The Coyotes have received strong goaltending from Adin Hill after he was pressed into action following the lower-body injuries to both Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper. He has posted a 0.56 GAA with a .977 SV% in five appearances so far this season which has led some to speculate if he could make a run for the starting job even when the team is fully healthy. In an interview on Arizona Sports (audio link), GM John Chayka was quick to dispel any talk of a goalie controversy but hinted that they may keep all three goalies up when Raanta and Kuemper return:
“We’re in a performance-based industry. We’ve had some injuries and underperformance at times whether it’s been goalies or other players. To have a young guy step in who has got a good track record, it gets your attention. Credit to him. I think we need all three [goalies].”
That doesn’t appear to bode well for Calvin Pickard’s future in the desert. The Coyotes added him off of waivers late last month but has yet to see game action with Arizona so far. With both Raanta and Kuemper (who took part in practice today) getting close to returning, the 26-year-old could find himself back on the wire shortly.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- Flames winger Michael Frolik has suffered a setback in his recovery from lower-body injury, reports Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson. He last played on November 19th and was initially listed as day-to-day but it appears he’ll be out a fair bit longer as he has yet to even skate over the past week. Frolik has had a quiet start to his season; while he has a respectable seven goals in 20 games, he has yet to record a single assist while his ice time has dropped to a career-low 12:07 per night.
- The Oilers announced (Twitter link) that winger Drake Caggiula is dealing with a minor hand injury and will miss tonight’s game against St. Louis. As a result, winger Patrick Russell will remain in the lineup instead of ceding his place to center Connor McDavid who returns after missing the last game due to illness.
I don’t see why Arizona wouldn’t keep rolling Hill with his poise as of late. The dude’s insane.
Goalies are struggling as of late in the league. I could see them move kuemper.