Pre-Game Capsule: Coyotes vs. Oilers

GAME 44:
Coyotes (10-27-6) vs. Oilers (18-23-3)
Arizona will play its first game after its NHL-mandated "bye week" on Friday night when it hosts Edmonton in Glendale. The Coyotes did not play a game or practice from Sunday-Wednesday of this week.

WHERE: Gila River Arena
WHEN: 7 p.m. (AZ time)
TV: FOX Sports Arizona Plus
RADIO:ESPN 620 AM
KEY FACTS:
Video: Domi: Have to Play a Full 60
• Arizona, which will enter the game with a 1-0-1 record after the first two games of a three-game homestand, is 5-1-1 in the first game of back-to-back games this season. The Coyotes will play at San Jose on Saturday night.
• Antti Raanta will start in goal. Raanta, who last played on Saturday when he made 24 saves in a 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Rangers, is 2-1-1 in his past four starts. He stopped 107 of 115 shots in those games, a .930 save percentage.
• Niklas Hjalmarsson, who hasn't played since Arizona last competed vs. Edmonton on Nov. 28, will return to the lineup after missing 16 games because of an upper-body injury.
• Oliver Ekman-Larsson will take the ice for the first time since being named to the NHL All-Star Game for the second time in his career. Ekman-Larsson has fared well vs. Edmonton with 10 goals and 14 assists in 29 games vs. the Oilers.

• Derek Stepan will enter the game with a four-game assist streak. Stepan ranks tied for first on the team with rookie Clayton Keller with 18 assists, and second in points with 26, six behind Keller.
• Richard Panik, whom the Coyotes acquired via a trade with Chicago on Wednesday, will make his debut with the team in this game. Panik has notched 53 goals in 300 NHL games, including six in 37 games for Chicago this season. He skated on a line with Stepan and Brendan Perlini during his first practice with the team on Thursday.

• The Coyotes will again skate minus forward Zac Rinaldo, who will serve the final game of his six-game NHL suspension.
• The Oilers have lost three games in a row and are 1-6-1 in their past eight games. They sit in sixth place in the Pacific Division standings, 13 points ahead of Arizona. Edmonton averages 34.4 shots per game, the second highest average in the League. Captain Connor McDavid ranks ninth in the NHL with 33 assists and 10th with 48 points. Goalie Cam Talbot is tied for first place among NHL goalies with 16 losses.

COYOTE BITES
• "I think (my) first impression was the guys are really close to each other. It seems like it's a really close group of guys. It's always a good thing to have a team with guys close to each other and everbody's talking." -- Richard Panik on Coyotes
• "It's always good to get a little break and get away from the rink and have time with family and whatnot. We had a tough schedule for a long stretch so it was nice to get a few days to unwind and not really think about hockey and just get in a workout or two. We're back to work now and had a good skate (on Thursday), so I think it served us well." -- Jakob Chychrun on bye week
• "They are a strong team up the middle. They've got one of the best center combos in the League with (Connor) McDavid and (Leon) Draisaitl so obviously we've got to limit their time with the puck and space. If we are on our toes in the neutral zone, and limit their speed and make them play defense, I think we'll have some success." -- Nick Cousins on Oilers