The Arizona Coyotes surely deserve a better fate than what they’ve been dealt. After Saturday night’s 4-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils, the Coyotes dropped to 0-10-1 on the season as the only winless NHL team left in the league.
Arizona Coyotes tie NHL record for the worst start in league history with 11 straight losses
The Coyotes can make the worst kind of history with a loss on Monday.
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
While the Coyotes do have a single point in the standings thanks to an overtime loss, their 11 straight losses are the worst start by an NHL team since the 1943-44 New York Rangers.
One more loss for the Coyotes, and they’ll make history as the first NHL team to open the season on a 12-game losing streak.
There have been some bright spots for the Coyotes this season, but not many. Arizona has suffered a fair number of injuries this season, most notably to their goaltending. Netminder Antti Raanta was injured early in the year for the Coyotes, and has yet to play since October 12 when he was sidelined with a lower-body injury.
Since, the Coyotes had been running with normal backup Louis Domingue and a carousel of netminders behind him. On Saturday, Arizona traded for former Devils backup Scott Wedgewood to help with the load until Raanta is back, but the addition marks the sixth goaltender the Coyotes have on their roster.
While Raanta is still day-to-day, the goaltending of Domingue hasn’t helped keep the Coyotes above water. In six games played, Domingue posted a .858 save percentage with 24 goals allowed on 169 shots faced. The Coyotes as a whole have allowed the most goals in the NHL coming into Saturday, as they lead the league with 44 goals against.
The slow start problems aren’t just on the Coyotes’ goaltending — as their team shooting percentage is fourth worst in the league at cool 7.4 — but the stops just haven’t been there.
Arizona’s next stop is in Philadelphia, who are fresh off a 4-2 victory in Toronto. While the matchup screams trap game from the Flyers side, it’s hard not to imagine the Coyotes will come out with some fire on Monday to avoid a historic, disasterous start to the season.
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