Which Phoenix Coyote Will Replace Shane Doan?

Tonight Shane Doan begins his three-game suspension when the Phoenix Coyotes host the Los Angeles Kings. With Doan out of the lineup for less than a week, these three games will be crucial for a struggling Coyotes team. This is the first suspension Doan has received in his 15 seasons in the NHL.

For the last two seasons, Doan never missed a regular season game as this iron man streak of his will conclude tonight.

With Doan’s streak over the Coyotes are suffering through a streak of their own. The Coyotes are 0-2-1 in their last three games. Last season, the Coyotes' longest losing streak was three games when the Coyotes lost to Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and the St. Louis Blues.

If the Coyotes want to avoid this losing skid they will have to learn to play without their captain. With Doan out of the lineup, head coach Dave Tippett has switched the forward lines which include the loss of Martin Hanzal, who is nursing a lower-body injury.

On Wednesday the Coyotes practiced using these lines:

Upshall-Belanger-Wolski
Whitney-Turris-Vrbata
Pyatt-Fiddler-Stempniak
Korpikoski/Bissonnette-Ebbett-Prucha.

There are two players whom I believe can benefit from the loss of both Doan and Hanzal. The player which can benefit from Doan’s absence is Ray Whitney, who is anxiously waiting to play in his first home game as a member of the Coyotes. The Wizard of Glendale will be looked upon to replace Doan. While the Coyotes are hosting the Kings tonight, the next game might be even more interesting for Whitney as they host his former team the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

With Hanzal out of the lineup the Coyotes will look to recent San Antonio Rampage (AHL) call up Andrew Ebbett. Ebbett signed with the Coyotes this past offseason after the Coyotes lost center Matthew Lombardi to Nashville, Ebbett looked to be in contention to earn a spot on the roster after competing against players Kyle Wellwood, Kyle Turris and Eric Belanger for a center position with the team.

Ebbett spent last season with the Minnesota Wild, where he played in a career-high 49 games including scoring eight goals and six assists. In my opinion this will not be the last time we see Ebbett this season. The injury bug comes rapid and if Ebbett stays healthy, he could be the one player who could benefit from the injury bug this year as a member of the Coyotes.