After injuring himself in the summer, it looks like prized Coyotes prospect Jacob Chychrun is ready to return. In anticipation for his return to the lineup, the Coyotes have assigned him to the AHL for a conditioning stint.
Chychrun can't return to the lineup fast enough. With him, the Coyotes have one of the best units in the NHL. Chychrun, OEL, Demers and Goligoski give them a solid puck-moving back-end, and Hjallmarsson and Schenn provide the grit and (at least for one of the two) the defense.
Of course, he's not a savior, and second year players tend to struggle even when not returning from a six month knee injury, so he'll probably be eased back into things. Regardless, the Coyotes are pretty much already looking towards the future, so as long as he's back, it's no big deal if he takes a while to get up to speed.
A slightly bigger deal is the continuing absence of Annti Raanta. Raanta will not play today. The start will (one has to assume) go to Scott Wedgewood. Hopefully this isn't the night the Oilers remember how to score.
Coach Rick Tocchet said goalie Antti Raanta will not travel with the team to Edmonton, but it’s possible he could join them in Calgary. Defenseman Jakob Chychrun will just practice this week and the team will see where he’s at after that.
— Craig Morgan (@craigsmorgan) November 27, 2017
The best part of tonight's game is the return of Dylan Strome.
Daily Faceoff has the line combos as Keller-Richardson-Strome and that's pretty fun. I guess the idea is to Babcock Richardson in their to get the puck and bang around a bit. I've been critical of Richardson in the past, but of all the bottom-of-the-lineup guys the Coyotes have, he has been the most effective, in my opinion, this year.
I still don't like Tobias Reider on the first line, but what can you do?
I for one look forward to tonigth's game, not just for Strome, but also just because any excuse to watch the Oilers is fine by me. Win or lose, they're always fun.
Thanks for reading.