Sarah McLellan

azcentral sports

Coyotes defenseman Michael Stone will be out at least six months after undergoing surgery Friday to repair the ACL and MCL in his left knee.

“They went in and fixed things up, and everything went well with the surgery,” coach Dave Tippett said. “But it’s a long-term (recovery).”

Stone was injured March 26, getting his left leg tangled with Flyers winger Michael Raffl along the boards in the third period.

Through 75 games, the 25-year-old chipped in six goals and racked up a career-high 36 points. He sits second on the team in average ice time (22:27) and is first in blocked shots (143). He’ll be a restricted free agent after this season.

“It was a freak accident that happened,” Tippett said. “He knew he was hurt, and he just recognized it’s a part of the process. It’s going to be a hard process. The rehab is going to be long and hard, and he’s willing to put the work in. That’s how he is as a player. He puts the work in. He just goes about his business. I don’t think it will be any different here.”

Tippett wasn’t sure if Stone suffered complete tears of both ligaments but was clear it will be a “minimum of six months before he can look like he’s back to being an NHL player.”

A six-month recovery would end right around the start of the 2016-17 season in October.

“You hope he’s available for most of the year,” Tippett said. “That doesn’t alter that. You still have an idea where he fits in the whole plan. You’re just going to have to deal with it. If he doesn’t start the season, you’re going to have to deal with it a little bit off the start.”

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Injury update

Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who sat out Thursday’s game with illness, returned to action Saturday against the Capitals in the Coyotes’ home finale, but center Martin Hanzal missed the game with an upper-body injury.

Hanzal is considered day-to-day, and when asked if Hanzal will accompany the team on its season-ending four-game road trip, Tippett said, “I would hope so. We’ll see how he is (Sunday) morning.”

The Coyotes recalled center Laurent Dauphin from the American Hockey League Friday in light of Hanzal’s injury, and Dauphin played Saturday – his first NHL game since he scored his first NHL goal Jan. 4 against the Canucks.

“He played well when he was here earlier in the year,” Tippett said. “He’s been one of their best players down there, so we needed a centerman. He’s the guy that gets the opportunity.”

Winger Eric Selleck is also day-to-day with an upper-body injury suffered in Thursday’s game.

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Memory lane

It’s been 10 years since superstar Alex Ovechkin scored one of the most impressive goals of his career – if not the best – when he swiped the puck over his head into the net from his back after falling to the ice at then-Glendale Arena on Jan.16, 2006.

“That’s probably the most amazing goal I think I’ve seen,” said center Boyd Gordon, who was actually on the ice at the time of the goal as Ovechkin’s teammate.

“We had a 2-on-1, and I was kind of open on the left side and he made that move,” Gordon recalled. “I don’t know what he did. I switched to the other side of the net and remember thinking the puck went in the corner, and then I looked in the net and the puck was sitting in there.”

Team awards

The Coyotes handed out their annual team awards before Saturday's game.

Ekman-Larsson was named Team MVP and nabbed the title of leading scorer.

Captain Shane Doan won the Three-Star Award, rookie winger Jordan Martinook received the Jukka Nieminen Memorial Trophy as the hardest-working player and Stone captured the Man of the Year Award for dedication to the community. Stone’s wife, Michelle, accepted the award on his behalf.

TV info

With the Coyotes, Diamondbacks and Suns all in action next Tuesday and Thursday, Coyotes telecasts for games against the Blackhawks and Predators will be offered on a special channel called Fox Sports Arizona Coyotes.

This is channel 7 (SD) and 1007 (HD) on Cox, 686-2 on DirecTV, 449 (SD), 9519 (HD) and 412-37 (hopper) on Dish for April 5 and 445 (SD), 9515 (HD) and 412-33 (hopper) on April 7 and 97 on Mediacom.

Reach the reporter at sarah.mclellan@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8276. Follow her at twitter.com/azc_mclellan.