Coyotes look to overcome road struggles against Canucks

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- A short but important two-game western Canadian road trip concludes tonight for the Coyotes, who will try to halt a three-game losing streak while taking on the Vancouver Canucks.

The game can be seen on FOX Sports Arizona and FOX Sports GO, starting at 7:30 p.m.

The Canucks (6-10-1) have also been struggling, losing 11 of their past 13 games, prompting rumors that coach Willie Desjardins is on thin ice.

"I really don't worry about it," Desjardins said. "The thing that bothers me is losing. (Being fired), I don't think about. That part, I can't control. The only thing I can control is how we play. That's what I have to focus on."

Desjardins knows the Coyotes (5-9-1) won't be an easy mark.

"They've got some young talent with lots of jump," Desjardins said. "I think (Oliver) Ekman-Larsson's one of the best defensemen in the league. Dave Tippett does a good job coaching. They don't give you a lot. They're pretty disciplined, pretty structured."

The Coyotes are 2-6-1 on the road following Wednesday night's 2-1 overtime loss at Calgary.

"I think we're a good team, but right now we're just losing too many battles and making too many little mistakes," winger Tobias Rieder said.

"When you look at them, you see a real solid team," Desjardins said. "You see a team that's hungry, that's looking for a win. You know that they're going to come at you but that you've gotta be patient. You know if you open up, they're going to capitalize on you. So we've gotta have lots of energy, and we've gotta be hungry."

The Canucks are looking for a better effort after losing 7-2 to the New York Rangers at home Tuesday night. Vancouver has scored first in only two games this season and has yet to hold a lead after the first period.

"We can't put some wins together because we're behind for the most part in games," captain Henrik Sedin said.

Defenseman Erik Gudbranson added, "We've gotta come out and get that first one and then see how we play with the lead."

The Canucks are also aiming to improve on a power play that has scored in just five of 53 chances in 17 games.

"It's been a real fine line between winning and losing for us," Sedin said. "We know a power-play goal here or there is going to make a big difference for us."

Henrik and Daniel Sedin and third-year center Bo Horvat have scored five goals apiece, but the rest of the roster has only 20 goals total.

The Canucks are looking for some of their young players to do more offensively. But one offensively gifted youngster, sophomore winger Jake Virtanen, will be honing his skills in the minors for a while. After spending all of last season with the Canucks because he was ineligible to be sent to the minors, he was sent to Utica of the AHL on Wednesday.

Like the Canucks, the Coyotes are also looking for more offensive consistency, and they have a number of young players who are trying to establish themselves.

"We're turning the puck over too much and bringing trouble on ourselves, not generating very much, and turnovers are making us play too much in our own end," Tippett said.

The Coyotes received a boost Wednesday when goaltender Mike Smith returned after being sidelined for 12 games with a lower-body injury. Center Martin Hanzal, who was out since Nov. 1 with a lower-body injury, also returned against the Flames. Smith, however, is expected to rest on the second end of a back-to-back while Louis Domingue returns to the net vs. the Canucks.

Radim Vrbata, who spent the last two seasons in Vancouver but was not re-signed after a down offensive season, will play his first game in Vancouver since rejoining the Coyotes. He leads the Coyotes with six goals and shares the team lead in points (11) with Max Domi.