ABOUT THE 'YOTES:
• The Coyotes are in a mini-slump having won just two of their past eight games (2-4-2) after posting five wins in a row.
• Goalie Antti Raanta will return to the starting lineup for this game after missing the past eight games because of a lower-body injury. Raanta ranks fourth in the NHL in goals-against average (2.10) among goalies who have played at least nine games. His .929 save percentage ranks fifth. The Coyotes assigned goalie Hunter Miska to the American Hockey League on Friday morning, signaling Raanta's readiness.
"Not to have him for seven, eight games was tough, but I think we withstood it a little bit," Head Coach Rick Tocchet said. "(Darcy Kuemper) did a nice job for us. Obviously, we're ecstatic that 'Rants' is back in."
• The Coyotes allowed just 2.55 goals per game through their first 20 games of the season. That ranks third stingiest in the NHL behind only Nashville (2.23) and Boston (2.48).
• Derek Stepan, who notched the 99th multi-point game of his NHL career on Wednesday vs. Vegas, is co-leading the Coyotes with six goals. Brad Richardson, who scored just three goals in 76 games last season, also has tallied six this season.
• Arizona, which ranks first in the NHL in penalty-killing success at 91.9 percent, has killed 22 of the past 23 power plays it has faced at Gila River Arena. For the season, the Coyotes have allowed just three power-play goals on home ice and five total.
• Captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who leads the team with 10 assists, needs two more helpers to reach 200 for his NHL career.
• Josh Archibald is eligible to return to the lineup after serving a two-game suspension handed down by the NHL for an illegal check he made to the head of Nashville's Ryan Hartman during the game played Nov. 15.
• The Coyotes are seeking more goal production from their young forwards. For example, Clayton Keller, Brendan Perlini and Christian Fischer, who combined to score 55 goals last season, have combined to produce just one goal in the past 10 games.
