Coyotes look to snap futility streak against Blues

The Coyotes open a four-game season-ending road trip Monday against an opponent that has given them fits in recent years.

The St. Louis Blues have won their last seven against against the Coyotes and are 10-0-1 in the last 11 matchups.

The game can be seen on FOX Sports Arizona Plus, starting at 4:30 p.m.

The Coyotes (35-36-7) have struggled to generate offense away from home, averaging 1.7 goals in their last 16 road games. But they've four of their last six overall following Saturday night's 3-0 victory against Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington in their home finale.

Mike Smith registered his second shutout since returning from a lower-body injury March 12 and improved to 5-2-0 with a 1.29 GAA in his last seven starts.

"It was important for me personally, coming off the injury and not playing a lot, to come back and show myself and the team and the organization that I can still play when I'm healthy," Smith said. "It was our last home game and we played really well against the best team in the league."

Smith is winless in his last six against St. Louis with a 3.90 goals-against average.

Captain Shane Doan leads the Coyotes with 27 goals and needs four more in his final four games to equal his career high. The Coyotes will be without center Martin Hanzal (upper-body injury) and defenseman Nicklas Grossmann, who stayed behind in Arizona to be with his wife for the birth of their first child.

The Blues (47-23-9) are still in the running for the top seed in the Western Conference, trailing Dallas by two points. The Blues have three games to play, compared with two for the Stars, but Dallas holds the tie-breaker, so the Blues' margin for error is simall.

St. Louis has outscored opponents 25-8 during a current 6-1-0 run and is coming off a 5-1 victory over Colorado on Sunday. Anders Nilsson was in net for the final two periods after an undisclosed injury suffered by Jake Allen.

"We'll know a little more on Jake (on Monday)," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Hopefully, it's day to day."

"We know what's in front of us. We know what's behind us," defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. "But the biggest thing for us is worrying about ourselves. If we play like we can, we're going to put ourselves in a good position. We want to make sure we're going full speed going to the playoffs."

Nilsson was the Blues' backup against Colorado because Brian Elliott was back in St. Louis, reportedly resting up for Monday's game.

Elliott is 4-0-0 with a 1.29 GAA and three shutouts since returning from a lower-body injury March 19. He yielded four goals on 22 shots in Arizona on Feb. 20, but St. Louis exited with a 6-4 victory.

Blues forward Alexander Steen has four goals and seven assists in his last seven games against the Coyotes. Right wing Vladimir Tarasenko lead the Blues with 36 goals and 69 points.