Avalanche 1 - 6 Coyotes
Final
  for this game

Coyotes return home to take on Avalanche

Jan 16, 2012 - 3:51 PM (Sports Network) - The struggling Phoenix Coyotes will try to rebound after a winless road trip when they host the Colorado Avalanche this afternoon at Jobing.com Arena.

The Coyotes went 0-2-1 on a recent three-game swing and have lost nine of their last 11 games overall. Although their next game is set for Wednesday in Anaheim, Phoenix will play seven of its next eight contests on home ice. The Coyotes are 8-8-3 as the host this year compared to a 12-10-4 record on the road.

Phoenix, which is tied for 11th in the Western Conference, lost to the West's last-place club in the finale of their road trip, dropping Friday's 4-3 regulation decision in Columbus. Derick Brassard scored the eventual game- winning goal late in the second period and also added an assist for the lowly Blue Jackets.

Radim Vrbata, Lauri Korpikoski and Adrian Aucoin all scored for the Coyotes, while Jason LaBarbera was touched for all four tallies on 32 shots in defeat. Phoenix scored less than two minutes into the game, but trailed 2-1 by the end of the second period and never recovered.

"We got off to a good start, but made a couple of poor reads to give up the lead early," Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett said. "We chased the game the rest of the way."

Coyotes defenseman Aucoin suffered a lower-body injury in Friday's game and is questionable for this afternoon's tilt.

Colorado ended a three-game slide on Saturday, when it posted a 2-1 victory in Dallas. Paul Stastny scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and Jean- Sebastien Giguere made 21 saves to help lift the Avalanche in the close game at American Airlines Center.

Stastny, who also set up a first-period tally by David Jones, lit the lamp 13 seconds into a power play at the 10:35 mark of the final stanza.

"We're finding ways to get points, especially on the road, against another playoff contender, a playoff team like Dallas, these are the teams you battle for," Stastny said. "To find a way to get two points and not let them bring it to overtime, it's very important."

The Avalanche snapped a 0-2-1 skid and improved to 16-5-2 in one-goal games this season, the most such victories in the NHL. Colorado is also just outside the playoff picture in the West, as it currently sits one point behind Minnesota for the conference's eighth and final postseason berth.

Today's tilt marks the close of a three-game road trip for the Avs, who are 11-9-2 as the guest this year.

The Avs and Coyotes have split a pair of meetings this year, but today's matchup marks the first meeting in Phoenix. The Coyotes have taken six of eight overall from the Avs and Colorado ended a five-game road skid in this series last April.






Related News