But Hanzal merely opted out of an optional skate and he will be ready when Arizona looks to complete a three-game homestand sweep, against the red-hot Blues.
The streaky and oft-injured center has four goals and eight points in his past five games, and teamed with wingers Max Domi and Anthony Duclair to produce nine points in a 6-3 win against the Dallas Stars on Thursday.
But Hanzal has missed 11 games and been less than 100 percent for many others, and his presence is a key for the Coyotes in many areas of the game. He is the team's best faceoff man, best net presence on the power play, a top penalty killer and top defensive stopper against top opposing centers.
"When he's up and running, he can have a big impact on the game for us," Arizona coach Dave Tippett said of Hanzal, who had 18 points in his first 17 games and was poised to have a career year before being hit by the injury bug that has plagued him his entire career. "He's a force and we don't have another player like him, so when he's playing at the top of his game we benefit in a lot of areas."
Against the Stars, Hanzal scored on a power-play rebound in front, provided a screen for Michael Stone's goal and assisted on Domi's first two goals in more than a month.
Hanzal has 10 goals and 32 points in 44 games this season.
The game matches a team on a hot scoring streak against a team that has been ultra-stingy defensively.
The Coyotes have won three of the past four games and have scored 12 goals in back-to-back games for the first time in more than a decade (Dec. 3-5, 2005).
The Blues have won four in a row, keyed by their defense. Over the past eight games, St. Louis is 6-1-1 and has allowed 11 non-shootout goals in that span.
Goalie Brian Elliott has allowed three goals in the past three games and made 34 saves in a 2-1 overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings. In his past six starts, Elliott is 5-0-1 with a 1.26 goals-against average and a .961 save-percentage.
Here are the projected lineups:
BLUES
Patrik Berglund - Alexander Steen - David Backes
Jaden Schwartz - Jori Lehtera - Vladimir Tarasenko
Robby Fabbri - Paul Stastny - Troy Brouwer
Scottie Upshall - Kyle Brodziak - Ryan Reaves
Jay Bouwmeester - Kevin Shattenkirk
Carl Gunnarsson - Colton Parayko
Joel Edmundson - Robert Bortuzzo
Brian Elliott
Jordan Binnington
Injured: Alex Pietrangelo (knee), Jake Allen (knee), Steve Ott (hamstring)
Scratched: Magnus Paajarvi, Peter Harrold
COYOTES
Max Domi - Martin Hanzal - Anthony Duclair
Kyle Chipchura - Antoine Vermette - Mikkel Boedker
Jordan Martinook - Brad Richardson - Shane Doan
Tobias Rieder - Tyler Gaudet - Viktor Tikhonov
Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Connor Murphy
Klas Dahlbeck - Zbynek Michalek
Kevin Connauton - Michael Stone
Louis Domingue
Niklas Treutle
Injured: Boyd Gordon (upper body), Mike Smith (abdominal surgery), Anders Lindback (Achilles' surgery), Joe Vitale (fractured orbital bone).
Scratched: Jarred Tinordi, Nicklas Grossmann
Status report: Allen is skating and close to returning, but St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said Jordan Binnington will remain the backup with Elliott making his 17th straight start.
Who's hot: Ekman-Larsson has 11 points (eight assists) in the past seven games and a career-high 45 points after 57 games. … Duclair has seven points in the past five games. … all three of Schwartz's goals this season have come in the past four games. … Fabbri has three goals in the past four games.
