Thursday: Ekman-Larsson has been listed as “day to day” and will be evaluated further after the All-Star break. While nothing is certain, it sounds like the Coyotes may have avoided certain disaster.
Wednesday: It’s hard to imagine a team experiencing a more drastic streak of injuries than what the Arizona Coyotes have dealt with this year. Jason Demers, Antti Raanta, Christian Dvorak and Nick Schmaltz have all suffered long-term injuries, while Michael Grabner and Brad Richardson are also out for the time being. Now, captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson will have tests including an MRI on his knee tomorrow to determine the extent of the latest injury according to Craig Morgan of The Athletic and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Ekman-Larsson will obviously not play tonight in the Coyotes’ last game before the All-Star break.
Though there is no word on how long this injury will keep Ekman-Larsson out, even a short-term diagnosis would be a drastic blow for the Coyotes. The team is playing their best hockey of the season lately and has climbed back into the playoff chase in the Western Conference. Sitting at 23-22-4 through their first 49 games, Arizona is now just two points behind the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche for the final two wild card spots.
Ekman-Larsson has been his usual minute-munching self this season, logging almost 24 a night for the Coyotes through the first half. He’s also recorded 26 points, easily leading the team’s defense corps in scoring. The 27-year old signed an eight-year, $66MM contract extension this summer that will kick in next season, making him one of the highest-paid defensemen in the league and keeping him in Arizona through 2026-27.
Test comment.
Looks like price tracking from PcPartPicker…either that, or the purple line is AZ’s playoff hopes…