By Andrew Phillip Chernoff CanucksBanter

March 16, 2023

Vancouver Canucks (29-32-5), 6th in the Pacific Division) vs Arizona Coyotes (25-32-11), 7th in the Central Division).

Tempe, Arizona; Thursday, 7 p.m. PDT

Vancouver begins a three game road trip in Arizona tonight, continuing with games against Los Angeles, Saturday, March 18th; then Anaheim, Sunday, March 19th

The game is the second of three meetings between the Canucks and Coyotes this season: Vancouver defeated Arizona 3-2 OTW on Dec. 3, 2022, and finish the season series on April 13 in Arizona.

Vancouver On A Mission

Vancouver Canucks seeks to make it six consecutive wins with a victory over Arizona.

At-A-Glance

Arizona is 18-11-3 at home, with a 4-game win streak. The Coyotes have given up 237 goals while scoring 189 for a -48 scoring differential.

Vancouver has a 13-15-4 record in road games, with a 2-game win streak. The Canucks have a 25-6-2 record in games they score four or more goals. They are 16-10-3 when they score first.

Streaking Canucks

• Elias Pettersson has 19 points (5-14-19) in his last 12 games.
• Quinn Hughes has 16 points (0-16-16) in his last 16 games.
• Andrei Kuzmenko has 16 points (11-5-15) in his last 13 games.
• J.T. Miller has 14 points (7-7-14) in his last 11 games.
• Anthony Beauvillier has 14 points (7-7-14) in his last 15 games.
• Brock Boeser has seven points (1-6-7) in his last six games.

Thatcher Demko Playing Like An All-Star

Six games into his return from injury, Demko has 5 wins in 6 games, a .928 SV%(save percentage), and a GAA (goals against average) of 2.17.

LAST 10 GAMES:

Vancouver is 7-2-1, averaging 3.40 goals per game, while allowing 2.50 goals per game. Power play is 18.8 percent; penalty kill is 84.9 percent.

Arizona is 5-3-2, averaging 3.40 goals per game, while allowing 3.50 goals per game. Power play is 15.4 percent; penalty kill is 77.1 percent.

INJURIES:

Vancouver:

• Ethan Bear: out (upper body)
• Filip Hronek: day to day (upper-body)
• Oliver Ekman-Larsson: out (lower body)
• Ilya Mikheyev: out for season (knee)
• Tanner Pearson: out for season (hand)
• Travis Dermott: out (undisclosed)
• Tucker Poolman: out (undisclosed)

Coyotes:

• Nick Schmaltz: day to day (lower body)
• Jakub Voracek: out (concussion)
• Patrik Nemeth: day to day (lower body)
• Andrew Ladd: out for season (knee)
• Shea Weber: out (ankle).