Preview: Coyotes at Oilers

GAME 44:
Coyotes (19-21-3) at Oilers (21-20-3)
Arizona will attempt to extend its winning streak to three games and its point streak to four games in Edmonton on Saturday night in the first game of back-to-back games this weekend. The Coyotes will play at Calgary on Sunday.

WHERE: Rogers Place | WHEN: 8 p.m. (AZ time) | TV:FOX Sports Arizona | RADIO:ESPN 620 AM

ABOUT THE 'YOTES:
• Arizona will enter the game with 41 points, six behind Minnesota for the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference standings with 39 games to play.
• The Coyotes have produced a 28-7-6 record over their past 41 games against the Oilers.

• Darcy Kuemper, who has stopped 56 of 59 shots over the past two games, will make his third consecutive start. He owns a 5-1-2 record with a .931 save percentage and a 1.98 goals-against average against Edmonton.
• The Coyotes will play minus leading goal scorer Brad Richardson, who suffered an upper-body injury vs. Vancouver on Thursday and is expected to miss at least one month. Richardson joins goalie Antti Raanta, defenseman Jason Demers, and forwards Christian Dvorak, Michael Grabner and Nick Schmaltz on the sidelines.
• Jordan Weal, whom the Coyotes acquired via a trade with Philadelphia on Friday, is expected to join the team in time for tonight's game. Weal notched three goals and six assists with the Flyers this season before the trade. He's also won 59.7 percent of his face-offs this season.
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• Conor Garland has scored at least one goal in three consecutive games. If he scores again tonight, he would become the first rookie in franchise history to score a goal in four consecutive games since Teemu Selanne did so in nine straight games from March 14- April 1, 1993.
• Alex Galchenyuk has produced 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in his past nine games.

ABOUT THE OILERS:
• Edmonton is 3-7-0 in its past 10 games, yet with 45 points the Oilers are just two behind Minnesota for the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference standings ... Connor McDavid leads the team and ranks fifth in the NHL with 66 points. He has notched at least one point in 37 of 43 games this season ... Darnell Nurse leads Edmonton defensemen with 22 points and will enter the game with a three-game point streak ... Alex Chiasson has scored 17 goals on just 54 shots. That's a 31.5 shooting percentage, which ranks first in the League among players who have played at least 13 games ... Cam Talbot, who has won two of his past three starts, is expected to start in goal ... Milan Lucic ranks third in the NHL with 157 hits.
'YOTES QUOTES
• "It starts with (Edmonton's) top line. There's a few teams like that where it's all about that top line and this is one of them. If we can do a good job on them it gives us the best chance to win, so that's an obvious focus for us ... We know where we're at in the standings so we've got to keep getting points, and keep chipping away at that (deficit)." -- Alex Goligoski
• "I've actually never seen anything like it. It seems like every game somebody's getting banged up, and 'Richie' has been our most consistent player this year. He's been playing hard for us and he's scored 11 goals for us. It's obviously a big loss, but with another injury it's a chance for other guys to step up again, and it's sort of the "next-man-up" attitude. We've kind of got the ball rolling here. We've got to keep it going vs. Edmonton and then right back at it again against Calgary (on Sunday)." -- Nick Cousins
• "Jordan Weal was a player of interest throughout this year. With our current lineup, he will receive lots of opportunity to take that next step in his career. He's a talented player who has had success at all levels of hockey." -- John Chayka