{coyotes} Coyotes captain Doan questionable against Flames

Tuesday, 22 October 2013

{coyotes} Coyotes captain Doan questionable against Flames

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GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Phoenix Coyotes might be without their captain Tuesday.

Alberta native Shane Doan, who sustained a lower-body injury in 5-2 win Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings, skated only briefly at an optional morning skate Tuesday and is questionable for the game Tuesday night game against the Calgary Flames at Jobing.com Arena.

Doan skated briefly at an optional practice Monday and came off the ice looking disappointed. In anticipation of Doan's probable absence, the Coyotes recalled Brandon Yip from the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League to add an extra forward to the roster. Center Tim Kennedy was sent back to the AHL.

A notoriously slow starter, Doan has one goal and three points in the first nine games this season. His absence from the lineup would have a domino effect on the Phoenix lines, with Kyle Chipchura most likely taking his place among the top-nine forwards.

"We'll see about Doan [Tuesday]," Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. "He's questionable for sure. We made a move in case we have to change things up."

Mike Smith, fresh off being credited with the 14th goal scored by an NHL goalie, and the seventh to be shot in by the goalie himself, will be back in the net. It will be his ninth start in the first 10 games of the season. Joey McDonald, who had Monday off as the Flames won 3-2 against the Los Angeles Kings, will get the start for the Flames.

Mike Cammalleri had a goal and an assist in his season debut for the Flames, and Jiri Hudler, who had seven points in the past five games, extended his consecutive point streak to eight against the Kings. He is the only player in the League to notch a point in every one of his team's games this season.

This is the first of three Pacific Division games in a five-day span for the Coyotes, who visit the Kings on Thursday and then host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday afternoon. The Coyotes are 0-1-1 against the Pacific so far, losing at the San Jose Sharks in regulation and in a shootout at the Anaheim Ducks.

"We talked about how this is a huge week for us," Tippett said. "With the new format for the playoffs, these games are very, very important and our players realize that."

It took a few games for center Mike Ribeiro to make an impact with his new team. But it's no coincidence that Phoenix's six-game point streak (4-0-2) dovetails perfectly with Ribeiro's six-game scoring streak.

Ribeiro had a pair of third-period goals Saturday, part of a string of five unanswered Phoenix goals against Detroit.

Ribeiro has three goals in the past three games, and two of them pulled the Coyotes even in the third period. Phoenix's power-play numbers haven't exploded -- the Coyotes ranked 19th as of Tuesday at 15.6 percent -- but Ribeiro has used his puckhandling and speed to gain the zone much easier than the unit that ranked 29th in the League last season.

"Mike is a good veteran who needed to find his way with us as much as our players had to find a way to play with him," Tippett said. "You could see in the first few games he was searching for that right fit. We moved him around and he's getting more and more comfortable and you can see the results. He's a very strong player who really helps the players around him."

Here are the projected lineups for the Flames and Coyotes:

FLAMES

Curtis Glencross - Mikael Backlund - TJ Galiardi

Sven Baertschi - Sean Monahan - Jiri Hudler

Mike Cammalleri - Joe Colborne - Lee Stempniak

Lance Bouma - Ben Street - Brian McGrattan

TJ Brodie - Mark Giordano

Kris Russell - Dennis Wideman

Chris Butler - Shane O'Brien

Joey MacDonald

Karri Ramo

Scratched: Tim Jackman, Roman Horak, Christopher Breen