"You have to stay positive otherwise it would get even worse," said Radim Vrbata, who needs one goal to tie Teemu Selanne for 10th place on the franchise's list for goals scored. "We know the situation, and we know how we got here, but there's still lots of games to play and we just have to stay positive and stay focused and improve. We need to start with one win, but we need to get that win as soon as possible."
Mike Smith is expected to start in goal. Head Coach Dave Tippett, sensing Smith needed a break, rested him last Saturday vs. Calgary and kept him out of the game despite the fact that backup goalie Louis Domingue struggled early in a 4-2 loss to the Flames.
Center Martin Hanzal is riding a three-game point streak and has notched four points in the past five games. He also leads the team in face-off winning percentage at 54.3.
The Coyotes will again play minus forward Ryan White, who was recently moved to the injured-reserve list because of a nagging lower-body injury he suffered on Dec. 21. They also will be without rookie defenseman Tony DeAngelo, who must serve the first game of a three-game NHL suspension for abuse of officials.
"We've had lots of meetings and good practices, and that's really the focus," Head Coach Dave Tippett said. "We've got to stay with it here. It's funny, there's some parts of our game you really like. But we've either had a couple of weak links or a couple situations where we've beat ourselves. That starts going the wrong way, and it's hard to grab a hold of. So our veteran group has to recognize that, grab a hold of it. Our young guys have to keep pushing forward."