The Arizona Coyotes will try to conclude their road trip with a win when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Arizona Coyotes have been away from Gila River Arena long enough. But before they can come home, they have one last game to play. Arizona will play the Columbus Blue Jackets Tuesday evening to end eight consecutive games on the road.
Matchup at a Glance
| Arizona Coyotes | Columbus Blue Jackets | |
| Points | 42 (6th Pacific) | 45 (7th Metropolitan) |
| Goals For | 2.26 (27th) | 2.42 (24th) |
| Goals Against | 3.32 (29th) | 3.12 (26th) |
| Power Play | 22.1% (7th) | 22.8% (5th) |
| Penalty Kill | 77.1% (27th) | 80.7% (T-18th) |
| 5v5 Corsi For | 48.7% (23rd) | 46.2% (25th) |
| PDO | 97.2 (30th) | 99.2 (23rd) |
View from Arizona
It's rare this season that Arizona plays two teams in a row with worse possession stats. After beating a Montreal Canadiens team that played without Carey Price, the Coyotes will play another NHL team without its stud goaltender. Sergei Bobrovsky is on injured reserve with a lower body injury for the immediate future.
Bobrovsky probably won't mind missing this game that much. The Coyotes chased him from the last meeting, a 6-3 home victory all the way back on January 3rd. Now the two teams will finish their season series exactly one month from when it started.
View from Columbus
Keys to the Game
- Better Flow Control - The Coyotes took possession of major stretches of the Montreal game, and kept the Habs out of their defensive end. They'll have a chance to do the same tonight.
- Net Front Presence - Arizona's first goal against Montreal was a product of sending a player to the front of the net to get a deflection. Their other two took advantage of traffic in front. There's a pattern here: net-front presence = goals.
- Don't Look Ahead - It will be nice to be back in Glendale to play a game. That game is not until Thursday though. The Coyotes need to make sure they show up tonight and finish out the road trip strong.
Who's Hot
Lauri Korpikoski has two goals and two assists in his last four games. That's some solid secondary scoring.
Points have been at a bit of a premium for the Jackets over the last week. Cam Atkinson does have a goal and two assists in the Jackets' last three contests though.
Injury Report
Mikkel Boedker (spleen) remains on IR, while Dave Tippett expected both Martin Hanzal and Joe Vitale to miss tonight's game with upper body injuries.
Apart from the above-mentioned Bobrovsky injury, the Jackets have Nathan Horton (degenerative back), Brian Gibbons (knee), and Jeremy Morin (heart) on injured reserve. Boone Jenner (back) isn't expected back until the end of the month, while Matt Calvert (illness) may be unavailable for tonight's game.
Puck Drop
Tonight's game begins at 5 PM Arizona time. You can watch the game on Fox Sports Arizona or listen on ESPN 620 AM.