West Division Rivals Tangle in NHL Action as Coyotes Host Sharks Tonight

Fri, Mar 26, 2021
By Jim Vassallo (Veri.bet Writer)

West Division rivals tangle in NHL action on Friday, March 26, at 10 PM ET when the Arizona Coyotes (14-14-5, 5th in West) host the San Jose Sharks (13-14-4, 7th in West).

This is just the third game of an eight-game regular-season series between the Coyotes and the Sharks. The series is tied at one game apiece. San Jose won the opener 4-3 in a shootout and Arizona won game two 5-3.

Arizona picked up a win the last time on the ice and is 4-4-2 in the last 10 games.

The Coyotes knocked off the Colorado Avalanche earlier this week by a 5-4 margin in a shootout.

“We battled all night. We were down to fumes, guys were hurt,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said.

After taking a 2-0 lead early in the game, the Avalanche scored four straight goals to take a 4-2 lead. Arizona was able to tie it in the third period and win it in a shootout.

“After they made it 4-2, we needed something to go our way,” Tocchet said. “I don’t know if it was magical, but that third goal really got the bench going.

“We have to play a certain style, I thought we did for most of the game. Just accept who we are and play that style. Everybody contributed in their own way.”

San Jose has won two in a row and is 5-4-1 in the last 10 games.

The Sharks won back-to-back games against the Los Angeles Kings, their most recent was a 4-2 victory.

Goalie Martin Jones was brilliant for a second straight game against the Kings, stopping 42 shots. In the previous win over the Kings, Jones stopped 41 shots en route to a 2-1 win. He is the first goalie in San Jose history to record 40 saves in consecutive games since 1993.

“This is probably the best I’ve seen him play in a long, long time,” coach Bob Boughner said. “He looks confident and he looks like he’s reading the play better.”

Evander Kane led the attack for the Sharks with two goals.

“We came out and attacked," Boughner said. “We took the momentum back that we gave them at the end of the second period. I was happy to see that.”

Logan Couture, the Sharks captain, exited the game in the third period after suffering a hard hit from Jeff Carter of the Kings near center ice.

“It looked a little high to me,” Boughner said. “Looked like it could have been the butt end come up. Let the league look at it and let them see what they think.”

The Coyotes will be without Darcy Kuemper tonight as he continues to fight a lower-body injury. Niklas Hjalmarsson and Antti Rannata are both listed as day-to-day.  The Sharks have Matt Nieto listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Arizona is -1.5 favorites with a money line of -105 against San Jose at home tonight. San Jose desperately needs a win in regulation, but your money is better spent on Arizona at -1.5 tonight.