San Jose Sharks (12-21-8) vs. Arizona Coyotes (13-21-5)
The 2022-23 NHL season continues with a ten-game Tuesday slate including the Western Conference showdown between the San Jose Sharks and Arizona Coyotes at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona, with the puck drop at 9:00 PM ET.
San Jose and Arizona lock horns for the second time this season. Back in December, the Sharks outlasted the Coyotes 3-2 as -170 home favorites with a total of 6.0 goals. San Jose is a -130 road fave this time around, while the totals are listed at 6.5 goals.
The San Jose Sharks are coming off Saturday’s 4-2 home loss to the mighty Boston Bruins. It was their fifth defeat in six games and the second straight on the home ice. The Sharks outshot the Bruins 30-29 and rallied from a two-goal deficit, but couldn’t hold on, allowing David Pastrnak to clinch the victory for Boston with a couple of goals.
Logan Couture scored his 15th goal of the season last Saturday, while Alexander Barabanov notched his 19th assist in 2022-23. James Reimer (3.22 GAA; .895 SV%) yielded four goals on 29 shots and fell to 7-12-3 on the season. Reimer has emerged victorious once in his last six starts, so Kaapo Kahkonen (4-7- 4; 3.79 GAA; .869 SV%) might get the starting call Tuesday against Arizona. Kahkonen has also won just one of his previous six starts.
Final. pic.twitter.com/uve8T1HE0X
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) January 8, 2023
The Sharks’ goaltending duo owns the worst save percentage in the league (.878). San Jose allows 3.68 goals per game (28th in the league) despite the second-best penalty-killing percentage in the NHL (84.0%). On the other side of the puck, the Sharks rank 21st in goals for (3.05 per game) and 20th in power-play percentage (24-for-117).