Coyotes at Oilers
After finishing their season-high seven-game homestand on a strong note, the Arizona Coyotes continue their quest to escape the league basement when they begin a three-game road trip Monday against the Edmonton Oilers. Arizona, which is just one point behind Eastern Conference-worst Buffalo, completed its 5-2-0 stretch at Gila River Arena with triumphs over Minnesota on Thursday and Ottawa two days later.
Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored in the Coyotes' 2-1 victory over the Senators, ending his 16-game drought with his first goal at home since Nov. 25 and pulling within three of 100 career tallies. Edmonton dropped a 3-2 decision to the New York Rangers on Saturday to extend its losing streak to three contests, including the first two of its five-game homestand. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins made a successful return to the lineup in the setback, recording a goal and a plus-1 rating after missing 18 games due to a rib injury. Captain Connor McDavid is wielding a hot stick as he has tallied in three straight contests while adding five assists during his four-game point streak.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Arizona Plus, Sportsnet Oilers (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE COYOTES (20-34-10): Andrew Campbell hopes to make his first NHL appearance since April 9, 2016 with Toronto after being recalled from Tucson of the American Hockey League on Sunday. The 30-year-old defenseman has recorded two assists in 42 NHL games, including 33 with the Coyotes in 2014-15. Rookie Clayton Keller, who leads the team with 46 points, has notched an assist in back-to-back contests following a four-game point drought.
ABOUT THE OILERS (27-34-4): McDavid registered a goal and an assist on Saturday to pull into a tie for second in the league in scoring with 79 points. The 21-year-old joined Hall-of-Famers Wayne Gretzky, Glenn Anderson and Jari Kurri as the only players in franchise history to record multiple 30-goal seasons before the age of 22. McDavid also is the first Oiler to score 30 goals in back-to-back campaigns since Ryan Smyth accomplished the feat in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
OVERTIME
1. Ekman-Larsson entered Sunday with the league's worst plus/minus rating at minus-35.
2. Edmonton C Ryan Strome had his four-game point streak snapped Saturday, leaving him one assist shy of 100 for his career, while Nugent-Hopkins moved within three points of 300 in the NHL.
3. Arizona is 8-2-1 in its last 11 overall contests.