It was a duo in the conversation for Calder Trophy candidacy, but not expected to compete with Jack Eichel or Connor McDavid due to the perceived weakness of the team overall.
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The youth-infused Arizona Coyotes attempt to remain ideal on the season when they host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.
Dubnyk loves that Smith is making a resurgence after a tough season previous year. The Coyotes brought a few familiar faces back this season in Antoine Vermette, Zbynek Michalek, and Boyd Gordon most noteably.
Look for the Wild to have a fast start as they are well rested and chomping at the bit to get after it on the ice for real. He could be a decent bottom-six forward in the near future.
Karlsson posted four assists, and Mika Zibanejad logged a goal and two helpers.
Smith, whose shutout was his first since March 4, 2014, has stopped 104 of the 106 shots he’s faced in his first three starts.
Pittsburgh Penguins came into town the next night and were stunned by a hungry young Coyotes team that out-shot them 39-28. The Coyotes coach’s deep understanding of the game and unfailingly even temperament can feel like a bucket of cold water sometimes, but at least we know this: If Duclair and his fellow rookie phenom Domi do hit a wall this season, it will be a high-speed collision with that wall.
In his last full season playing for the Quebec Remparts he produced 50 goals and 49 assists in 59 games and was drafted 80th in the third round of the 2013 draft following a stellar bantam career that saw him score 81 goals and 47 assists in 59 games for the Basses Laurentides Conquerants. The second goal was scored by rookie Jordan Martinook assisted by Steve Downie and Boyd Gordon. Philly forward Sam Gagner scored his first goal as a member of the Flyers …
To continue the series on Arizona Coyotes captions, we travel to Anaheim, California. Domi took a drop pass in the circle to the left of the Ducks’ net and beat Khudobin with a backhand shot.Frederik Andersen replaced Khudobin after Domi’s goal.
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There aren’t many players that effectively use the back-hand shot anymore. Arizona is 3-0. Nobody saw this coming, and aside from goalie Mike Smith’s superlative play (two goals against in three games), it’s impossible to ignore the enormous role the Coyotes’ pups have had in this start. Anaheim Ducks now have one goal scored in the last nine periods of play. G Anton Khudobin made his first start for Anaheim. Arizona’s roster is not filled with marquee names but Coach Dave Tippett, known for his tight-checking system, has the Coyotes as the talk of the league.
