Preview: Coyotes vs. Senators, 6:30 p.m., FOX Sports Arizona
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Radim Vrbata will play in his 1,000th NHL game on Thursday night as the Coyotes return from a three-day break to host the Ottawa Senators.
>> Streaming live on FOX Sports GO
Vrbata, 35, leads the Coyotes in goals (15), assists (33) and points (48) and will becomd the 308th player in NHL history to reach the 1,000 game milestone. He's played 493 of those games with the Coyotes and is tied for eighth in franchise history with 152 goals.
The Coyotes (23-35-7) have been off since a 2-1 loss to Carolina on Sunday, their fifth loss in their last seven games.
"If you want to be a winning team, you've got to take care of the puck," coach Dave Tippett said after Sunday's game. "We turn the puck over so much. We shoot ourselves in the foot."
The Coyotes will again be without forward Alexander Burmistrov and defenseman Kevin Connauton, both of whom are dealing with upper-body injuries.
Ottawa (37-22-6) arrived in Arizona after winning at Dallas 5-2 on Wednesday night for its fourth consecutive victory. The Senators have won four in a row and are just four points behind first-place Montreal in the Atlantic Division.
The Senators made a series of moves at the trade deadline to boost their postseason prospects, adding forwards Alex Burrows, Tommy Wingels and Viktor Stalberg and defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka for the stretch drive.
"I feel we're a better hockey team than we were a few weeks ago," general manager Pierre Dorion told the Ottawa Citizen. "Our first goal is to make the playoffs, we'll see what happens after, but I think we've addressed a lot of our needs."
Former Coyote Kyle Turris shares the Ottawa team lead in goals (22) with Mark Stone, but he is not expected to play vs. the Coyotes because of a broken finger. Defenseman Erik Karlsson has a team-high 47 assists and 58 points.
Because the Senators played Wednesday night, backup goaltender Mike Condon is expected to start in goal tonight in place of Craig Anderson.
The Coyotes announced Thursday that they will hold a pregame ceremony honoring Vrbata's milestone prior to their Saturday, March 18, game vs. the St. Louis Blues.
