The Arizona Coyotes who are struggling for their playoff survival were just hit with some bad news. Leading goal-scorer Conor Garland who has 22 goals, 17 assists got hurt Friday night in the Calgary Flames game. He suffered a lower-body injury and will be week-to-week.
INJURY UPDATE: #Yotes forward Conor Garland suffered a lower-body injury versus Calgary on Friday night. Garland is listed as week-to-week.
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) March 8, 2020
Conor Garland Injured
Conor Garland, 23 has really come on as an offensive weapon this season. The 5′-10″, 165 pound forward plays with immense energy and will be missed. This season he has collected 22 goals, 17 assists which is his best NHL numbers in this his second season. He has terrific possession statistics with a 51.7 percent Corsi, and a 4.6 Relative For. Once he has the puck, it’s difficult to strip it away from him. Garland has 20 minutes of penalties and has scored five game-winning goals.
He was the Coyotes 123rd overall selection in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He’s been averaging 14:09 minutes of ice time. Even though he’s a small guy he has no qualms about crashing to the net. He has even scored off of his head while being in front of the opposing goalie.
What This Means Going Forward
It’s just another example of untimely injuries this team has suffered through the past two seasons. After getting starting goalie Darcy Kuemper back after a long recovery from a groin injury, the team was hoping to make the playoffs with a full lineup.
Jakob Chychrun has been skating with the team and traveled to Winnipeg for their game tomorrow. That may help the defence, but losing Garland will put a big hole for the offence to fill.
Jakob Chychrun has joined the team in Winnipeg. #Yotes pic.twitter.com/He9Ybr8bkz
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) March 8, 2020
It’s not known if head coach Rick Tocchet will fill that spot with Christian Fischer or Michael Grabner who have both been healthy scratches numerous times this season.
Although the Coyotes still remain in a playoff hunt, the odds are mounting that they will have extreme difficulty getting there. This injury certainly doesn’t help.
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