The Arizona Coyotes face the New York Islanders with both teams looking to build off recent hot streaks. The Coyotes have a 5-6-1 record but have won back-to-back games. The Islanders have a 9-5 record and with back-to-back wins, have the second-best record in the Metropolitan Division. The Coyotes are hoping to make up ground in the Central Division while the Islanders are hoping to remain near the top of the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference.
The Coyotes have looked promising this season but hope the offense can improve, scoring 2.92 goals per game. Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse, and Matias Maccelli have scored 11 goals and 19 assists while defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere is adding four goals and six assists from the blue line but the rest of the offense has struggled. Only four skaters have scored four goals or more while only four skaters have added six assists or more and opposing defenses can easily limit the Coyotes' offense as a result.
The offense has struggled but the defense has been awful, allowing 3.83 goals per game. While Juuso Valimaki and Josh Brown have combined for 1.3 defensive point shares and 42 blocked shots, the rest of the unit has struggled, allowing opponents to find open shots on the net at will. In addition, goaltender Karel Vejmelka has struggled in the net with a .908 save percentage and a 3.41 goals- against average on 327 shots.