{"id":43233,"date":"2019-03-07T21:17:32","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T02:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=43233"},"modified":"2019-03-07T21:17:32","modified_gmt":"2019-03-08T02:17:32","slug":"arizona-coyotes-michael-grabner-returns-to-the-lineup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2019\/03\/07\/arizona-coyotes-michael-grabner-returns-to-the-lineup\/","title":{"rendered":"Arizona Coyotes Michael Grabner Returns to the Lineup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Tonight will mark the first game action that Arizona Coyotes&#8217; right-wing <strong>Michael Grabner<\/strong> will encounter after a nasty eye injury he suffered way back on Dec. 1, 2018.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\u201cGrabs is going in tonight.\u201d &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RealRocket22?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@RealRocket22<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/O1NMhxJLYp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/O1NMhxJLYp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ArizonaCoyotes\/status\/1103720773632516096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 7, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h1><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>Arizona Coyotes Are Slowly Getting Healthy<\/h1>\n<p>Adding another forward to the <strong>Arizona Coyotes&#8217;<\/strong>\u00a0arsenal can only lead to good results. After seeing defenceman <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/2019\/03\/02\/arizona-coyotes-jason-demers-assigned-to-ahl-conditioning-stint\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Jason Demers<\/strong><\/a> return last Tuesday night, having Grabner back is good news.<\/p>\n<h2>Arizona Coyotes Are so Healthy Now They Will Sit Forward Conor Garland Tonight<\/h2>\n<p>Grabner added to the starting lineup means someone needs to sit, according to @craigsmorgan.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Looks like Conor Garland (1 G, 1Pt in past 12 games) will be out of the lineup tonight w\/Michael Grabner returning. Jordan Oesterle should also be back for Kevin Connauton. Coyotes need something from Clayton Keller. In 27 games in 2019, he has 4 Gs, 12 Pts; 1 G in past 18 games.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Craig Morgan (@craigsmorgan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/craigsmorgan\/status\/1103823802415214592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 8, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>Michael Grabner&#8217;s Injury Could Have Been Career-ending<\/h2>\n<p>During the initial period of the Coyotes&#8217; contest against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/blues\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">St. Louis\u00a0Blues<\/a>, Grabner was struck by an accidental high stick on follow-through from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/blaissa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Sammy Blais<\/strong><\/a>. It was bad enough to knock the 31-year-old Grabner out for the remainder of the game with an &#8220;upper-body injury.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Whenever any athlete has as severe eye injury as Grabner endured they feel blessed to have recovered from it enough to play once again.<\/p>\n<h2>Grabner&#8217;s Statistics Will be a Welcome Sight<\/h2>\n<p>Grabner, who has started in the offensive zone just 33.3% of the time this season, has four short-handed goals for the Coyotes and has decent possession numbers \u2013 with a 49.6% Corsi rating despite regularly being lined up in the defensive zone.<\/p>\n<p>The Arizona Coyotes&#8217; penalty-kill will certainly get a shot in the arm as Grabner will most likely be lining up with <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/r\/richabr02.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brad Richardson<\/a> <\/strong>who himself has collected three short-handed goals.<\/p>\n<p>Another factor to the Coyotes&#8217; advantage will be Grabner&#8217;s excellent speed.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Michael Grabner collects two shorties for Coyotes\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZGFtLWHCTlY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Playoffs Clearly in Sight<\/h2>\n<p>As the Coyotes continue to get healthy they only hope that means their\u00a0playoff chances will continue to increase. After winning six straight games, including four at home the Arizona\u00a0club faltered against the resurging<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/ducks\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Anaheim Ducks<\/a> who had won two of three of late.<\/p>\n<p>With just 16 games remaining, the Coyotes have not received much assistance from teams around them battling for the same playoff aspirations. They trail the last wild-card team <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/2019\/03\/04\/resurgent-minnesota-wild\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Minnesota Wild<\/a> (72 points) by three points.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/canucks\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vancouver Canucks<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/oilers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Edmonton Oilers<\/a> both have 65 points, while the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/avalanche\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Colorado Avalanche<\/a> come in at 70 points. This <strong>Western Conference<\/strong> playoff race will more than likely come down to the last week of the season and give each competing head coach additional gray hairs.<\/p>\n<h2>The Schedule Ahead<\/h2>\n<p>The Coyotes have eight home and eight road games remaining and face the Pacific Division-leading <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/flames\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Calgary Flames<\/a> tonight in Arizona. The goalie matchup will be <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kuempda01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Darcy Keumper<\/strong><\/a> against the Flames&#8217; <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/2019\/03\/06\/calgary-flames-mike-smith\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Mike Smith<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Coyotes then face their arch-rival <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/kings\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles Kings<\/a> who would like nothing better than to help ruin the Desert Dogs chance to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the 2011-12 season.<\/p>\n<p>Michael Grabner&#8217;s speed and penalty killing skills will absolutely assist the Coyotes in their hunt to be playing in the postseason<\/p>\n<p>All of Michael&#8217;s teammates, fans, and family are very grateful that his eye injury wasn&#8217;t as serious as it could have been.<\/p>\n<p>Seeing #40 out there on the ice tonight will perhaps fire up the team as their last performance fell way short of head coach <strong>Rich Tocchet<\/strong>&#8216;s expectations.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/coyotes\/news\/recap-ducks-end-coyotes-winning-streak-at-six-games\/c-305509652\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">We&#8217;re not going to win them all<\/a><em>,&#8221;<\/em>\u00a0head coach Rick Tocchet said. <em>&#8220;We like what&#8217;s been going on around here, but we didn&#8217;t get anything from some guys we need to start to play. If we&#8217;re going to go anywhere, we need these guys to go &#8230; I&#8217;ve got to figure out a way to get some guys going. That&#8217;s number one on my list.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"lTHflcEnSa5f_-u3OyEK1A\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1077862542\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'lTHflcEnSa5f_-u3OyEK1A',sig:'kbHzkaTr7x7INGFRR7vqMzZAMzAkTAPLpfjoDbkzcEU=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1077862542',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tonight will mark the first game action that Arizona Coyotes&#8217; right-wing Michael Grabner will encounter after a nasty eye injury he suffered way back on Dec. 1, 2018. \u201cGrabs is going in tonight.\u201d &#8211; @RealRocket22 pic.twitter.com\/O1NMhxJLYp \u2014 Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) March 7, 2019 Arizona Coyotes Are Slowly Getting Healthy Adding another forward to the Arizona [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2959,"featured_media":43235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,34],"tags":[107,3282,103,3983,1998,78,1159,1781],"class_list":["post-43233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mammoth","category-news","tag-arizona-coyotes","tag-brad-richardson","tag-calgary-flames","tag-darcy-kuepmer","tag-jason-demers","tag-los-angeles-kings","tag-michael-grabner","tag-mike-smith"],"modified_by":"William Grigsby","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2959"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}