{coyotes} COYOTES (19-27-7) AT BLACKHAWKS (33-18-2)

Sunday, 8 February 2015

{coyotes} COYOTES (19-27-7) AT BLACKHAWKS (33-18-2)

Monday, February 9, 2015

8:30 PM ET

COYOTES (19-27-7) AT BLACKHAWKS (33-18-2)

TV: NBCSN, CSN-CH

Season series: Six players had multi-point games, including two goals by center Andrew Shaw, to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to a 6-1 victory against the Arizona Coyotes at United Center on Jan. 20. Coyotes goalie Mike Smith faced 51 shots and allowed all six goals.

Coyotes team scope: Arizona went 0-1-1 in a quick return home following an eight-game road trip and now faces a tough road back-to-back at the Blackhawks on Monday and St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. Coach Dave Tippett said after practice Sunday that he expects goalie Mike Smith to start both games. "The most important thing is I'm as healthy as I can be after a surgery like that and I'm getting better," Boedker told the Coyotes website. "Positive steps every day." Forwards Joe Vitale and Martin Hanzal, out because of upper-body injuries, will not make the two-game trip. Injured forward Mikkel Boedker, recovering from surgery to remove his spleen, will make the trip but is out indefinitely. The injuries up front have forced Tippett to give extended ice time to rookies such as Lucas Lessio and Brendan Shinnimin. They were put with veteran forward Sam Gagner during a 3-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday and remained together for practice a day later. Arizona is 1-10-4 record against the Central Division this season.

Blackhawks team scope: Injured forward Kris Versteeg (fractured hand) is unlikely to play on Monday. He isn't expected to return until Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks at the earliest. Chicago defeated the St. Louis Blues 4-2 at Scottrade Center on Sunday to conclude a seven-game road trip with a 4-3-0 record. The trip started with games at the Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks, and concluded with three rivals from the Central Division. The Blackhawks (68 points) pulled within four points of the second-place Blues (72 points) and now have eight straight home games in the next 16 days. Five of those opponents are from the Eastern Conference, but four of the eight currently hold spots for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. "I don't think I've ever been on any team that had eight straight home games," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "It should be fun. Individually, you'd say six of the seven we played the right way [during the trip] and played well. "The Minnesota game [on Feb. 3] we sat in the garbage can."

Team Stats