A modest two-game winning streak, coupled with four wins in their past five games at Gila River Arena, has offered some hope for the Coyotes. Trying to figure out why high-scoring blue liner Oliver Ekman-Larsson has suddenly gone ice cold, however, remains a bit of a puzzler.
Take away the three assists he registered during a 4-3 victory against the Jets nearly two weeks ago and Ekman-Larsson has totaled just three points (two goals and one assist) in his past nine games. He’s also a career-worst minus-19 through 47 games.
But as for the state of his star defenseman’s overall play, coach Dave Tippett sounded incredibly content when he said: “Improving.