Devils at Coyotes
THE STORY: The New Jersey Devils would like to see the line of Patrik Elias, Dainius Zubrus and Petr Sykora give a repeat performance when they continue their four-game road trip against the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday. The trio combined for three goals and three assists in New Jersey's 3-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. Johan Hedberg made 31 saves to post his 18th career shutout and improve to 3-1-1 since Martin Brodeur went down on Oct. 13 with a shoulder injury. The Coyotes will try to change their luck at home as they have lost five of six at Jobing.com Arena dating to last season. Phoenix began a three-game homestand Tuesday with a 3-2 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars in which it allowed the game-tying goal with 61 seconds remaining in the third period.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New Jersey), FSN Arizona (Phoenix)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (4-2-1): New Jersey added a forward on Wednesday as it claimed Ryan Carter off waivers from the Florida Panthers. The 28-year old recorded six penalty minutes in seven games with the Panthers this season after notching two goals and four assists in 44 contests with Florida and the Carolina Hurricanes in 2010-11. Carter was a member of the Anaheim Ducks' Stanley Cup championship team in 2007. The Devils have lost six of their last eight road games overall and five of seven in Phoenix.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (3-3-2): Captain Shane Doan scored his 300th career goal in Tuesday's loss. Doan became the third player in franchise history to reach the milestone, joining Dale Hawerchuk (379) and Keith Tkachuk (323). General manager Don Maloney on Tuesday stated that the Coyotes will not trade holdout center Kyle Turris. If the 22-year old does not come to terms with Phoenix by Dec. 1, he will not be able to play in the NHL this season.
OVERTIME:
1. Doan became one of two players in NHL history to reach the 300-goal mark without registering a hat trick. The other is Scott Mellanby, who retired after the 2006-07 season with 364 career tallies.
2. New Jersey has won six of seven against the Western Conference and five of six vs. the Pacific Division. However, it has dropped five of its last seven visits to Phoenix.