Coyotes at Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks attempt to post their third straight victory Friday as they wrap up their brief two-game homestand against the Arizona Coyotes. Vancouver has needed extra time in winning its last two contests, edging Anaheim 2-1 in a shootout on Sunday in the finale of its 3-1-0 road trip before recording a 4-3 overtime victory over Ottawa two nights later. Daniel Sedin scored his 12th career overtime goal 4:05 into the extra session as the Canucks won for the eighth time in 10 contests.
Arizona enters with a losing streak that reached three games with Thursday's 5-3 setback against Calgary in the opener of its three-game road trip. Captain Shane Doan and Antoine Vermette each recorded a goal and an assist as the Coyotes battled back from a 3-1 deficit before ultimately falling. The Coyotes have been held under four goals in each of their last five contests (2-3-0) after erupting for six in victory at Washington on Nov. 2.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSN Plus Arizona, RSN Pacific (Vancouver)
ABOUT THE COYOTES (6-9-1): Devan Dubnyk could make his fourth start of the season Friday as Mike Smith was in net for the loss to the Flames. The 28-year-old Dubnyk is 2-0-1 despite posting a 3.30 goals-against average and .879 save percentage. Arizona scored on its lone power-play opportunity Thursday, ending its 0-for-20 stretch with the man advantage.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (12-5-0): Vancouver hopes to have Radim Vrbata and Derek Dorsett back in the lineup Friday. A former Coyote, Vrbata has missed two games with a leg injury while Dorsett has sat out the last two contests with an upper-body injury. Defenseman Luca Sbisa also has been sidelined for two games with a lower-body issue, prompting the Canucks to recall Bobby Sanguinetti from Utica of the American Hockey League on Thursday.
OVERTIME
1. Vancouver G Ryan Miller leads the NHL with 11 victories and needs one to surpass Billy Smith (3-5) for sole possession of 25th place on the all-time list.
2. Coyotes D Keith Yandle leads the team in scoring with 11 points but has scored just one goal.
3. Sanguinetti hasn't appeared in the NHL since 2012-13, when he recorded two goals and four assists in 27 games with Carolina.