Pre-Game Capsule: Coyotes at Rangers

GAME 10:
Coyotes (0-8-1) at Rangers (2-6-2)
Arizona will play the second game of a five-game trip vs. Eastern Conference teams when it takes on the New York Rangers in New York. The Coyotes have not won at Madison Square Garden since Dec. 16, 2007, and are 0-5-3 there since that victory.

WHERE: Madison Square Garden
WHEN: 4 p.m. (AZ time)
TV: FOX Sports Arizona Plus
RADIO: KTAR News 92.3 FM
KEY FACTS:
• The Coyotes, who have scored the first goal in seven of their nine games this season, will be looking to end a seven-game losing streak vs. the Rangers. New York outscored the Coyotes, 30-14, during the streak, and tallied three or more goals in each of the seven games.
• Rookie Clayton Keller will enter the game with a career-high three-game point streak. Keller has notched three goals and three assists during that stretch, and is leading all NHL rookies in goals (six), shots (34) and points (10).

• Derek Stepan will play his first game vs. the Rangers since being traded from New York to Arizona last June. Stepan played seven seasons for New York, which drafted him 51st overall in 2008.

• Rookie goalie Adin Hill will make his third NHL start. Hill is 0-2-0 with a 3.60 goals-against average and .889 save percentage after two games, both against the Dallas Stars.
• Niklas Hjalmarsson ranks sixth in the NHL in blocked shots with 23.
• The Coyotes removed Brendan Perlini from the injured-reserve list and assigned Lawson Crouse to the American Hockey League on Wednesday, signaling Perlini's return to the lineup vs. the Rangers. Perlini hasn't played since suffering an upper-body injury on Oct. 10.
"We're looking for secondary scoring," Head Coach Rick Tocchet sad. "Whatever line he goes on, he's going to add some speed and that shot. He's an exciting, young player that needs to play. He's been out for a while, we need those young legs right now."
• Backup Ondrej Pavelec will start in goal for the Rangers in place of Henrik Lundqvist. Pavelec is 7-1-0 with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage in his past nine games vs. the Coyotes.

COYOTE BITES:
• "You're here for seven years, you get roots deep, and it's hard to get them out. I have no idea what to expect. It's going to be a difficult game." -- Derek Stepan
• "I've been happy to work hard every day in practice and I'm trying to get better each and every day. That's my goal here. When my opportunity comes to play I'll be excited and ready." -- Adin Hill
• "The day you start not having energy, the day you start hanging your head, is the day you're going to quit, and I don't see quit (here). I'm not going to let them quit. They're not going to quit." -- Rick Tocchet

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