The Vancouver Canucks have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL as of late and the team will put its strong play on the line on Tuesday night as they host the Phoenix Coyotes at Rogers Arena in Canada.
The Canucks are tops in the Northwest Division after starting off the season slowly, but enter the game after a tough 8-3 loss Sunday against Detroit. The team went 2-1-1 on its most recent road trip and returns home where they are 5-2-2 on the season. The Canucks will host the Coyotes for the first time this season and they enter the game after a 5-4 loss against Calgary on Sunday.
Vancouver gave up its most goals of the season against Detroit, allowing six in a row to the Red Wings after scoring three straight goals, including two from Daniel Sedin.
"I think it was just a matter of us maybe taking it like it was the last game of the road trip, and I don't think we were 100 percent focused on the game," said Henrik Sedin, who had two assists in the loss to raise his team-best total to 15, said on Monday. "That shouldn't happen, but that's what happened."
Vancouver has been solid at home this season, but they have lost two in a row since winning five straight, but the Coyotes enter the game on a rough patch, losing two straight over the weekend against Canadian opponents. Phoenix was defeated 3-2 by Edmonton on Saturday in a shootout before losing to Calgary on Sunday after allowing two goals in the final two minutes
"That's two games in a row that we had a lead and we gave it away," said coach Dave Tippett, whose team was on a 7-2-2 run heading into its trip. "We have to find a way to close these games out. That's not who we are as a team. Very uncharacteristic of us."
The Coyotes are looking to avoid a third straight loss and will need to improve the power play against the Canucks, as they have gone just 3 for 32 with the man advantage in the last seven games. The Canucks may be without defenseman Kevin Bieksa and it is still unclear who will be in net on Tuesday night, as Roberto Luongo has started two straight games.
Last season Cory Schneider allowed just one goal in two games in Phoenix, while Luongo went 1-1-0 in the two home games against the Coyotes last year, Phoenix goalie Mike Smith has been in net for the last 11 games and he has gone 6-5 on the season.
The Canucks have been solid scoring this season, ranking 14th in the NHL with 2.8 goals per game, while the goaltending has been fantastic, allowing just 2.4 goals per game, ranked in the top 10 of the league. The team is ranked 12th in power play percentage and 19th on the penalty kill, knocking away nearly 80 percent of penalties.
The Coyotes are in the middle of the pack in scoring at 16th in the NHL and are allowing 2.6 goals per game from Smith. The team is ranked 16th in power play percentage and seventh in penalty kill percentage.
