After dropping a disappointing affair against the San Jose Sharks on Monday afternoon, the Phoenix Coyotes will look to turn it right back around when they host the Nashville Predators at Jobing.com Arena on Tuesday night. Monday saw the Coyotes make few mistakes, but those few were costly in the loss. Defensive breakdowns led to a trio of goals for San Jose, and Phoenix couldn't muster up enough offense to respond.
Tuesday marks the end of a four-game streak at home for the Yotes, and the third of four contests against the Preds this season. The Coyotes have split the previous two, winning 4-3 earlier this year, before being shutout by Nashville 3-0 in their last outing against them.
Nearly all of the credit for that shutout went to Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne, who stoned Phoenix on 33 shots back in November. Rinne comes in riding one of the hotter streaks for a goaltender this season, having allowed only one goal in six of his last nine outings.
He'll be facing a Phoenix goaltender that took home Third Star honors in the NHL last week. Ilya Bryzgalov had won four starts in a row prior to the loss on Monday. He stopped 32 San Jose shots in a losing effort in that game.
There are still questions on the injury front for Phoenix heading into Tuesday's contest. David Schlemko took a big hit to the head on Monday and is expected to miss some time. Head coach Dave Tippett is hoping that either Ed Jovanovski or the newly acquired Michal Rozsival will be healthy enough to go in his place on Tuesday.
With the Coyotes woes on the man advantage in their 0-for-4 performance on Monday, they'll have their hands full with a Nashville squad that is near the top of the league in penalty killing.
Phoenix will look to end their homestand on a high note, given that they will play three of their next five away from the desert.