Pre-Game Capsule: Coyotes vs. Blue Jackets

GAME 50:
Coyotes (12-28-9) vs. Blue Jackets (26-19-3)
Arizona will play its final game before the NHL All-Star break vs. Columbus on Thursday night looking to extend its season-long point streak to six games.

WHERE: Gila River Arena
WHEN: 7 p.m. (AZ time)
TV: FOX Sports Arizona
RADIO:ESPN 620 AM

KEY FACTS:
• The Coyotes will enter the 50th game of their season with a season-long five-game point streak, and have earned points in seven of their past eight games. Arizona has won back-to-back games - vs. the New York Islanders on Monday and vs. the St. Louis Blues on Saturday - for the first time since late November.
• Antti Raanta will make his fitth consecutive start in goal. Raanta is 3-1-3 with a 1.92 goals-against average and .934 save percentage in his past seven starts.
• Brendan Perlini will enter the game, his 100th in the NHL, having scored a goal in three consecutive games. With 13 goals, Perlini ranks tied for second on the team with rookie Christian Fischer, one behind rookie Clayton Keller.

• Tobias Rieder has notched eight points (five goals, three assists) in seven games vs. Columbus.
• Jordan Martinook, who is nursing an upper-body injury, will be a game-time decision. Martinook has played in all but seven games in his first three NHL seasons.
• The Blue Jackets are 1-3-0 in their past four games and have dropped to seventh in the Eastern Conference with 55 points. Artemi Panarin leads the team in assists (27) and points (39). Josh Anderson is the top goal scorer with 15. Rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois has scored 10 goals and ranks fifth on the team with 22 points. Only three goalies have started more games than Sergei Bobrovsky (39), who has earned 21 wins and four shutouts. Cam Atkinson will return to the lineup after missing 11 games with a broken foot sustained vs. Philadelphia on Dec. 23.

COYOTE BITES:
• "It's a game before the All-Star break. You've got to empty the tank. You've got to really be focussed because it's hard to win in this League. It's nice to get on a roll, you start feeling confident, and I can feel some guys feeling confident. So, keep the roll (going), because when it's going the other way it's hard to get out of it." -- Rick Tocchet on tonight's game
• "We seem to have turned a corner in terms of our play. Obviously, it wouldn't be a great feeling if we didn't play a good game, so I think all the guys are raring to go. One more game to finish. We want to end on a good note." -- Brendan Perlini on Antti Raanta
• "They're a hard-working team with a great defense and great goalie. Their forwards get pucks to the net and are always in front of your net. They're obviously a playoff team looking to improve themselves, so it's a dangerous game. They're coming off a loss. It's a high alert for us. We know we're playing a dangerous team." -- Rick Tocchet on Blue Jackets