Coyotes GM John Chayka glad team comes home after a brutal road stretch

The Arizona Coyotes have played 21 of their first 33 games on the road this season and GM John Chayka was more than happy his team will return to Gila River Arena for a five-game home stand starting Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“I’m not one to complain but when you see the stat that it’s been the worst road schedule in the history of the NHL, it certainly means something,” Chayka said when he joined Doug & Wolf on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

For comparison, the Islanders have the second most road games to start the 2017-18 season with 18 through their first 30 games.

The schedule for the Coyotes doesn’t get easier by any means. Four of the five teams the Coyotes face during the home stand have already eclipsed the 30-point mark this season including league-leading Tampa Bay and the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Arizona is excited to finally have some practice time.

“Practice time will really help our coaching staff continue to teach and implement what we are trying to do here,” said Chayka.

Practice can especially help on special teams. The Coyotes ranked 14th in the league on the penalty kill but the power play was a lowly 24th.

“Power play take a lot of reps and a lot of practice. Our power play has actually been good when we’ve had some practice and it’s had some stretches where it struggled. We kind of want to bottle those stretches where we’ve had success,” Chayka said.

“I’m hopeful that we just find that consistency and find ways to close out games.”

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