Goalie Mike Smith will make his 40th start. League officials, per the NHL's concussion protocol, pulled Smith from Monday's game in the third period after his head-to-head collision with Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg. Smith was cleared to return to the game with about two minutes left, but he did not get back on the ice.
At Tuesday's practice, Head Coach Dave Tippett was asked if he was OK with what had transpired.
"It doesn't matter whether I'm OK with it or not," Tippett said. "That's what the League has mandated ... The NHL's going to do everything in its power to make sure that player safety is top notch. They feel that's the key step in it. They're not going to put a player in jeopardy, players are going to have to recognize that, and that's the way it's going to go."
The Coyotes are looking to avoid being swept by Chicago this season; the Blackhawks beat Arizona, 4-0, at the United Center on Dec. 6, and, 4-3, at Gila River Arena on Feb. 2.
Forward Radim Vrbata, who leads the team with 41 points, will enter the game with a six-game point streak. Vrbata's career-high point streak is seven games, which he produced in 2011-12.
Captain Shane Doan will play in his 1,525th game and move past Brendan Shanahan into 15th place on the NHL's all-time games-played list.
Defenseman Anthony DeAngelo has rejoined the team from the American Hockey League and will play for the first time since New Year's Eve.
"He's a real high-skilled player that can play the game fast, which we need," Tippett said. "(We'll) put him in a situation tonight (and) see if he can come play fast."
