After a few days off, the Phoenix Coyotes will get back to work when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, at Jobing.com Arena.
Despite looking like one of the more promising teams in the NHL when the season began, the Avalanche have gone nothing but south, dropping 26 of their past 30 games and plummeting in the Western Conference standings.
The Coyotes are coming off yet another win, ousting their division rivals, the Dallas Stars, in the desert on Tuesday. Ilya Bryzgalov stopped a career high 44 shots in the 2-1 shootout win.
It will be Bryzgalov in net again for the Yotes on Friday, taking his place between the pipes on his own bobblehead night.
Despite heading into Friday's game in fourth in the West, they are also only two points out of seventh, which is currently occupied by another division rival, the Anaheim Ducks.
It will be another shorthanded effort for the Coyotes, who are still without a trio of key players, whose absence has been noticeable in recent games. Lauri Korpikoski and Martin Hanzal are both listed as questionable for the remainder of the regular season, while Ed Jovanovski seems to be nearing his return from orbital bone surgery.
Friday is certainly a trap game for these Coyotes, who have been slow starters in recent games. The Avs could take advantage of that, as they were able to do against Anaheim on Monday, though they eventually lost that game as well.
If you're not able to attend Ilya Bryzgalov Bobblehead Night, we've got you covered on Five For Howling all throughout the night's festivities. Puck drops at 7 P.M. local time.