Just two games removed from the All-Star break, the Arizona Coyotes are still experiencing some of the problems that have left them in last place in the Central Division.
The Coyotes, 2-7-0 in their past nine games, will attempt to change that trend Friday when they make up a postponed game from Dec. 23 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Glendale, Ariz.
Arizona can point to multiple reasons for the setbacks, excuses that can range from being in rebuilding mode to a lack of cohesion on a disjointed roster.
Complicating matters is that the location of the Coyotes' home ice is in flux, too. The franchise announced Thursday that it will move from Glendale to a new facility at Arizona State University in Tempe starting with the 2022-23 season.
The deal runs for three years, with an option for 2025-26 campaign to be held in Tempe, too. The new home might not provide the best home-ice advantage, though, as it is expected to have a capacity of 5,000 at most.
The Coyotes' ultimate hope is to land a larger home in the Phoenix area.
The Arizona roster could be subject to change, too, ahead of the March 21 trade deadline.
Among those who could be on the move is 34-year-old right winger Phil Kessel, who possesses a dangerous one-timer, 397 career goals, 935 points and a consecutive-game streak that sits at 947.
Kessel scored a goal for the first time in 18 games and added an assist on Wednesday as the Coyotes earned a 5-2 road win over the Seattle Kraken.
Arizona's Nick Schmaltz collected two goals in the victory.
"I thought we did a good job making plays with the puck, holding on to it and getting a little more traffic than we did (in a Tuesday loss at Vancouver) in front of the net," Schmaltz said. "We created a little more chaos in their end, and obviously our goalie was really good tonight as well."
Karel Vejmelka made 34 saves for the win.
The Lightning arrive in the desert with far more focus on the immediate future. Tampa Bay, which sits in second place in the Atlantic Division, will complete a back-to-back set on Friday after taking a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday in Denver.
In a battle of heavyweights, Colorado jumped on the Lightning early, posting the match's first 13 shots, and hung on for the victory despite playing without star Nathan MacKinnon (concussion, facial fractures).
Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov, back after a three-game absence caused by COVID-19 protocol, scored a goal. Brayden Point also found the net for the Lightning, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 44 saves.
On Thursday, the franchise signed 33-year-old winger Pat Maroon to a contract extension, giving the three-time Cup winner two more seasons at $1 million per year.
"He brought a winning pedigree with him here," coach Jon Cooper said of Maroon, who won a Cup in 2019 with his hometown St. Louis Blues. "He was one of the guys that helped identify some of the things we needed to do to win."
The Lightning were triumphant in the first meeting of the season against Arizona, claiming a 5-1 home win on Oct. 28. Tampa Bay is 4-0-1 in the second half of back-to-back sets this season.
--Field Level Media