With each meeting between Arizona and Anaheim, the teams' standing in the Pacific Division has grown closer to that which was expected of each club entering the season.
The first was a four-goal Coyotes' win to remain unbeaten and extend the Ducks' season-opening losing streak. The second was an overtime win for third-place Arizona that ended fifth-place Anaheim's four-game winning streak. The third comes Wednesday night in Arizona, and a Ducks' win would vault them past the Coyotes into fourth.
Arizona (10-9-1) is returning for three at home after a 1-3-0 road trip that ended with Saturday's 3-2 loss in Winnipeg. It followed an encouraging 3-2 win at NHL co-leader Montreal on Thursday, so coach Dave Tippett isn't making too much of it.
"It was a competitive game," Tippett said. "Couple of bounces here and there but it was a real tight game. They capitalized on their chance in the third and that was the difference in the game."
On the road trip as a whole, though, the Coyotes gave up 3.75 goals per game and have surrendered 3.36 over a 5-6-0 span that followed a 2.44 mark during a 5-3-1 start.
The Coyotes opened the season series with a 4-0 win on Oct. 14 followed by a 4-3 victory on Nov. 9 with both coming on the road. The deciding factor in each was a pair of Arizona 20-year-olds as Anthony Duclair totaled four goals and Max Domi scored three with an assist.
Anaheim (8-10-4) is seeking consecutive wins for the first time since that winning streak leading into the latest loss to the Coyotes. The Ducks, who are going on the road for one before playing six straight at home, set themselves up to do so with Tuesday's 5-3 home win over Calgary.
They fell behind 2-0 midway through the first, then tied it on goals by Corey Perry and Rickard Rakell. They fell behind in the second, but Rakell and Perry struck again in the third before Ryan Kesler's empty-netter. Perry's goals came on the power play and accounted for two of Ryan Getzlaf's five assists, giving the center nine points in his last five after managing five through his first 13.
Perry's seven goals have all come in the last 11 games after going without one through 11, though he hasn't scored in his last seven against the Coyotes.
With their stars contributing, the Ducks have averaged 2.67 goals in 12 games since the start of November after scoring 10 in their first 10. Tuesday was their first five-goal game of the season.
"Every night isn't going to go that way, but we worked hard for our shots tonight," Perry told the team's official website. "We were clicking. We were feeding off of each other. That's the way we have to play."
Both teams have had some health concerns in goal with Anaheim's Frederik Andersen missing Tuesday's game due to illness, and backup Anton Khudobin giving up two goals on five shots before being pulled for John Gibson. If Andersen is able to play, he'll be trying to improve on a 1-2-2 span with a 3.80 goals-against average that began against Arizona. He's 3-0-3 with a 1.58 GAA in seven games in the series.
Arizona's Anders Lindback faced the Jets and has allowed 10 goals in his last three games, but Mike Smith figures to be in goal after sitting out because of a lower-body injury. Smith beat Montreal with 31 saves to get to 4-2-0 with a 2.76 GAA this month after suffering through a 1-3-1 seven-game span with a 4.55 mark.
He was in goal for the shutout in Anaheim, though he's 2-5-1 in nine games of the series dating to the start of 2013-14.
