Red Wings at Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes are starting to rebuild some confidence that they can carry into next season and will look to push their winning streak to four games when the struggling Detroit Red Wings pay a visit Thursday night. Arizona is 4-1-1 in its last six contests after outlasting Los Angeles 3-2 in an 11-round shootout Tuesday as Max Domi scored late in regulation to tie it and Louis Domingue turned aside 44 shots.
“This was a big game for (Los Angeles), so it was a big test for us,” Coyotes defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, who had the deciding shootout goal, told reporters. “It helped us grow as a team. It was a good experience and good to get a win.” The Red Wings’ streak of 25 straight years in the playoffs is about to come to an end and a loss Thursday could sink them to the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Detroit is 1-5-1 in its last seven contests after losing 3-1 at league-worst Colorado on Wednesday. The Red Wings have managed one goal in three of their last four games, sandwiching a 4-2 victory over Chicago at home Friday.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, FSN Arizona
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (26-31-11): Captain Henrik Zetterberg is putting together another solid season while recording 55 points – 20 more than anyone else on the team – and a plus-11 rating after registering a goal and 13 assists in his past 11 games. Andreas Athanasiou (16 goals) had the only tally for Detroit on Wednesday and fellow speedy forward Dylan Larkin notched his third assist in four games. Petr Mrazek, who is winless with an .886 save percentage in March, could get the start after Jimmy Howard made 26 saves Wednesday.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (26-35-8): Domi snapped a seven-game goal drought with a pair of tallies Tuesday and stands fourth on the team with 31 points in 46 games. Veteran right wing Radim Vrbata tops the team with 50 points and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson is next with 34, but has managed to post just one in his past 13 outings. Forward Tobias Rieder boasts seven points in his last seven games to push his total to 32 while rookie left wing Brendan Perlini was held off the scoresheet Tuesday after recording a goal in three consecutive games.
OVERTIME
1. Detroit F Gustav Nyquist was kept off the scoresheet Wednesday, but posted six points in the previous four contests.
2. Arizona G Mike Smith, who was rested Tuesday, is coming off his third shutout of the season and beat Detroit 4-1 with 37 saves on Dec. 14.
3. Red Wings D Niklas Kronwall needs one assist to reach 300 for his career.