Conor Garland is week to week for the Arizona Coyotes because of a lower-body injury.
The forward was injured during practice Tuesday and did not play in a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday.
"He's an emotional guy," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "Tenacity on the ice, emotional on the bench. I like the juice that he [brings]. He likes to chirp on the bench, talk to players. We're a relatively quiet team. When he's out it gets quieter, so we need other guys to get out of character and talk more.
"He's always around the net. He's a pest around the net. It's hard to find those guys that are pests out there. He's a guy that jumps on the forecheck. He's one of our better players."
Garland leads the Coyotes with 22 assists and has scored 32 points in 45 games. He has not scored a goal in his past 10 games.
Arizona also is without forward Tyler Pitlick, who has missed the past two games because of a lower-body injury. He has scored 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 38 games and leads Coyotes forwards with 2:06 of shorthanded ice time per game.
"I don't think any single person is going to bring what [Garland] brings, or do what Pitlick does," Coyotes forward Dryden Hunt said. "I think they're unique players and they bring a lot to our team. It's kind of got to be a host of people [filling the voids]. We've had different guys stepping up. … All 12 [forwards] are going to have to step up because those guys are unique players."
The Coyotes (20-22-5) next play at the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. They are fourth in the eight-team Honda West Division, one point ahead of the fifth-place St. Louis Blues, who have four games in hand. The top four teams will qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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