Sharks at Coyotes
Owning the fewest points in the NHL and riding a four-game losing streak, the Arizona Coyotes finally had a reason to feel positive when goaltender Mike Smith returned to the lineup Wednesday after missing nearly a month. Yet 24 hours later, an injury claimed another key player for Arizona, which hosts the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night.
Coyotes center Brad Richardson underwent surgery Friday after breaking his leg in two places during Thursday's overtime loss at Vancouver. “It’s a long-term injury,” Arizona general manager John Chayka told reporters. “He’s going to be out for a while, of course, and just hoping he ... gets back to the rehab process and we get him back as soon as we can because he’s a heart-and-soul kind of guy.” The Sharks opened their six-game road trip with three impressive victories, outscoring the opposition 10-3. That was followed by a pair of one-goal losses for San Jose, which lost at Arizona 3-2 on Nov. 1.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN California (San Jose), FSN Arizona
ABOUT THE SHARKS (9-8-0): San Jose is dealing with a potential major injury, sending center Tomas Hertl back to California to undergo further testing for a lower-body injury sustained in Thursday's 3-2 loss at St. Louis. “Anytime you’re sending a guy back early on a trip to get looked at, there’s concern,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer told reporters. “But you look around the league and everyone’s dealing with injuries. A lot of injuries to key guys, so we have to continue on here.” Hertl had nine points through 17 games.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (5-9-2): Richardson fractured the tibia and fibula bones in his right leg following a collision with Vancouver defenseman Nikita Tryamkin. Arizona does not have much depth at center and Richardson has been among the team's better players with five goals and nine points. "It's a big hole we have to fill in the middle," goalie Louis Domingue told reporters. "He plays crucial minutes in crucial areas of the game, but just the fact he goes down like that, it is a big bummer for our team."
OVERTIME
1. Sharks G Martin Jones has two shutouts in six starts against Arizona.
2. Smith is 10-7-2 with a 2.10 goals-against average versus San Jose.
3. The Sharks are 2-for-24 on the power play in eight games in November.