Predators at Coyotes
The Nashville Predators hope to avoid a third consecutive road loss as they continue their three-game trip Thursday against the Arizona Coyotes. Nashville came up empty in Vegas on Tuesday, falling 3-0 to the expansion Golden Knights for its third defeat in four road contests (1-2-1) following a four-game winning streak away from home.
The Predators are 1-1-0 since losing Filip Forsberg, who leads the team with 15 goals and 34 points but is on injured reserve with a hand injury that could force him to miss up to six weeks. Arizona is coming off its second straight loss, a 5-2 setback at Anaheim on Sunday in which rookie Clayton Keller extended his point streak to eight games with his team-leading 14th goal. The 19-year-old center, who also tops the Coyotes with 32 points, has collected three tallies and six assists during his run. Arizona is a league-worst 4-13-1 at home, where it has lost two in a row and five of six.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Tennessee (Nashville), FS Arizona
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (23-11-5): Ryan Ellis made his season debut on Tuesday, recording two shots, two blocks and one hit in 18 minutes, 27 seconds of ice time. The 27-year-old defenseman, who hadn't played since Game 6 of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final against Pittsburgh on June 11, missed Nashville's first 38 games while recovering from offseason knee surgery. Defenseman P.K. Subban, who is second on the team in scoring (29 points), recorded a goal and an assist in back-to-back games before Tuesday's shutout loss.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (9-27-5): Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson, who has been sidelined with an upper-body injury, is close to returning to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 28. "He's getting closer," coach Rick Tocchet told the team's website. "He's practiced with us the last couple days, and that's helped. We just want to make sure that he's definitely ready." Blue-liner Kyle Capobianco, who made his NHL debut on Dec. 7, was recalled from Tucson of the American Hockey League.
OVERTIME
1. The Coyotes have assigned D Andrew Campbell to Tucson.
2. Nashville C Kyle Turris is three assists shy of 200 for his career.
3. Arizona F Zac Rinaldo will serve the fourth contest of the six-game suspension he received for sucker-punching Colorado's Samuel Girard.