Coyotes at Avalanche
A pair of players traded for each other one week ago will get the chance to face their former teammates when the Colorado Avalanche host the Arizona Coyotes on Monday night. Seeking to add some punch to their offense, the Avalanche acquired forward Mikkel Boedker from the Coyotes at the trade deadline in exchange for forward Alex Tanguay and two prospects.
Colorado is two points behind Minnesota for the final playoff slot in the Western Conference and squandered a chance to pick up ground in Saturday's 5-2 home loss to Nashville, allowing four unanswered goals in the third period. "It's a tough loss, let's not kid ourselves," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy told reporters. "We need to win the next two games at home. They're going to be important games for us." Tanguay's debut with the Coyotes was delayed by a mild knee sprain, but he made up for lost time by scoring twice and setting up another goal as Arizona snapped a seven-game losing streak with Saturday's 5-1 rout of the Florida Panthers. The Coyotes' slump dropped them 10 points back in the race for the second wild-card position in the West.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
ABOUT THE COYOTES (28-31-6): Tanguay produced only four goals and 22 points in 52 games with Colorado but changed his fortunes with a season-high three-point eruption Saturday. While rookie Max Domi was serving a one-game suspenion, Tanguay was paired with Antoine Vermette and rookie Anthony Duclair and the unit combined for nine points as the Coyotes matched their goal total from the previous four games. "I was hoping this combination would work," said Vermette, who tied a career high with four points. "Sometimes, things look good on paper, but you never know on the ice how it's going to pan out."
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (33-30-4): Boedker scored in his second game with Colorado, marking his only tally in the past 14 contests, but captain Gabriel Landeskog has picked up the offensive slack of late. Landeskog's final-minute goal in the second period Saturday night provided the Avalanche with their last lead and gave him three goals and seven points over his last five games. "We're just going to get right back to work," Landeskog told reporters. "There's no easy answer. We're going to put our work boots on, our hard hats on, and get back to work. There's 15 games left, and that's a lot of hockey."
OVERTIME
1. The Coyotes won both meetings this season, but they have lost eight in a row overall away from home.
2. Colorado has killed off 16 straight power plays over the past five games.
3. Arizona has scored a power-play goal in back-to-back games, but is just 3-of-29 in its last eight outings with the man advantage.