Rookie Christian Fischer, who has notched three goals in four games this season, has been a good luck charm, if you will, for the Coyotes; Arizona is 4-0-0 with Fischer in the lineup, including a 3-2 win over Florida in Glendale on Jan. 23.
Captain Shane Doan will miss a fourth consecutive game because of a lower-body injury.
Florida (31-30-11) has lost 11 of its past 14 games to drop out of serious contention for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Panthers are nine points behind Boston for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 10 games to play.
James Reimer is expected to start in goal. Like Smith, he was rested Tuesday.
Per NHL.com, defenseman Aaron Ekblad will be out of the lineup for the fifth time in six games. Coach Tom Rowe said Ekblad has a minor neck injury unrelated to the concussion that kept him out for four games before he returned in a 4-3 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
Forward Aleksander Barkov has notched 20 points (11 goals, nine assists) over his past 21 games, and he leads the NHL with seven shootout goals.
Defenseman Keith Yandle is expected to play in his 623rd consecutive game. His streak began on March 26, 2009 vs. Edmonton when Yandle was skating for the Coyotes.
Florida enters tonight's game ranked first in the NHL in penalty killing with an 85.9 success rate.