Coyotes (8-13-4) owns the second-lowest point total in the NHL. Arizona scored more than two goals just three times in its last 13 games.

“It’s the lack of good plays being made,” Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. “Usually the top players on your team make good plays, whether it’s on the power play or creating chances. We’re not getting enough of those made. Then you look at some grind plays; should be able to grind some chances out. Not getting enough of those plays. Just not creating enough offense.”

Of Arizona’s 25 games this season, 17 were decided by one goal, leading Tippett to believe his team is close to breaking through. However, Arizona is also being outshot 35.1 to 28.2 on a per-game average. Only goalie Mike Smith (.924 save percentage) is saving the Coyotes from a worse fate on a nightly basis.

“We have to do a better job helping Smitty out,” Arizona defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson said.

On Thursday, Smith is expected to start in goal for the Coyotes for the 10th time since returning from a left leg injury on Nov. 16. Smith has stopped 301 of 324 shots over that stretch for a .929 save percentage. Center Brad Richardson is out indefinitely with a broken tibia and fibula he sustained on Nov. 17 at Vancouver.

Johnson is expected to start in goal for the Flames. Left winger Lance Bouma is still out of the lineup due to a shoulder injury.

The post Calgary Flames vs Arizona Coyotes Odds & Prediction appeared first on IdealCapper.

Arizona Coyotes vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, December 5, 2016
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona, FSN Ohio (Columbus)
PREDICTION: Blue Jackets 4, Coyotes 1

The Blue Jackets have lost in regulation just once in their last 11 contests and own the second-best goal differential in the league at plus-21 as they’ve vaulted into third place in the Metropolitan Division — trailing Pittsburgh for second by only one point. Saturday’s setback was the third in a row (0-1-2) for the Coyotes, who carry a five-game road point streak (2-0-3) into Monday’s rematch. Arizona wouldn’t have notched the point on Saturday without a stellar effort by Mike Smith, who etched his name in the franchise record book by making a career-high 58 saves. “He was phenomenal,” Columbus counterpart Curtis McElhinney told reporters. “Unbelievable, especially in the overtime to keep his team alive was something else. We were trading saves in the overtime. He was making them, so I had to hold up my end too.”

ABOUT THE COYOTES (8-11-4): Brendan Perlini could make his NHL debut in Columbus after being recalled from Tucson of the American Hockey League on Sunday. A native of Great Britain who was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2014 draft, the 20-year-old left wing has registered 11 goals and five assists in 16 games with the Roadrunners this season. Arizona also demoted a pair of 21-year-old players, assigning center Laurent Dauphin (one goal, one assist in 18 games) and defenseman Anthony DeAngelo (two, five in 11) to Tucson.

ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (14-5-4): Matt Calvert returned to the lineup Saturday, as he was activated from injured reserve after missing five contests with an upper-body injury. The 26-year-old left wing’s offensive struggles continued, however, as he was kept off the scoresheet for the 15th time in 18 games this season. Alexander Wennberg scored a goal and captain Nick Foligno notched an assist in Saturday’s victory to forge a three-way tie with Cam Atkinson for the team lead of 21 points.

OVERTIME

1. Coyotes captain Shane Doan’s next goal will be the 400th of his career, making him the 93rd player in NHL history to reach the plateau.

2. Columbus, which has the fewest regulation losses (five) in the league, set a franchise record Saturday by registering 60 shots on goal.

3. Arizona RW Radim Vrbata, who leads the team in goals (eight) and points (17), is riding a five-game scoring streak during which he has collected two tallies and three assists.

The post Arizona vs. Columbus Odds & Prediction appeared first on IdealCapper.