The surging Arizona Coyotes look for their fifth straight win when they host the Washington Capitals on Monday night.
Alex Kerfoot had a goal and two assists as the Coyotes beat the visiting St. Louis Blues 4-1 on Saturday. Michael Carcone, Nick Schmaltz and Matias Maccelli scored during a three-goal first period, and Connor Ingram made 31 saves.
“We want to win games and we want to be in it, we want to be in the race for the (Stanley Cup) playoffs,” Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. “We said at the beginning of the season we wanted to play meaningful games, so we’re in a good spot. But we can’t take anything for granted, a (bad) week and you’re out of it.”
Arizona’s four wins have come against the last four Stanley Cup champions: The Vegas Golden Knights (2023), Colorado Avalanche (2022), Tampa Bay Lightning (2021, 2020), and Blues (2019). Washington won the Cup in 2018.
Seven Coyotes players scored points on Saturday, including defenseman Michael Kesselring, who was playing in just his 17th NHL game. The 23-year-old has four assists in eight games since being called up, including a point in three straight.
“I think I’m just making simple plays, like the one last game was just a good defensive play, get a stick on it, go down and score,” he said. “There’s a little luck involved, but we’ll take them when we can get them and keep that rolling, hopefully.”
Coyotes forward Travis Boyd missed the game with an upper-body injury.
Washington looks to finish its five-game road trip with a winning record. The Capitals fell to 2-2 with a 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.
“We just couldn’t generate enough puck possession in the offensive zone,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery. “Whether that was forecheck related, puck recovery related, or execution in tight areas where our plays were getting broken up.”
Tom Wilson scored his fourth goal in two games and Darcy Kuemper made 32 saves for the Capitals, who were outshot 36-22.
Washington continues to struggle offensively and ranks second from the bottom in the NHL, averaging 2.38 goals per game. They have scored two or fewer in four of their past five games.
“We’re one and done (in the offensive zone) a lot, and they’re just coming back at us,” Capitals forward Dylan Strome said. “So obviously not good enough tonight, but we can still salvage a pretty good road trip in Arizona, and we’ve got to look forward.”
Wilson and Strome lead the team with eight goals apiece. Washington captain Alex Ovechkin has gone six games without a goal and is stuck on five for the season, a 20-goal pace. He has two assists on the road trip and sits at 1,499 points (827 goals, 672 assists).
Ovechkin has 10 goals and 12 assists in 24 career games against Arizona.
The Capitals were without goaltender Charlie Lindgren (illness) and Hunter Shepard arrived from Hershey of the American Hockey League to back up Kuemper shortly before puck drop.
Arizona and Washington are meeting for the first time this season.
–Field Level Media
