Devils at Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes are not giving up despite being nowhere near Stanley Cup playoff contention and will try to find some offense when they host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. "We compete hard," coach Dave Tippett told Azcentral.com. "There's no qualms about the effort or the try, but (against Chicago) we could have played way smarter. We could have executed better and that's frustrating." Arizona, which has more points (50) than only Edmonton (48) and Buffalo (44), is 1-12-1 in its last 14 contests and 1-3-1 on its six-game homestand after a 2-1 loss to the Blackhawks on Thursday, and has scored 22 goals in its last 17 contests.
Barring a miracle, New Jersey also will not participate in the playoffs for the third consecutive year - its longest streak since missing the first five seasons in team history (1982-87). The Devils began their three-game road trip with two losses (0-1-1) and are 3-3-2 in their last eight contests after a 2-1 shootout loss to Colorado on Thursday but like the Coyotes will not quit. "We liked a lot of things about our game (Thursday), but the first thing that comes to mind is I liked our compete (level) and work ethic," left wing Mike Cammalleri told reporters. "I thought there was a consistency through our lineup as far as our commitment and that's key."
TV: 9 p.m. ET, MSG Plus 2 (New Jersey), FSN Arizona
ABOUT THE DEVILS (28-29-11): New Jersey is banged up after four players - forwards Patrik Elias (foot), Steve Bernier (foot) and Cammalleri (upper body), and rookie defenseman Damon Severson (upper body) - were injured Thursday, but all practiced the following day. Elias, though, left early because of back spasms, according to Northjersey.com. Cammalleri has a team-leading 24 goals - six in his last 11 contests - while Elias and Bernier have 10 apiece this season.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (21-39-8): Arizona could be without defenseman and leading scorer Oliver Ekman-Larsson (17 goals), who did not practice Friday after he was boarded with 37.5 seconds left Thursday and suffered an upper-body injury. Tippett said it is likely a shoulder ailment and doesn't appear to be serious and hopes Ekman-Larsson can play against New Jersey. Rookie Tobias Rieder scored Thursday and has three goals in his last five games.
OVERTIME
1. Arizona is second-to-last in the NHL at 2.04 goals per game and scored three times only once in its last 17 contests.
2. New Jersey has killed 34-of-36 penalties in the last 13 games.
3. The Devils defeated the Coyotes 3-0 on Feb. 23 behind 38 saves by Cory Schneider after Arizona had won the previous three meetings.