Flyers at Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes have stepped up their game defensively to record back-to-back victories after dropping 10 of their previous 12 contests. The Coyotes look to continue their recent good fortune when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday. Making his fifth start in six games, Devan Dubnyk yielded just one goal in both victories while stopping 61 total shots - including 35 in Arizona's 2-1 shootout triumph over league-leading Anaheim on Saturday.
"We're still unsettled there," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett told the Arizona Republic when asked whether Dubnyk or Mike Smith was the team's No. 1 goaltender. "We need both of them to play well if we're going to have success." Philadelphia, which is in the midst of a season-high eight-game road trip, saw its three-game winning streak come to a halt with a 4-1 setback to former coach Peter Laviolette and Nashville on Saturday. Captain Claude Giroux scored his fourth goal in as many contests and also has three assists during his four-game point streak.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, FSN Arizona
ABOUT THE FLYERS (14-15-6): Steve Mason is hopeful to hear his number called on Monday after missing four games with an apparent back injury. "My goal is to play against Arizona; (Saturday) was a really good first step," Mason told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I think I got more work in than we had planned, which was a good sign. I was moving good, and my energy level was pretty good as well." Pierre-Edouard Bellemare suffered an upper-body injury during Sunday's practice, but the fourth-line center told the newspaper he plans to play against the Coyotes.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (13-18-4): Smith (5-12-2, 3.48 goals-against average) owns a gaudy 1-9-2 record and an .884 save percentage in his last 12 starts. Tippett told reporters that Arizona needs to "ride him and get his game back in order", although the 32-year-old has dropped eight of 12 career decisions (4-7-1, 3.80 GAA) versus Philadelphia. Martin Erat has recorded a goal and two assists over his last two games and has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 13 career contests against the Flyers.
OVERTIME
1. Philadelphia RW Jakub Voracek, who leads the league with 46 points, saw his four-game streak end on Saturday but collected a goal and an assist in his team's 5-3 road victory over Arizona on Jan. 4.
2. The Coyotes recalled C Tyler Gaudet from Portland of the American Hockey League on Sunday. The 6-3, 209-pounder recorded four goals and as many assists in 29 games with Pirates.
3. The Flyers have been floored by a porous penalty kill, yielding three power-play goals to the Predators and 22 tallies in 67 short-handed situations on the road this season.