Coyotes back in McDavid-Eichel conversation
Remember when we told you it would be nearly impossible for the Coyotes to fall behind Edmonton in the Western Conference standings -- that it would require a divine act to fall behind Buffalo in the overall league standings?
Well ...
Following Arizona's 5-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Wednesday -- the Coyotes' seventh straight loss and ninth in their last 10 games (1-8-1) -- Arizona leads Edmonton by a mere point for the 29th spot in the NHL standings. It leads Buffalo by six for the league's bottom spot.
The latter is still a significant gap, but with nearly a quarter of the season still to play, the Connor McDavid-Jack Eichel sweepstakes are getting a bit more interesting for the portion of the fan base that wants to see this sort of nosedive occur to improve the team's odds at landing one of those presumed franchise centers.
To refresh, the team that finishes with the league's worst record has a 20 percent chance of landing the top pick and is guaranteed one of the top two.
The team that finishes 29th has a 13.5 percent chance of landing the top pick and would get the No. 2 pick if the team that finishes with the NHL's worst record wins the lottery for the top pick. If another team wins the lottery besides the bottom two, the 29th team would pick third.
The team that finishes 28th has a 11.5 percent chance of landing the top pick, but cannot pick second.
We know the Coyotes fan base is thinking about this so we'll just leave this right here: Arizona went 5-0 against Edmonton this season.
Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said defenseman Zbynek Michalek (upper body) will not play Thursday against the New York Rangers on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
COYOTES at RANGERS
When: 5 p.m. Thursday
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York
TV: FOX Sports Arizona
Season series: New York leads 1-0
Injuries: Arizona -- F Mikkel Boedker (splenectomy) is out indefinitely. C Martin Hanzal (back surgery) is likely out for the season. D Zbynek Michalek (upper body) is day to day. New York -- G Henrik Lundqvist (neck) is on injured reserve. F Rick Nash (neck spams) and F Jesper Fast (knee) are day to day.
Quick facts: The Rangers are so close to the salary cap that they returned rookie center Oscar Lindberg to the AHL immediately following his NHL debut Tuesday night to avoid an extra day's cost. Still, New York remains interested in trading for Carolina D Andrej Sekera. ... Nash was a late scratch against Calgary on Tuesday but coach Alan Vigneault doesn't expect the injury to linger. Nash is second in the NHL in goals at 37. ... Lundqvist has begun skating but there has been no update on the 4-to-6-week timetable for his return. He hasn't played since Feb. 2.
"He's still not feeling right," Tippett said. "We'll just wait and see where it goes."
With only one game left on this road trip after Thursday -- Saturday in Boston -- it seems unlikely Michalek will join the team on this trip. Michalek, who will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season -- has been the subject of numerous trade rumors. It's difficult to say how the injury might impact teams' interest, but Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reported Monday that one deal was already shelved because of the injury.
#coyotes were close to a trade involving Zbynek Michalek but it had to be halted because of his upper body injury. #tvasports
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) February 23, 2015
Chicago star forward Patrick Kane will miss about 12 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a broken clavicle suffered Tuesday against Florida. Kane was having an MVP-like season and his loss is a crushing blow for the Blackhawks, who play in the NHL's best division and likely would face one of those opponents in the first round without Kane unless they slip behind Winnipeg to fourth and face presumed Pacific champ Anaheim.
The Hawks have expressed interest in Arizona center Antoine Vermette and an NHL source said Kane's injury has renewed that interest, although the asking price still may keep the Blackhawks from making a deal when they are believed to be in the market for a defenseman.
Two weeks ago, center Mark Arcobello was headed to his fourth NHL team this season, wondering if he would ever land a permanent home in the NHL. With four goals in six games as a Coyotes, Arcobello is at least making a decision on his future difficult for the Coyotes.
"He's probably getting more minutes here than he has anywhere else so give him credit for taking advantage of it," coach Dave Tippett said. "When he shoots the puck, it looks like he can score because he shoots to score."
According to sportingcharts.com, Arcobello averages 0.89 goals per 60 minutes of ice time. That is second among Coyotes to Mikkel Boedker's 1.07 pace. The Coyotes need production right now. Take away the third goal they are automatically credited in a 3-2 shootoout win over Chicago on Feb. 9 and Arizona has scored two or fewer goals in 10 straight games.
Even so, it is still unlikely Arcobello will have a place in Arizona beyond this season. His size -- generously listed at 5 foot 8 -- will give the Coyotes management team pause when it ponders the big centers of the Pacific Division and the Western Conference.
Arcobello is merely taking advantage of the Coyotes' shortage of centers in the wake of Martin Hanzal's season-ending back surgery.
Defenseman Dylan Reese made his Coyotes debut on Tuesday against the Islanders after being recalled from Portland of the AHL. The feeling was old hat for the 30-year-old Harvard product.
Reese had appeared in 77 NHL games before Tuesday's and 74 of them came with the Islanders (three with Pittsburgh).
"I'm comfortable in the building, that's for sure," Reese told the Coyotes radio network. "There's a comfort feeling this time around -- not quite the nerves that I had before."
Reese played in the KHL last season with Khabarovsk. The Coyotes signed him to a one-year, two-way contract last summer. In 51 games with Portland, he leads all Pirates defensemen with 25 points (six goals). Michalek's injury gave Reese the opportunity but, like Arcobello, he is likely a short-term answer for the team.
SAMUELSSON FINALLY RECALLED
The Coyotes recalled forward Henrik Samuelsson from Portland of the AHL on Wednesday while re-assigning Jordan Martinook. Samuelsson has 10 goals and 25 points in 50 games with Portland.
GM Don Maloney originally thought Samuelsson might get recalled around the 40-game mark of the NHL season but it took a bit longer. The Coyotes wanted Samuelsson to work on a number of details in his game, including his skating.
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