Coyotes at Oilers
The Arizona Coyotes attempt to continue their mastery in the series when they visit the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday afternoon for the finale of a home-and-home series between the Pacific Division rivals. The Coyotes have earned at least one point in 24 consecutive games against Edmonton (20-0-4) after winning 3-2 in a shootout on Friday, last losing to the Oilers in regulation on Jan. 25, 2011.
“We know that we don’t have the skill to play that type of game, so we have to outwork them,” Arizona defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson told reporters. “I think that’s why we’ve been successful against them.” The Coyotes warmed up with points in four of their last five games (2-1-2) while the Oilers, who put the puck in the net Friday a fraction of a second after time expired in overtime, are 3-0-1 in their last four contests. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid is red-hot again, collecting five goals and four assists in his last four games to seize the NHL scoring lead with 28 points. The Oilers play four of their next five games at home, where they are 5-4-0.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona Plus, Sportsnet (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE COYOTES (7-10-2): Max Domi has emerged from an early-season slump with three goals and four assists in his last eight games to take over the team lead with 14 points – one more than Radim Vrbata. While Ekman-Larsson has cooled off with just three points in 11 games this month, fellow defenseman Anthony DeAngelo has registered two goals and four assists in eight contests since being recalled from Tucson of the American Hockey League. With Louis Domingue (lower body) landing on injured reserve, Justin Peters will serve as the backup to Mike Smith, who improved to 14-1-1 lifetime against Edmonton with Friday’s triumph.
ABOUT THE OILERS (12-8-2): The only thing McDavid has not done this season is score with the man advantage, and Edmonton is in the middle of the pack on the power play at 18.2 percent while being led by Leon Draisaitl’s five goals. Jordan Eberle is second on the team in scoring with 17 points after recording a pair of goals and two assists over his last three contests. Defenseman Oscar Klefbom has warmed up over the last five games, recording three goals and a pair of assists to support Cam Talbot, who has won three of his last four starts while allowing seven tallies in that stretch.
OVERTIME
1. Arizona captain Shane Doan notched his second goal of the season Friday to pull within two of 400 for his career.
2. Edmonton D Kris Russell has recorded just three points but leads the team with a plus-8 rating.
3. Vrbata took over the all-time NHL lead in shootout goals with 43 on Friday, passing Detroit’s Frans Nielsen.