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Blackhawks host Coyotes, try to avoid three-game skid

Jan 20, 2015 - 4:00 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Chicago Blackhawks will attempt to avoid losing three games in a row for the first time this season as they host the struggling Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night at United Center.

The Blackhawks opened up a four-game homestand last weekend with a win over Minnesota, but then dropped consecutive contests to Winnipeg and Dallas for their first two-game slide since Nov. 1-2.

Chicago was downed 6-3 by the Stars on Sunday despite a pair of goals from Brandon Saad and one by Patrick Kane. Saad has five goals over his past four games.

Brent Seabrook assisted on two goals and Corey Crawford struggled in allowing five tallies on 33 shots faced.

"We didn't commit ourselves to playing the right type of game," Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said. "We played hard and we played well at times, where we sustained the pressure and controlled the play, but then we had lapses where we were giving up 2-on-1s."

Chicago is tied with Winnipeg for third in the Central Division with 58 points, four back of second-place St. Louis.

The Blackhawks begin a seven-game road trip on Wednesday against Pittsburgh and will be without forward Daniel Carcillo for the next six games as he serves a suspension for a cross-check to Jets forward Mathieu Perreault on Friday. Perreault suffered a broken arm on the play.

Carcillo did not play on Sunday as he waived his right to an in-person hearing prior to a phone hearing on Monday.

"Carcillo comes up from behind and cross-checks Perreault in the left arm, causing an injury. This is not a hockey play. It has nothing to do with the puck, and the blow is delivered after the whistle has blown the play dead. Because the whistle has blown, Perreault has no reason to suspect he will be hit and therefore cannot protect himself," noted Stephane Quintal, league head of player safety, in a video explanation of his ruling.

The Coyotes come in having matched a season high with five straight losses, including a 4-3 shootout setback to the Jets on Sunday. It did mark the first time that Arizona gained a point on this skid.

Winnipeg led 3-1 in the third period, but Lauri Korpikoski scored on the power play with 6:39 left in regulation and Tobias Rieder tipped home a shot with 3:50 on the clock to tie the game.

The Jets' Bryan Little, though, scored in the third round for the lone shootout tally as Shane Doan failed to extend the tiebreaker.

Still, Arizona notched a point for the first time this season when trailing after two periods (0-17-1).

"I like the way we hung around the game," said Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett.

Doan had a pair of assists in his return after missing two straight with a lower-body injury, but forward Mikkel Boedker sustained an upper-body injury during the game and has been deemed week-to-week with the ailment.

Boedker leads the Coyotes with 14 goals this season.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who also scored versus the Jets, is second on Arizona with 12 tallies, putting him in a four-way tie for the league lead among defensemen.

Arizona has lost the first two of an eight-game road trip and will try to avoid dropping six in a row for the first time since a seven-game skid from March 29-April 12 of last season.

Mike Smith, who made 27 saves in the loss to the Jets, is 6-4-1 in his career versus the Blackhawks, posting a solid 2.72 goals against average, .919 save percentage and three shutouts in 11 meetings (10 starts).

With Chicago also in action on Wednesday, Antti Raanta is expected to start in net tonight for the Blackhawks and he beat Arizona the only other time he faced them, halting 32-of-34 shots faced.

These two clubs are meeting for the first time this season, with the Blackhawks having won four of the past six encounters overall.