OILERS (31-32-7) at COYOTES (36-30-5) 10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, SN1, CITY, FS-A, NHL.TV
The Coyotes are three points ahead of the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. They trail the Dallas Stars by two points for the first wild card. The Oilers are 7-3-1 in their past 11 games but trail the Coyotes by eight points. Arizona has won eight of its past nine home games. Goalie Darcy Kuemper, who will make his 13th consecutive start, has won 11 of his past 13 games.
Players to watch
Oilers center Connor McDavid has three goals and 15 assists during a 10-game point streak. He has three goals in two games against Arizona this season. Coyotes forward Vinnie Hinostroza had the first hat trick of his NHL career against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday and has four goals in his past two games.
They said it
"A lot of games coming up here, I'm excited. It's going to be fun to play these games. They're very important to us. We've got to take care of our game and win some games here." - Oilers d efenseman Oscar Klefbom on playing five games in eight days "It's hard to ignore that, it's still in the back of your mind, so you've got to go out and control the things you can control. That's the way we play, a team game, a strong mental game, and you can't worry about the rest."-- Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse on the playoff race
Lucic was moved onto McDavid's line during practice Friday. He has gone 20 games without scoring a goal.
Stat pack
Draisaitl has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past three games and 23 (10 goals, 13 assists) in his past 15. … Kuemper is 7-1-2 with a 1.97 goals-against average in 10 starts against Edmonton. He has an assist in consecutive games, the first Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets goalie to do so since Bob Essensa on Dec. 6-10, 1989.
