Islanders at Coyotes
THE STORY: To a man, the Phoenix Coyotes know that they
have been more than hospitable at Jobing.com Arena this season. As a
result of their generosity, Phoenix is just one of three Western
Conference teams with a below .500 mark at home (7-8-3). Considering
that the other two are the woe-begotten Columbus Blue Jackets and
Anaheim Ducks, well, that's not company with which one wants to be
associated. The Coyotes will look to record just their second win in
eight contests on Saturday when they welcome the New York Islanders.
Coach Jack Capuano's club saw its three-game winning streak come to an
end on Friday as the Ducks netted three third period goals to secure a
4-2 triumph at the Honda Center. Islanders G Evgeni Nabokov was solid
until that final period, and will look to rebound against team which he
has dominated in his career. The 36-year-old Russian has posted a
22-12-3 career mark with two ties and seven shutouts versus the Coyotes.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, MSG+2, FSAZ
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (14-18-6): RW Kyle Okposo started the season with a thud, failing to score a goal in
his first 15 games. His last 20 contests have been a different story,
however. Okposo netted his eighth goal in that stretch - and second in
as many games on Friday to give the Islanders a brief 2-1 lead in the
third period. New York entered Friday's contest with four power-play
goals in its last five opportunities. Unfortunately for the Islanders,
they went 0-for-3 against Anaheim and
failed to secure their first four-game winning streak of the season.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (19-17-5): Making his second start
after being sidelined for six games with a groin injury, G Mike Smith
turned aside his first 27 shots before defenseman Drew Doughty's
controversial goal 38 seconds into overtime resulted in a 1-0 loss to
the Los Angeles Kings. Phoenix continues to be undone by a lack of
offense. Aside from the ageless Ray Whitney (team-leading 35 points) and
Radim Vrbata (team-leading 19 goals), the Coyotes aren't getting much
secondary scoring this season. Phoenix suffered its fifth shutout of the
season and has collected just eight goals in its last five contests.
OVERTIME:
1. Phoenix LW Raffi Torres finished serving his two-game suspension and
will return to face the team that selected him with the fifth overall
pick in the 2000 draft.
2. Saturday's contest is the lone one this season between the clubs.
3. Phoenix D Adrian Aucoin suffered a cut about the eye in Thursday's
loss. With pronounced swelling, Aucoin is unlikely to play against a New
York club which he played with for three seasons.