Canucks at Coyotes preview

CANUCKS (6-4-0) at COYOTES (3-5-0)
10 p.m. ET; FS-A, SNP, NHL.TV

Vancouver defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in a shootout Wednesday at T- Mobile Arena. Forward Brock Boeser (groin) is expected to return after not playing against Vegas, but defenseman Alexander Edler (lower body) and forward Sven Baertschi (concussion) were injured and won't play.
The Coyotes are playing the first of a five-game homestand. They are 0-2-0 at home and were shut out in each game; they scored 11 goals in going 2-1-0 to end a four-game road trip. Goaltender Darcy Kuemper will start after making 35 saves in a 4-1 victory at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

Players to watch

Center Bo Horvat has five points (four goals, one assist) in his past four games and scored twice against Vegas. He has eight points (five goals, three assists) in 17 games against Arizona.
Coyotes forward Christian Fischer had his first NHL hat trick at Columbus. He has four goals in his past two games and eight in 14 games dating to last season.

They said it

"(We're) trying to prove we can be a good contender with every team in the League, and I think we're proving that. ... I'm trying to win hockey games. Part of my success is playing both ends of the rink. My defensive game is feeding my offense." -- Canucks forward Bo Horvat
"This is a big homestand for this hockey club. We're going to know a lot about this team, about the urgency to play well at home, to put wins together, to get back in the thick of things." -- Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet

Canucks projected lineup

Brendan Leipsic -- Bo Horvat -- Brock Boeser
Loui Eriksson -- Adam Gaudette -- Jake Virtanen
Antoine Roussel -- Brandon Sutter -- Tyler Motte
Nikolay Goldobin -- Markus Granlund -- Tim Schaller
Michael Del Zotto -- Chris Tanev
Derrick Pouliot -- Troy Stecher
Ben Hutton -- Erik Gudbranson
Jacob Markstrom
Anders Nilsson
Scratched:Darren Archibald, Alex Biega, Guillaume Brisebois
Injured:Elias Pettersson (concussion), Jay Beagle (arm), Alexander Edler (lower body), Sven Baertschi (concussion).

Coyotes projected lineup

Lawson Crouse -- Alex Galchenyuk -- Clayton Keller
Brendan Perlini -- Derek Stepan -- Christian Fischer
Michael Grabner -- Brad Richardson -- Vinnie Hinostroza
Dylan Strome -- Nick Cousins -- Josh Archibald
Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- Jason Demers
Alex Goligoski -- Niklas Hjalmarsson
Kevin Connauton -- Jordan Oesterle
Darcy Kuemper
Antti Raanta
Scratched:Richard Panik, Ilya Lyubushkin
Injured:Jakob Chychrun (knee), Christian Dvorak (lower body).

Status report

Biega is likely to play if Tanev can't go. He and Brisebois were recalled Thursday from Utica of the American Hockey League. ... Pettersson skated Thursday morning but may not return until the Canucks begin a five-game homestand Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. ... Chychrun has been cleared for contact but is expected to miss another two weeks. ... Tocchet said Raanta (flu) is feeling better but won't play.

Stat pack

Vancouver has given up the first goal in eight of its 10 games. ... Horvat has scored five of the Canucks' 11 goals since Pettersson was injured Oct. 13. ... The Coyotes are second in the NHL in penalty killing (90.0 percent; 18-for-20). ... Keller has three goals and four points in his past three games.