Coyotes look to rev up offense vs. struggling Canadiens
The Arizona Coyotes will host the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night at Gila River Arena in a battle of two teams looking to reverse their current downward trend.
The game can be seen on FOX Sports Arizona, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The Coyotes (25-24-6) are 3-8-2 in the last 13 games, scoring only an average of 1.85 goals during the skid. In the previous 14 games, they had averaged 3.21 goals while going 9-2-3.
The offensive woes were on display in Saturday's 4-1 loss at San Jose, which limited Arizona to only one shot on goal in the third period.
Diamondbacks pitcher Josh Collmenter will be the 'Top Dog' at Monday night's game at Gila River Arena. He will lead the fans with a pre-game howl after the national anthem.
"We worked hard. It was some execution that led to some mistakes that ended up in the back of our net," coach Dave Tippett said. "We had lots of 'try.' We couldn't execute enough to get ourselves back in the game."
The drop in scoring has coincided with Max Domi's struggles. The rookie left wing has just four assists over the past 13 games.
The Coyotes beat the Canadiens 3-2 in Montreal in November, and a win on Monday would give them the first series sweep of the Canadiens in franchise history.
Shane Doan, who scored in the November win, leads the team with 21 goals. He now has 13 20-goal seasons, fourth most among active players, and needs needs 10 more over the final 27 games to match his career-best total for a single season.
The Canadiens (27-25-4) are making another switch in net as they try to avoid a fourth straight road loss.
Montreal has been without Carey Price for almost three months, and reports claim the reigning MVP could be lost for the season because of a knee injury that doesn't require surgery. The Canadiens are 10-21-2 without him, falling from the top of the NHL standings to six points out of a postseason spot.
Mike Condon is 6-14-2 with a 2.67 goals-against average in 24 games since Price went down, and the rookie is expected back in net after a poor performance by Ben Scrivens in a loss on Friday at Buffalo.
Scrivens gave up three goals on eight shots and was pulled 1:28 into the second period of a 6-4 loss.
"We have the philosophy where the goalie who wins is the one who plays," coach Michel Therrien told the team's official website. "We want to avoid playing musical chairs."
Condon, though, is 1-7-1 with a 2.90 GAA over his last nine starts, while Scrivens had a 1.30 GAA and had won three straight prior to Friday. Scrivens is 0-3-1 with a 3.87 GAA over his last four against Arizona.
Sven Andrighetto had two goals in Friday's loss and will continue to be paired with Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais on the Canadiens' top line.
"We want to put him in a position where he can show what he can do offensively," Thierren said. We put him with two good offensive guys and it went well, but he's a guy who needs to produce."
Montreal is 6-1 in its last seven games played in Glendale.
Monday's game will be center Martin Hanzal's 536th with the Coyotes, tying him with Ron Wilson for 11th most in franchise history.
