Blackhawks at Coyotes
THE STORY: The Phoenix Coyotes are streaking at just the right time while the Chicago Blackhawks are tumbling head over heels. Clinging to eighth place in the Western Conference, the Coyotes will look to extend their winning streak to a season-best five games on Saturday when they welcome the reeling Blackhawks to the desert. Chicago saw its losing skid reach seven games on Friday when it dropped a 5-3 decision to the San Jose Sharks.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, WGN, FSAZ+
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (29-19-7): The road has not been kind to coach Joel Quenneville's club. Chicago has dropped its first five contests on its nine-game road trip - and nine straight overall away from the United Center. C Marcus Kruger collected his first career two-goal performance on Friday, but the Sharks pulled away for a 5-3 win. Kruger has been held off the scoresheet in all three career meetings versus the Coyotes.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (26-21-8): Jeremy Roenick, who is also a former Blackhawk, will be inducted into Phoenix's Ring of Honor prior to Saturday's contest. The popular player-turned-analyst will certainly whip the faithful at Jobing.com Arena into a frenzy. Captain Shane Doan did the same on Thursday when he netted an overtime goal to lift Phoenix to a 2-1 triumph over the Calgary Flames. While satisfied with the victory, Doan knows there's more at stake. "We're not looking to just crawl. We're trying to run with this," Doan said of the team's winning streak and playoff prospects.
OVERTIME:
1. Chicago D Steve Montador, who is dealing with an upper-body injury, was placed on injured reserve Friday. Fellow D Niklas Hjalmarsson also has an upper-body injury and sat out versus the Sharks.
2. Veteran LW Ray Whitney is riding a season-best seven-game scoring streak. He has two goals and nine assists in that stretch.
3. The Blackhawks last lost eight in a row from Dec. 30, 2007-Jan. 11, 2008.