{coyotes} Coyotes to honor Doan before game against Sharks

Thursday, 21 January 2016

{coyotes} Coyotes to honor Doan before game against Sharks

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SHARKS (23-18-3) at COYOTES (22-18-5)

TV: CSN-CA, FS-A

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Coyotes will honor captain Shane Doan prior to their game Thursday against the San Jose Sharks.

Doan passed Dale Hawerchuk to become the leading goal-scorer in Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets history with his 380th on Dec. 31. Doan bobblehead dolls will be handed out to the first 5,000 fans.

"The longevity here and being not just a great player, but a great person, Shane is very deserving," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "To do it and do it all with one organization is pretty phenomenal, especially in today's sports.

"He defies his age. If you look at the smile on his face and the work he puts in every day, you'd never think he was that age. Hopefully, he just keeps going."

Doan, 39, whose 16 goals lead Arizona, has spent his entire 20-season NHL career with the Coyotes/Jets. He has 384 goals and 922 points in 1,430 games.

"It's a pretty special honor and something that doesn't happen too often," Doan said. "Anyone would be uncomfortable with all the attention; it's awkward. But I will enjoy it too."

Arizona rookie goaltender Louis Domingue is expected to start Thursday after he lost for the first time in regulation in his past eight games, 2-1 to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday.

"He played well in that loss," Tippett said. "We didn't support him with enough goal-scoring. But he gave us a good game back there."

The Sharks won't have forward Dainius Zubrus in the lineup; he's missed the past six games because of an upper-body injury. Zubrus was on the ice for an optional morning skate, but coach Peter DeBoer said he did not plan to change his lineup.

Goalie Martin Jones will play for the Sharks after sitting out a 4-3 shootout loss to the Ottawa Senators on Monday that ended the Sharks' five-game winning streak.

With more than half the season complete, the Coyotes (22-18-5) and Sharks (23-18-3) each have 49 points and are fighting for a top-three spot in the Pacific Division. It's the first game between them this season.

"Both teams look at the standings and say, 'This is a big game,'" Tippett said. "We've done some good things as a group. We've grown as a group. Now you get into games like this and you look to take your game to the next level. It's a great challenge for us."

The Coyotes have lost three straight (0-2-1) to allow the Sharks to jump ahead of them in the standings by points percentage; the Sharks have played one fewer game.

Tippett will return defenseman Klas Dahlbeck to the lineup for the first time in three games. Dahlbeck played the first 43 games this season but sat out in favor of new acquisition Kevin Connauton in the past two, each a loss.

"I think he will be a good player for us," Tippett said. "He's had a couple of games out to watch and get another perspective. I think he will jump in and give us a real good game."

Here are the projected lineups

SHARKS

Tomas Hertl - Joe Thornton - Joe Pavelski

Matt Nieto - Patrick Marleau - Joel Ward

Joonas Donskoi - Logan Couture - Tommy Wingels

Melker Karlsson - Chris Tierney - Mike Brown

Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Justin Braun

Paul Martin - Brent Burns

Brenden Dillon - Dylan DeMelo

Martin Jones

Alex Stalock

Injured: Dainius Zubrus (upper body)

Scratched: Matt Tennyson

COYOTES

Max Domi - Antoine Vermette - Mikkel Boedker

Tobias Rieder - Martin Hanzal - Anthony Duclair

Jordan Martinook - Brad Richardson - Shane Doan

Kyle Chipchura - Boyd Gordon - Viktor Tikhonov

Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Connor Murphy

Klas Dahlbeck - Zbynek Michalek

Nicklas Grossman - Michael Stone

Louis Domingue

Anders Lindback

Injured: Mike Smith (abdominal surgery), Joe Vitale (fractured orbital bone)

Scratched: Kevin Connauton, Jarred Tinordi

Status report: The Sharks placed forward Ben Smith on waivers Wednesday. … Connauton and Tinordi, each acquired last week by Arizona, will sit out as scratches. Dahlbeck will be reunited with Michalek, who was hit in the mouth by a puck in the first period Monday but finished the game and will play Thursday.

Who's hot: Pavelski had six goals in five games against the Coyotes last season. … Doan had three goals and six points against the Sharks in five games last season. … Arizona has six players with 10 or more goals this season. Only the Washington Capitals (seven) have more.

Team Stats