Preview: Coyotes at Blackhawks

GAME 6:
Coyotes (1-4-0) at Blackhawks (3-0-2)
Looking to snap a goal-scoring slump, Arizona will continue a four-city road trip with a game at high-scoring Chicago on Thursday night.

WHERE: United Center | WHEN: 5:30 p.m. (AZ time) | TV:FOX Sports Arizona| RADIO:KTAR News 92.3 FM

ABOUT THE 'YOTES:
• The Coyotes have launched at least 30 shots on goal in each of their first five games and rank fourth in the NHL at 35.6 shots per game. However, Arizona has scored just three goals on 178 shots for a 1.69 shooting percentage.
• The Coyotes rank second in the NHL in face-off winning percentage at 54.9 percent. Only the St. Louis Blues are better at 55.8 percent. Dylan Strome is leading the NHL at 68.4 percent.
• Five of the players on Arizona's roster for tonight's game once played for the Blackhawks: forwards Vinnie Hinostroza and Richard Panik, defensemen Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jordan Oesterle, and goalie Antti Raanta. Hinostroza, like teammate Christian Fischer, grew up in the Chicago area.

• Raanta, who sat out Arizona's 2-1 loss to Minnesota on Tuesday, will start in goal vs. Chicago, his first NHL team. Raanta posted a 20-9-5 record in 39 games with the Blackhawks from 2013-15. So far this season Raanta has stopped 84 of 93 shots, and his goals-against average is 2.22.
• Tonight's game will be the first for Hjalmarsson at the United Center since the Coyotes acquired him from Chicago on June 23, 2017. Hjalmarsson produced 23 goals and 120 assists in 623 regular-season games with Chicago, and helped the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup three times during his stint with the team (2007-17).

• Brendan Perlini, who scored Arizona's lone goal and took a career-high five shots on Tuesday, will be looking to build off his best game of the season.
"It's encouragng," Head Coach Rick Tocchet said. "I'll tell you, no offense, he was almost out of the lineup. We sat and watched video on the plane and talked for a good 20 minutes. It was great. He was one of our best forwards (on Tuesday). You could tell 'Pearls' was coming back. But he's got to stay that way. He's got to stop on pucks and continue to take pucks to the net. He can't do it once every blue moon."
• Alex Galchenyuk, who missed the first five games of the season because of a lower-body injury, has been practicing with the Coyotes on this road trip and is expected to return to the lineup before it ends. He will not play vs. Chicago.

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS:
• Chicago has started the season with five overtime games, marking the first time in NHL history that a team began its season with five consecutive overtime games ... The Blackhawks have not played since Saturday, when they beat St. Louis, 4-3, in overtime ... Chicago, which ranks second in the NHL at 4.40 goals per game, is 9-1-0 in its past 10 games vs. Arizona ... Goaltender Corey Crawford is expected to play for the first time since suffering a concussion on Dec. 23 of last season. Crawford is 11-2-2 vs. Arizona in 16 games ... Alex DeBrincat (six goals, three assists), Patrick Kane (five goals, three assists) and Jonathan Toews (five goals, four assists) all will enter the game with a five-game point streak.

'YOTES QUOTES:
• "We're 1-4. We've got to flush these first five games and reboot ... I think there's still some guys on our team that have a tough time playing inside. They think they're playing inside and they're not. We're going to have to make people accountable more. You've got to play inside in today's league to score." -- Rick Tocchet
• "I haven't had the chance to play against (friend Corey Crawford) yet, so it's been a long time waiting. But obviously when you hear he's trying to make the comeback in this game, I was obviously a little bit anxious that he would do it. Then you start hearing that he's starting, so super happy for him. It's a long time being out from action." -- Antti Raanta
• "Chicago is always going to be a special place for me. I have so many great memories from here and still a lot of good friends on the team so it puts a smile on my face driving into the city ... It's going to be strange coming in as the away team and being in the other locker room. I bet it's going to be a lot of emotions and mixed feelings." -- Niklas Hjalmarsson