{coyotes} Coyotes captain Doan won't play at Predators

Tuesday, 1 December 2015

{coyotes} Coyotes captain Doan won't play at Predators

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COYOTES (13-9-1) at PREDATORS (12-7-4)

TV: FS-TN, FS-A PLUS

NASHVILLE -- Arizona Coyotes captain Shane Doan will not play against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday but appears to be close to returning to the lineup.

Doan has missed three games with a lower-body injury. He participated in the morning skate, but Coyotes coach Dave Tippett ruled him and forward Steve Downie, who has an upper-body injury, out against the Predators.

"They're close, very close," Tippett said. "Downie is closer, but we'll have skate today and then we'll practice tomorrow and we'll see where we are after that."

Arizona is coming off a 3-0-0 homestand and is 7-3-0 in its past 10 games. Forward Max Domi thinks the homestand can be a launching pad for a successful road trip.

"I think the three straight wins was huge for us," Domi said. "We talked about it before that it's going to be a tough road trip, and we know that. We've got to take advantage of these games at home and we did a great job of that."

Nashville lost 4-1 to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday and is struggling offensively with six goals in its past six games.

"We've got to do a better job in a lot of areas," coach Peter Laviolette said. "There were some games we've played well, there were some games we've not played well. I wasn't real happy with the Buffalo game. It seemed like we played a slow pace game with not as much urgency as we usually show at home, or as much as we need at home. Tonight is a chance to correct that."

Here are the projected lineups:

COYOTES

Tobias Rieder – Martin Hanzal – Anthony Duclair

Max Domi – Antoine Vermette – Mikkel Boedker

Jordan Martinook – Dustin Jeffrey – Craig Cunningham

Brad Richardson – Boyd Gordon – Kyle Chipchura

Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Michael Stone

Nicklas Grossman – Connor Murphy

Klas Dahlbeck – Zbynek Michalek

Mike Smith

Anders Lindback

Injured: Shane Doan (lower body), Steve Downie (upper body), Joe Vitale (face)

Scratched: John Scott, Stefan Elliott

PREDATORS

Filip Forsberg – Mike Ribeiro – Calle Jarnkrok

Viktor Arvidsson – Mike Fisher – James Neal

Colin Wilson – Colton Sissons – Craig Smith

Eric Nystrom – Cody Hodgson – Austin Watson

Roman Josi – Shea Weber

Mattias Ekholm – Ryan Ellis

Barret Jackman – Seth Jones

Pekka Rinne

Carter Hutton

Scratched: Anthony Bitetto, Cody Bass

Injured: Paul Gaustad (upper body), Gabriel Bourque (upper body), Miikka Salomaki (undisclosed)

Status report: Bass was recalled from the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League on Tuesday. … Wilson missed practice Monday but did take part in the morning skate.

Who's hot: Boedker had a hat trick in a 4-3 win against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. … Fisher has three goals in his past three games.

Team Stats