Hurricanes at Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes will look to do something they haven't done in more than nine years when they host the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. The Coyotes haven't beaten the Hurricanes at home since Dec. 3, 2005, losing each of their last three encounters with Carolina in the desert. Arizona comes into this one having won back-to-back games for the first time since late-December, while the Hurricanes have dropped three consecutive contests.
The Coyotes looked to be headed for a prime seat at the lottery after dropping the first four outings of their marathon eight-game road trip, but recovered to win three of the final four - capped by impressive triumphs in Montreal and Columbus. The power play was the catalyst for both victories, combining for four goals on just five total opportunities. Arizona will be in tough to duplicate the feat against a Carolina team ranked second in penalty killing at 87.1 percent.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Carolinas, Fox Sports Arizona
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (17-26-7): Carolina fans have to wonder what could have been. While the Hurricanes' record suggests the team is a long way from contending for a playoff spot, at least one statistic suggests they may be close - Carolina is a dreadful 8-13-7 in one-goal games in 2014-15, the second-worst mark in the league. That includes a less-than-stellar 4-7 showing in overtime and shootout games, an extension of the Hurricanes' 2013-14 campaign in which they went 6-11 in games that went beyond 60 minutes.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (19-26-6): With Arizona's playoff hopes a distant memory, the team has entered into full-on evaluation mode - and the results have been discouraging. Netminder Louis Domingue gave fans a glimpse of his potential Sunday, turning aside 18 shots in the Coyotes' 3-2 triumph in Montreal. Yet, despite the strong effort, goaltending coach Sean Burke remains realistic: "I don't think at that position, at this time right now, we're going to get that excited about a game or two."
OVERTIME
1. The road team has prevailed in six of the last seven meetings.
2. Carolina has dropped four straight games against Pacific Division foes.
3. Arizona ranks sixth in the league with a 22.9-percent power-play success rate.