Capitals at Coyotes
Everything has been coming in threes in the past three weeks for the Arizona Coyotes, who go for their third straight victory when they host the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night. The Coyotes sandwiched a pair of three-game skids around a three-game win streak before wrapping up a three-game road swing with back-to-back victories at Vancouver and Edmonton. It is the only home contest in a seven-game stretch for Arizona, which heads back out on the road for a three-game trek following Tuesday's meeting.
Barry Trotz thought his team had turned a corner after the Capitals ripped off three consecutive victories, but they were blanked at home by New Jersey on Friday before getting bulldozed in St. Louis 24 hours later. “We’re trying to rebuild Rome a little bit, if you will, and it’s not going to happen overnight,” Trotz said. “There’s always different twists and turns. I feel we’re close, but we’re not getting over the hump right now.” The teams have alternated wins and losses in the last seven meetings, including Arizona's 6-5 home victory on Nov. 2.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, CSN Washington, FSN Arizona
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (7-7-3): Washington owns the league's No. 3 power play with a 25.9 percent success rate, but that's more a product of efficiency than opportunity. The Capitals have fewer chances than all but four teams in the league and, against the Blues, failed to go on the power play for the first time this season. “The more time you have the puck, the more penalties teams are going to commit,” defenseman Brooks Orpik said. “It’s when you don’t have the puck, when you’re defending, you’re tired, guys get body position on you. I think that’s the art of it, just having the puck more than the other team.”
ABOUT THE COYOTES (8-9-1): With starting goaltender Mike Smith struggling all season, posting a 4-9-0 record and 3.43 goals-against average, coach Dave Tippett turned to backup Devan Dubnyk and was rewarded with a pair of stellar performances. Dubnyk turned aside 68-of-69 shots in back-to-back wins over the weekend, including a 35-save shutout against the Canucks, to improve to 4-0-1 with a 2.25 GAA. "We've had some inconsistency in that position this year, and he can play solid," Tippett said of Dubnyk, who allowed five goals in the win over Washington earlier this month. "It really helps our team."
OVERTIME
1. Coyotes F Mikkel Boedker is riding a four-game point streak.
2. Capitals superstar Alex Oveckin had a goal and three assists in the last meeting versus the Coyotes and has four goals and 12 points in nine games against them.
3. Coyotes F Sam Gagner will play in his 500th career game Tuesday.