The latest victims of the coronavirus surge across the NHL come from the desert. Ahead of Tuesday night's game against the San Jose Sharks, the Arizona Coyotes have announced that forwards Travis Boyd and Matias Maccelli have in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. The ’Yotes do not play again until January 2, so this could be the only missed game for the duo.
This news is still tough for Maccelli though, who was set to make his NHL debut Tuesday night. Arizona had expressed its excitement for the rookie forward to join the team just earlier this afternoon. Yet, in the current state of the NHL even the reinforcements are no safe bet to make it into the lineup.
Maccelli has been a point-per-game player for the Tucson Roadrunners this season and was named the AHL Rookie of the Month for November, so it is understandable why the rebuilding Coyotes are eager to get the promising 21-year-old into some NHL action.
Boyd has quietly been one of the Coyotes’ top players this season. Admittedly, the last-place squad is not scoring many goals, but Boyd is still second on the team with seven tallies as well as fourth in points and first with an unbelievable (though unsustainable) 29.2% shooting percentage. Arizona is fortunate that this is likely just a one-game absence, as they can ill-afford to lose Boyd for an extended period of time.
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