Coyotes At Blues Preview: Mike Smith, Jake Allen To Start

Mike Smith has been awful this year. He's 10-22-5 and a 3.25 GAA. Toss in a .896 save percentage, and it might be easy to point to him as the faulty piece of the Yotes this year.

He's also lost twice against the Blues this season. He has a 6.02 GAA and a .840 save percentage against St. Louis. He has been putrid. And now he will be putrid and tired. Seize the moment.

In case Smith falters, Mike McKenna hasn't played in a NHL game since 2013 with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He had been with the Portland Pirates  of the AHL this season, with a 2.09 GAA and a .933 save percentage. This is his second stint with the Coyotes in 2015, previously being recalled in January. The Yotes sent Devan Dubnyk to the Minnesota Wild, where he's helped them win six games in a row.

Oopsie.

The Coyotes have been playing better after the All Star Break, while the Blues need to bounce back after losing two in a row by a combined score of 11-3. Luckily they've outscored the Coyotes this year 12-1, so this might be just the thing that St. Louis needs to get back on track. According to Jeremy Rutherford, coach Ken Hitchcock has made the decision to start Jake Allen in net after Brian Elliott's lackluster performance this weekend.

The Coyotes have been playing better hockey as of late, going 4-2-2 in their last eight games. They have points in six of their last seven road games. Somehow, some way, they woke up. Better late than never, I suppose.

The Blues, however, haven't lost to the Coyotes in regulation since 2012. A win tonight would sweep the season series against Arizona.