Coyotes at Blue Jackets
Teams vying for wild-card berths in their respective conferences battle on Tuesday as the Phoenix Coyotes face off against the host Columbus Blue Jackets. The Coyotes trail Dallas by one point for the final spot in the Western Conference, although they certainly haven't been competing like a playoff team of late. Phoenix dropped its fourth in a row (0-2-2) with a 3-2 shootout loss to Edmonton on Friday.
Columbus is in a much better position as it resides three points clear of New Jersey and Toronto for the final playoff berth in the East and is within one of Detroit for the top wild-card spot. The Blue Jackets, who are 4-2-1 in their last seven, also sit two points behind Philadelphia for third place in the Metropolitan Division. Sergei Bobrovsky continued to show his Vezina Trophy-winning form by registering his second shutout in three games Sunday as Columbus posted a 4-0 triumph over the New York Islanders.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), FSN Ohio (Columbus)
ABOUT THE COYOTES (36-28-14): Thomas Greiss fell to 2-2-3 in seven starts since Mike Smith suffered a lower-body injury against the New York Rangers on March 24. The German netminder made 24 saves versus the Oilers but committed a costly miscue before the team fell in the bonus format. Smith made it through his first full practice on Monday and accompanied the team on its two-game road trip.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (40-31-7): Left wing R.J. Umberger is expected to be sidelined "probably at least a couple of weeks" with an upper-body injury, coach Todd Richards told the Columbus Dispatch. Umberger scored a goal in the Blue Jackets' 2-0 victory over Phoenix on Jan. 2. The 31-year-old finished the season with 18 tallies and 16 assists in 74 games.
OVERTIME
1. Columbus C Brandon Dubinsky is riding a four-game point streak (one goal, four assists) but has tallied just once in 11 career games versus Phoenix.
2. Coyotes D Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored his career-high 14th goal of the season on Friday.
3. The Blue Jackets are a blistering 5-for-13 on the power play in their last three games.