Preview: Coyotes at Blue Jackets

GAME 8:
Coyotes (2-5-0) at Blue Jackets (4-3-0)
Arizona, which hasn't played since Saturday afternoon, will be looking to conclude a four-city road trip with a victory at Columbus on Tuesday night.

WHERE: Nationwide Arena | WHEN: 4 p.m. (AZ time) | TV:FOX Sports Arizona| RADIO:ESPN 620 AM

ABOUT THE 'YOTES:
• The Coyotes will attempt to snap a six-game losing streak (0-5-1) vs. Columbus, during which they've been outscored 22-11. Arizona last defeated the Blue Jackets on Feb. 3, 2015.
• Alex Galchenyuk, who missed the first seven games of the season because of a lower-body injury, will make his debut with Arizona in this game. Galchenyuk has been medically cleared to play and skated as center on the top line with Clayton Keller and Lawson Crouse at Tuesday's morning skate. The Coyotes acquired Galchenyuk via a trade with Montreal over the summer and expect him to lead the offense. He has produced 108 goals and 147 assists in 418 NHL games.
"I want Alex to play a simple game tonight," Head Coach Rick Tocchet said. "He missed a lot of games and I don't want (him) to try and overthink it."

• Arizona has taken at least 30 shots on goal in all of its first seven games and ranks third in the NHL in shots per game with 36.3. Derek Stepan is leading the way with 24 shots on goal.
• Antti Raanta is expected to start in goal for the seventh time this season. Only Anaheim's John Gibson has made more starts (seven). Raanta is 3-3-0 with a 2.18 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage in six appearances vs. Columbus.
• After scoring just three goals in their first five games, the Coyotes have produced seven goals in the past two.
• Keller, who is leading the Coyotes with three goals and five points, will enter the game riding a two-game goal scoring streak. The longest goal-scoring streak of his NHL career is three games, which he set in March of last season.

• Stepan is averaging nearly a point per game vs. Columbus. In 20 games vs. the Blue Jackets, Stepan has produced seven goals and 12 assists.
• Brendan Perlini made his NHL debut at Nationwide Arena on Dec. 5, 2016. He's scored 32 NHL goals since that day, which leads the Coyotes during that time span.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS:
• Like the Coyotes, Columbus is having no trouble launching shots on goal this season. The Blue Jackets have produced 30 or more shots in six of their seven games and average 33.7 shots per game (ninth in NHL) ... Columbus activated two-time All-Star defenseman Seth Jones off the injured-reserve list on Monday and he is expected to play vs. Arizona after missing the first seven games of the season because of a knee injury ... Artemi Panarin is leading Columbus with nine points (three goals, six assists) ... Josh Anderson and Cam Atkinson are co-leading the team with four goals each ... Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has struggled in net this season. So far he's 2-3-0 with a 3.84 goals-against average and a .876 save percentage ... Former Coyotes forward Anthony Duclair has produced two goals and two assists, and is averaging 15:12 of ice time.
'YOTES QUOTES:
• "The results haven't really been there, but we're playing good hockey and we're trending in the right direction. The challenge now is to stick with it and keep building on what we're doing." -- Alex Goligoski
• "They're a fast team and they have some good d-men that like to move the puck, jump up in the play. Obviously, (John Tortorella) has them playing a pretty hard style, so we've got to definitely be ready from the start. We can't just go out there and just kind of sleep the first few minutes. We've got to kind of push back. They're going to definitely keep coming after us." -- Michael Grabner
• "(Alex Galchenyuk) is going to be a big asset, especially to the power play. It's going to be fun to see him on the ice and what he can do for our team." -- Antti Raanta