Preview: Coyotes vs. Canucks

GAME 9:
Coyotes (3-5-0) vs. Canucks (6-4-0)
Arizona is starting a five-game homestand against Vancouver on Thursday night looking to win consecutive games for the first time this season. The Coyotes thumped Columbus, 4-1, on Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena.

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

ABOUT THE 'YOTES:
• The Coyotes will attempt to win their first home game of the season after being shut out by Anaheim (1-0) and Buffalo (3-0) in their first two games in Glendale.
• Darcy Kuemper will start in goal in place of Antti Raanta, who is battling flu-like symptoms. Kuemper, who has stopped 61 of 64 shots this season, owns a 4-5-1 record, a 2.52 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage in 11 games vs. the Canucks, including five games last season with the Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings. Raanta will dress as Kuemper's backup.
"'Rants' is feeling a little bit better," Head Coach Rick Tocchet said. "He could have probably played, but I think he's still just a little under the weather."
• Christian Fischer, who notched the first hat trick of his NHL career on Tuesday at Columbus, will try to extend his goal-scoring streak to three games. The 21-year old is the fourth youngest player in Coyotes history to record his first hat trick behind Peter Mueller, Anthony Duclair and Max Domi. Fischer leads Arizona with four goals on 22 shots, and also leads the team with an 18.2 shooting percentage.

• Arizona has scored 14 goals in eight games this season. All of the goals have been scored by forwards. Last season, Arizona defensemen chipped in 50 goals. This season, they are 0 for 66 shots on goal after eight games.
• Derek Stepan produced four points (all assists) in the past two games after being blanked in the first six games. He's still seeking his first goal of the season and leads the team with 24 shots on goal.
• Jordan Oesterle contributed three assists on the team's recent four-game road trip. He's expected to play his first home game of the season after serving as a healthy scratch for the first two.

• Michael Grabner has produced one goal and one assist in 10 games vs. Vancouver, the team that drafted him 14th overall in 2006. He notched 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 20 games for the Canucks, who traded him during the 2010 NHL Draft.
• Jakob Chychrun, who has missed the first eight games of the season because of a knee injury, has been cleared for contact and is expected to return to the lineup in about two weeks.

ABOUT THE CANUCKS:
• Vancouver beat Vegas, 3-2 in a shootout, on Wednesday night to move into first place in the Pacific Division standings with 12 points, six ahead of Arizona ... Vancouver played most of Wednesday's game with just five defensemen after Alex Edler left at 10:08 of the first period with a lower-body injury. They were down to four d-men after Christopher Tanev left at 8:53 of the third period because of an undisclosed injury ... Rookie sensation Elias Pettersson (five goals, three assists) has missed the past five games because of a concussion and is not expected to play vs. Arizona ... Forward Brock Boeser, the runner-up for last season's Calder Trophy, is nursing a groin injury and will be a game-time decision ... Bo Horvat is leading the Canucks with seven goals and nine points; he scored twice vs. Vegas on Wednesday ... Anders Nilsson is expected to start in goal. He's 0-2-0 and allowed eight goals in his past two starts after starting the season 3-0-0.

'YOTES QUOTES:
• "This is a big homestand for this hockey club. We're going to know a lot about this team in the sense that is there urgency to play well at home, to put some wins together, to get back into the thick of things. It's not like as a coach you put pressure on your players, but we do have to put pressure on our players to play well at home. This is a five-game homestand. We haven't had a lot of games in a row so we should have energy tonight." -- Rick Tocchet
• "Our offense is starting to come. The last three or four games we've started putting the puck in the net. I think if we don't change a thing coming into our home, and not try to be too fancy, keep it simple, we should be fine ... I thought we did pretty well on the road. We were .500. Coming back here, we've got to come out with the same energy that we did on the road. It starts tonight. We'll be ready." -- Nick Cousins
• "I think at home you just want to have that identity that it's hard to play in your building, and when you're coming into our rink it's not going to be an easy night, it's going to be hard and you're going to have to play a 60-minute game. That's the identity we want to have, and I think we just have to build on our last couple of games." -- Jason Demers