The Arizona Coyotes face the Florida Panthers with both teams looking to improve from difficult starts to the season. The Coyotes have a 13-17-5 record and are near the bottom of the Central Division while the Panthers have a 16-18-4 record and with only three wins in their last 10 games have fallen to the bottom of the Central Division. Both teams are looking to climb out of the bottom of their divisions and rebound on the season and the upcoming game should be a good one as a result.
The Coyotes are having a season to forget with their offense struggling and scoring only 2.89 goals per game. Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse, and Matias Maccelli have combined for 30 goals and 48 assists while defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has added nine goals and 17 assists from the point but the rest of the offense has struggled. Only four skaters have scored eight goals or more while only eight skaters have nine assists or more and opposing defenses can eliminate the hapless offense as a result.
The offense has struggled but the defense has let the Coyotes down this year, allowing 3.60 goals per game with eight goals in the last two games. Jakob Chychrun and Shayne Gostisbehere have combined for 2.9 defensive point shares but the rest of the unit has struggled, allowing opponents to find open shots on the net at will. In addition, goaltender Karel Vejmelka is having a rough year with a .907 save percentage and a 3.16 goals-against average on 886 shots.