Canucks at Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes attempt to escape the basement in the Pacific Division when they begin their season-ending two-game homestand Thursday against the Vancouver Canucks. Arizona has put together a three-game point streak (2-0-1) to pull within one of Vancouver, which has lost five in a row.
The Coyotes ended March with a shocking 6-3 victory over league-leading Washington and helped eliminate Los Angeles from playoff contention Sunday with a 2-1 road triumph before dropping a 3-2 overtime decision in Dallas two days later. The Canucks are coming off back-to-back 3-1 losses to San Jose in a home-and-home series and have scored a total of four goals during their slide. It has been feast or famine on the road of late for Vancouver, which has gone 4-5-0 away from home since the beginning of March - netting fewer than two tallies in each loss and at least four in three of the victories. Arizona concludes the season at home against Minnesota on Saturday while the Canucks wrap up with a home-and-home set versus Edmonton over the weekend.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver), FSN Arizona Plus
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (30-40-9): Bo Horvat leads the team in both goals (20) and points (51) but has gone 14 games without a tally. Markus Granlund and Sven Baertschi both can reach the 20-goal plateau for the first time, as the former is one away while the latter is two shy. Daniel Sedin, who has recorded 40 points, likely will finish with fewer than 50 for just the second time in a full season since notching 31 in 2002-03 while brother Henrik (45) is in danger of doing the same in an 82-game campaign for the first time since registering 42 in 2003-04.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (29-41-10): Arizona will play its final two games without Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who also missed Tuesday's overtime defeat as he left the team due to the recent death of his mother. The 25-year-old defenseman continued to play after she passed away a few weeks ago but decided to return to his native Sweden for the funeral. "Family first, all the time," coach Dave Tippett told the team's website. "We have to recognize that it's a game and it's our job, and everybody is certainly committed to the fullest, but family comes first. I've always had that philosophy as a coach."
OVERTIME
1. Coyotes captain Shane Doan and fellow RW Radim Vrbata, the team's leader in goals (18) and points (53), both are day-to-day with lower-body injuries.
2. Vancouver D Alexander Edler's next point will be the 300th of his career.
3. Arizona G Mike Smith is tied with Bob Essensa for the most games played by a netminder in franchise history with 311.