Preview: Coyotes at Lightning

GAME 73:
Coyotes (36-30-6) at Lightning (55-13-4)
Arizona will begin a four-game trip vs. Eastern Conference teams when they skate vs. League-leading Tampa Bay on Monday night.

WHERE:Amalie Arena | WHEN: 4:30 p.m. (AZ time) | TV:FOX Sports Arizona Plus | RADIO:ESPN 620 AM

ABOUT THE 'YOTES:
• Arizona will enter the game with 78 points, one ahead of Minnesota for the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference standings, with 10 games to play. Minnesota, which is idle on Monday, has nine games left.
• The Coyotes are 4-1-0 in their past five games vs. Tampa Bay, including a resounding 7-1 victory over the Lightning at Gila River Arena on Oct. 27. Twelve players notched at least one point in that game for Arizona, and five tallied two.

• Darcy Kuemper will start in goal seeking his 25th win of the season and his first win at Amalie Arena. Kuemper is 2-1-0 vs. Tampa Bay in four career outings with a 2.38 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. His two wins came while tending net for Minnesota at Xcel Energy Center. Kuemper's .921 save percentage ranks fourth in the NHL among goalies who have played at least 40 games.
• Michael Grabner has scored more goals vs. Tampa Bay (12) than any other NHL team, except for Pittsburgh, which he has also scored 12 goals against. Most recently, Grabner netted two "shorties" vs. Tampa Bay in Arizona's 7-1 win over the Lightning in October.

• Oliver Ekman-Larsson will enter the game with a three-game point streak (two goals, one assist) and ranked second on the team with 39 points, trailing Clayton Keller (45). The first-year captain has scored five of his 11 goals this season on the power play. Only three other NHL defensemen have tallied more power-play goals.
• The Coyotes are 18-15-2 on the road this season, including a 6-6-0 record vs. Eastern Conference teams. Two of the four teams they will play - Tampa Bay and the New York Islanders - are leading their divisions. The other two - Florida and New Jersey - are non-playoff teams.
"It's going to be a big road trip for us," Ekman-Larsson said. "Like I've said before, I think every point matters right now and every game matters. It's going to be a tough one, and a good challenge for us. I think if we have a good road trip it will give us a good chance to really push to make the playoffs, and that's what we're focused on right now ... We've been playing good. We just have to look to keep playing good on the road, too. We have been good all year on the road so hopefully we can bring that."
• Alex Galchenyuk leads the Coyotes with 17 goals despite missing 10 games because of injuries. He's tallied six goals in 23 games vs. Tampa Bay. Among all players drafted in 2012, Galchenyuk, picked third overall, ranks first in games played (480) and second in goals (125) and points (293), trailing only Nashville's Filip Forsberg in both categories.
• Antti Raanta and Derek Stepan, both of whom are sidelined and recovering from lower-body injuries, accompanied the team on its four-game road trip.

ABOUT THE LIGHTNING:
• Tampa Bay has won six of its past seven games and leads the NHL with 114 points, 19 more than second-place Calgary ... The team's 55 wins and 114 points already are franchise records with 10 games to play ... The Bolts have scored 277 goals, the most in the League, and have given up just 189 ... Tampa Bay ranks first in the NHL in power-play success at 28.5 percent and penalty-kill success at 85.6 percent ... Nikita Kucherov, who leads the NHL with 117 points (35 goals, 82 assists), will enter the game with a four-game point streak. So will three of his teammates: Brayden Point, Tyler Johnson and Victor Hedman ... Point leads the Lightning with 38 goals. Kucherov and Steven Stamkos are tied for second with 35 ... Ryan McDonagh leads the NHL in plus/minus at +36 ... Andrei Vasilevskiy ranks second in the NHL in goals-against average (2.28) among goalies who have started at least 40 games. He's also tied for second with six shutouts.
'YOTES QUOTES:
• "Obviously they're having a hell of a year. What can you say? They're breaking records and they're just getting ready for the playoffs ... Whether it's Tampa or whoever, we have to have the same philosophy. We've got to stay focused and play aggressive. You can't back off on this team." -- Rick Tocchet
• "We have to limit turnovers because they feed off transition and turnovers. So, for us, playing in their end and behind their net is going to be huge. And I think their big threat is their power play so the more we can stay out of the box and be smart with our sticks is going to help. Our PK is good, but if we give this team too many chances it's going to be tough." -- Brad Richardson
• "It's a lot fun playing against some of those guys they have over there. They have a couple of the best players in the world. So you just try to rise to the occasion, and it's a lot of fun trying to shut them down and hopefully get some offense going, too." -- Michael Grabner