Coyotes at Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes' postseason hopes get slimmer by the day, but they hope to keep them alive when they host the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday. Carolina trails New Jersey by nine points for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with nine games remaining, digging that hole by losing six of its last eight contests.
The Hurricanes' latest setback was their fourth straight at home, a 7-3 loss to Edmonton on Tuesday. Sebastian Aho recorded his club-high 26th goal and an assist in the defeat to extend his point streak to six games and pull even for the team lead in points (59) with fellow Finn Teuvo Teravainen, who also tallied. Arizona is seeking its third consecutive victory as it continues a six-game road trip that began with Wednesday's 4-1 triumph in Buffalo. Clayton Keller set up a pair of goals for the Coyotes to give him 35 assists and 55 points, breaking the club records for a rookie respectively set by Max Domi in 2015-16 and Peter Mueller in 2007-08.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Arizona, FS Carolinas
ABOUT THE COYOTES (25-37-11): Luke Schenn was in the lineup Wednesday for the first time since March 10 due to the absence of fellow defenseman Jason Demers, who is out for the season with an upper-body injury. The 29-year-old Demers recorded six goals and 14 assists over 69 games during his first campaign with Arizona after being acquired from Florida in mid-September. Keller has registered two goals and five assists during his six-game point streak while Derek Stepan has collected a tally and six assists over his last six contests for the Coyotes, who have moved two points ahead of Vancouver to escape the basement in the Western Conference.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (31-31-11): Carolina's playoff chances took another hit Wednesday as the team announced Victor Rask and defenseman Brett Pesce would miss the remainder of the season due to shoulder injuries. Rask, a 25-year-old Swedish center, has recorded 14 goals and 17 assists in 71 games while the 23-year-old Pesce has netted three tallies and set up 16 others in 65 contests. Aho has collected three goals and five assists during his point streak, with all three tallies coming on the power play to raise his team-leading total to eight.
OVERTIME
1. The Hurricanes have registered at least one power-play goal in five of their last seven games, going 6-for-21 in that span.
2. Schenn's next game will be his 700th in the NHL.
3. Carolina has recalled D Roland McKeown from Charlotte of the American Hockey League.