About the Coyotes - 03-05-12
A preview of the Coyotes.
When and where: 7 p.m., EST. Consol Energy Center.
TV: Root Sports, Fox Sports Arizona.
Record: 33-23-9, 75 points. The Coyotes are in third place in the Western Conference and first place in the Pacific Division.
Leading Scorer: Ray Whitney (right), 59 points (20 goals, 39 assists).
Last Game: 5-2 home loss to the Blue Jackts, Saturday. Shane Doan recorded two assists for the Coyotes.
Last Game against the Penguins: 6-1 road loss Dec. 20, 2010. Evgeni Malkin had two goals and three assists for the Penguins.
Coyotes Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Ray Whitney. A first-ballot hall-of-fame Penguins killer, Whitney has 47 career points in 43 games against the Penguins.
Ex-Penguins on the Coyotes: Paul Bissonnette, LW; Michal Rozsival, D; Dave Tippett, head coach.
Ex-Coyotes/Jets on the Penguins: Brent Johnson, G; Zbynek Michalek, D; Todd Reirden, assistant coach.
Useless Jets/Coyotes Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Tippett (2010), a former center, is one of three former Penguins players who have won the Jack Adams Award as the league's top coach. The others are left wingers Ted Nolan (1997) and Glen Sather (1986).
Best Jets/Coyotes Video We Could Find: Coyotes captain Shane Doan, then of the Jets, fighting Penguins defenseman Ian Moran in Feb. 16, 1996:
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Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (34-14-3, 2.32 GAA, .914 SV%) for the Penguins and Mike Smith (29-16-7, 2.29 GAA; .925 SV%) for the Coyotes.
Injuries: For the Penguins, center Tyler Kennedy (ankle) is a game-time decision. Defenseman Deryk Engelland ("lower body") and goaltender Brent Johnson (undisclosed) are day to day. Center Dustin Jeffrey (illness) and defenseman Kris Letang (head) is out. Centers Sidney Crosby (head/neck) is on injured reserve. For the Coyotes, defensemen Rostislav Klesla ("upper body"), David Schlemko ("lower body") and center Kyle Chipchura ("upper body") are on injured reserve. Defenseman Derek Morris (family) is on a leave of absence.
Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins primary lines at today's morning skate were: (PG+)
Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Steve Sullivan - Jordan Staal - Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke - Joe Vitale - Tyler Kennedy
Richard Park - Craig Adams - Arron Asham
-Based on injuries and the recall of Brian Strait today, consider this a guess at the Penguins' defensive pairings: (PG+)
Brooks Orpik - Zbynek Michalek
Matt Niskanen - Paul Martin
Brian Strait - Ben Lovejoy
-The Coyotes primary lines and defensive pairings at today's morning skate were:
Ray Whitney - Martin Hanzal - Radim Vrbata
Lauri Korpikoski - Antoine Vermette - Shane Doan
Raffi Torres - Daymond Langkow - Gilbert Brule
Taylor Pyatt - Boyd Gordon - Mikkel Boedkker
Michal Rozsival - Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Keith Yandle - Adrian Aucoin
Chris Summers - David Rundblad
Notes:
-The last time the Penguins played the Coyotes, this happened:
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-This too:
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-Neal has 199 career points and 96 career assists.
-Malkin has 498 career points and 196 career goals.
-"He’s a good player. I’ve always liked “Nealer.” He has a great attitude. He was a young player that was really hungry to learn and enthusiastic to learn. There’s a lot of players in this league that envy Nealer’s position because … he comes in and play with Malkin. That’s a great spot to be in. But the thing that makes Nealer special is that there’s a lot of players to that get that opportunity, there’s not many that take advantage of it. Nealer’s taken advantage of it." - Tippett on Neal. Tippett coached Neal Dallas during his rookie season of 2008-09.
-"He’s kind of what I call a ‘today’s game’ player where he thinks the game very well, moves the puck well. I think the expectations being a first-round pick in Dallas maybe got a little out of whack after his early success. Sometimes a change like that brings out the best in a player. I’m a fan of his. I think he’s a smart player. I don’t think he’s a front-line player for your defense but a very good compliment player." - Tippett on Niskanen." - Tippett also coached Niskanen his first two seasons of 2007-08 and 2008-09.
-Kennedy has 146 career points.
-Vrbata has 199 career assists.
-Langkow has 397 career assists.
-Our live blog begins at approximately 6 p.m. Please tune in.
(Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)