Preview: Coyotes at Bruins

GAME 29:
Coyotes (13-13-2) at Bruins (16-10-4)
Arizona will begin a four-game road trip vs. Eastern Conference teams when it squares off vs. Boston on Tuesday night.

WHERE: TD Garden | WHEN: 5 p.m. (AZ time) | TV:FOX Sports Arizona Plus | RADIO:ESPN 620 AM
Tweet from @FOXSPORTSAZ: .@TysonNash and @ToddWalsh give you the preview from Boston as Darcy Kuemper takes the net for the @ArizonaCoyotes who are battling the injury bug of late. #OurPack pic.twitter.com/GKtyfAwAzX
ABOUT THE 'YOTES:
• The Coyotes will enter tonight's game riding a three-game road winning streak. Should they win tonight, it would be their first four-game road winning streak since they won five straight road games Oct. 13 - Nov. 15, 2011.
• Darcy Kuemper, who has missed the past eight games because of a lower-body injury, will make his first start in goal since Nov. 21. Kuemper will be the team's new No. 1 goalie now that Antti Raanta is sidelined indefinitely because of a lower-body injury. Adin Hill will be Kuemper's backup vs. the Bruins.

• Clayton Keller, who played one season at nearby Boston University before turning pro, leads the Coyotes in points (20) and co-leads in goals (eight). He's produced six points in his past five games.
• Niklas Hjalmarsson will skate in his 700th NHL game and become just the 15th player from the 2005 NHL Draft class to reach that milestone. Hjalmarsson is leading the Coyotes in blocked shots (56) and plus/minus (+8).
"I'm proud of that," Hjalmarsson said. "It's been a fun ride so far, with a lot of ups and downs, as it is in this League. To be able to play my 700th game today, I'm happy about that and that I've been sticking around for that long."

• Nick Schmaltz is averaging a point per game over six games since coming to the Coyotes in a trade with Chicago on Nov. 25. He's produced three power-play goals and three assists, and helped Arizona win four of the six games he's played since the trade.
• Conor Garland, who skated 10:30 in his NHL debut vs. San Jose on Saturday, will be back in the lineup for his first NHL road game. Garland is from Scituate, Mass., which is about 25 miles southeast of Boston.
• Alex Galchenyuk, who is nursing a minor injury, skated with the team at Tuesday's morning skate. Afterward, Head Coach Rick Tocchet said Galchenyuk would be a game-time decision. If Galchenyuk doesn't play, which is likely, Michael Bunting, whom the Coyotes recalled from the American Hockey League on Friday, will make his NHL debut.
"I'm going to try to take it in as just another game, but obviously, if I play, it won't be just another game, it will be my first NHL game," said Bunting, who fashions his game after Boston's Brad Marchand. "I feel I can really support the team offensively. I've shown that back in the AHL, that I'm able to score and put up points. I just have to bring that into tonight's game and play comfortable and play relaxed. That will be a challenge because I'm really excited. We'll see how it goes."

• If Galchenyuk doesn't play, look for Lawson Crouse to be placed on the top line alongside Schmaltz and Keller.
"The injuries are very unfortunate," Crouse said. "There's a little bit of adversity here that we have to battle through. We talked about that yesterday. Battling through adversity is what makes great teams great. We feel we can be one of those teams that rises above it. All you can do is just control the things that you can control and not worry about the rest."
• Arizona will attempt to end a 13-game losing streak vs. Boston. The Coyotes last defeated the Bruins on Oct. 9, 2010 when the teams began the 2010-11 season in Prague, Czech Republic. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has played 604 NHL games, made his NHL debut in that game.

ABOUT THE BRUINS:
• Boston, which is 10-3-0 at home this season, scored eight goals over the weekend and won back-to-back games vs. Toronto and Ottawa ... Like the Coyotes, the Bruins have allowed just 76 goals this season, the fewest in the League ... Boston's power-play success rate is 27.1 percent, sixth best in the NHL ... David Pastrnak leads the team and ranks tied for fourth in the NHL with 20 goals, including nine power-play goals ... Tuukka Rask will start in goal. He's 10-1-0 with a 1.54 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage vs. the Coyotes ... The Bruins have been playing minus injured stars Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron; Chara has missed the past 12 games, and Bergeron has missed the past 11 games.
'YOTES QUOTES:
• "We have a lot of key injuries right now. It's a good challenge for us. Our conversations right now are about adversity ... You have to be ready when your number is called. There will be more opportunity for guys and more minutes for guys to capitalize on." -- Derek Stepan
• "This is a tough trip. Boston's banged up too, but they play a structured game and you know when you play Boston you've got to know where your positions are ... We're looking for offense. We haven't been getting many chances per game. As much as we're hanging in there, we're getting single-digit chances. We've got to create some opportunities." -- Rick Tocchet
• "It's going to be a hard game. They're missing some key players as well. They also have a lot of really skilled guys in their lineup still. We have to do our best to shut them down and take care of our own zone and make the most of our chances." -- Lawson Crouse