Tonight the Phoenix Coyotes will be taking on the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center at 6:30 pm. These two conference rivals haven't met since November where the Yotes shutout the Stars 3-0. These two teams both have 56 points, and they are seeking a playoff spot, but Dallas has more wins and they have played fewer games.

The Stars are coming after a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild last Saturday. They should be well rested having the past two days off. It's also important to know that Dallas has a power play goal in their past three games after coming off the All-Star Break. Dallas has a very impressive home record, of 15-9-2. Dallas' Jamie Benn has 2 goals and 2 assists since the All-Star Break even though he didn't get on the boards against Minnesota.

The Coyotes have won their past two games including their 3-1 win over Detroit last night (God that's awesome to type) and have the potential to win three games in a row for the first time since October/November. Radim Vrbata has been great against Dallas, he has 15 points during his 17 visits to American Airlines Center including 4 goals and 2 assists in his past 6 games there. Last time the Yotes won 2 back-to-back games was in December when they beat the Panthers and Hurricanes.

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The team that has given the Phoenix Coyotes and their fans nightmares the last two postseasons is on tap this evening. The Detroit Red Wings have won seven in a row against the Desert Dogs, including last year's playoff sweep. Phoenix looks to turn things around this evening at Jobing.com Arena at 6p.m. MST. The early start time is due to the game airing nationally on the NBC Sports Network. Tonight's contest is the final regular season meeting between the two squads.

The Red Wings are coming off an overtime loss on the road to Edmonton on Saturday night. Though they lost the game they did force overtime by erasing a two goal deficit in the third period. They lead the Western Conference with 72 points. The one bright spot in the Wings record for tonight is Mike Babcock's team has not played as well on the road as they have at home.

The Coyotes have only scored six goals in the three prior games against the Wings this season. All six goals were by forwards, including two by Radim Vrbata. The Coyotes blueline needs to involve themselves more in the offense tonight. In addition, Phoenix needs to get contributions from all three of their forward lines like they did on Saturday against San Jose. The Yotes are four points out of a playoff birth with thirty games to go. They need to find a way to come away with points, preferably two, this evening.

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It's not often that a division rival doesn't make the trip out to Glendale until after the All Star Break, but that has been the case for the San Jose Sharks this year as they will come out to the desert for the first time tonight to play the Phoenix Coyotes. The Sharks and Coyotes split the two matchups earlier this year in San Jose with each team taking a 3-goal win, Coyotes with the shutout in the most recent game on November 12.

Of course, that game predated the "dark ages" of the Coyotes season, namely everything that happened after the Kyle Turris drama unfolded. Now, with just 31 games left in the season, the Desert Dogs are in "put up or shut up" mode with little room to drop any points, let alone to a Western Conference foe...even if that foe is almost assuredly not going to be competing for the 8th playoff position, but rather challenging for yet another meaningless Western Conference and Pacific Division crown.

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Fresh off the All-Star break your Phoenix Coyotes will be squaring off against the Anaheim Ducks tonight at Jobing.com at 7 p.m. The Coyotes are hoping to carry the momentum they started to build with their victory over the Ottawa Senators last week before the break. The Yotes really need a victory tonight to keep them in the playoffs race and they are currently 3 points behind an 8th place spot. They will be playing with a well rested and fully recovered team, for the first time in a long time.

The Ducks this season started off terrible but have since started improving under new coach Bruce Boudreau. In there past games the Ducks have an impressive record of 8-1-1 and have outshout their opponents 36-17.The Ducks are hoping to possibly make a run at the playoffs and with a record like they had they may have a chance. They are a high scoring team averaging about 3.6 goals in those past ten games.

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In what will be the last game before a much needed All-Star respite, the Phoenix Coyotes will take on the Ottawa Senators tonight in only the 19th contest between the clubs. The Sens will be hoping to secure two points and a bit of momentum with a win before retuning home to host the midseason festivities in Ottawa. The home team, on the other hand, is limping towards the break with over a month's worth of middling play, and tonight's game presents the last opportunity for improvement before a long break to dwell on things. Following a worrisome 4-3 loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, a margin that appears deceptively close thanks to a pair of futile late goals, the Desert Dogs should be desperate for a win. A loss tonight would be Phoenix's seventh in their last eight games and would drop their season record, which currently sits at 21-20-8, to the .500 mark of mediocrity. Stuck in neutral at the 12th spot in the conference standings for weeks now, the Coyotes must get things in gear and begin their push to the playoffs. A win tonight would leave the team 2 points out of the 8th and final playoff berth, but the Coyotes would only be 6 points away from chasing down the San Jose Sharks for the ever elusive Pacific Division crown.

The visiting squad tonight could very well be a distracted bunch, with thoughts of hotel reservations, family plans and All-Star responsibilities likely swimming through many Senators minds. Due to the fan-based voting system for the All-Star selection process, four Senators will take the ice on Sunday: Erik Karlsson, Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek and team captain Daniel Alfredsson. These four are all obviously key contributors for Ottawa and if their focus wanes for a few shifts in anticipation of the break, the Coyotes could make quick work the slumping Sens. Although Ottawa boasts a respectable record of 27-18-6, the Sens have struggled on their recent three-game Western road swing, posting losses to the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings in their last two games. Ottawa's offense was contained Monday night in a 4-1 loss to the Kings, and a big time performance by Coyotes netminder Mike Smith may just shut them down again tonight. The puck will drop at 7:00pm local time and the game will be televised by Fox Sports Net Arizona. You can find your Five for Winning, Key Players and injury updates after the jump...

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Tonight the Phoenix Coyotes will square off against the Tampa Bay Lightning fresh off a day of rest after the shoot out loss to Detroit on Thursday. The Lightning are not so lucky, they are most likely going to be flying into Phoenix tired after a win last night in Dallas. The Coyotes are looking to get back the same play they showed in their 6-1 victory over the Avalanche earlier this week, and hopefully make up for the loss in Anaheim and the shoot out loss against Detroit. The Coyotes fourth line has been great as of late, they scored 3 of the last four goals and hopefully they can continue that streak in this game. The Yotes are currently in 12th place in the Western Conference but a win would tie them 8th place Colorado.

The Lightning have not been having the best season this year, they are currently tied for last place in the Eastern Conference, and they have lost 7 of their past 10 games in one long stretch. Despite their performance throughout the season, they have been having a good week though, they broke their 7 game losing streak with a 5-3 win over the defending Stanley Cup Champions the Boston Bruins and of course last night's win over the Dallas Stars. Tampa Bay appears to have caught the injury bug this season, they currently have 5 players on the IR list and 2 players who are questionable. The Lightning have a pretty terrible road record this season of 7-16-3, and they are currently 10 points away from a playoff spot in the Eastern Division.

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Fresh off of their first decisive victory since the Islanders came to town, the Phoenix Coyotes walk into a serious trap game on the road against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night with the Red Wings looming on Thursday back in Glendale. The Coyotes found some home cooking was just what the doctor ordered in their Monday matinee showdown with the Avs, putting together one of their most complete performances of the season in front of the home crowd. The six goal performance marked a season high for the Desert Dogs and it was another strong performance by Mike Smith.

Meanwhile in Anaheim, the Ducks have begun to climb out of the Western Conference basement with a 5-0-1 record over their past six games that include a very respectable 25 goals for and only 11 against. Included in the streak were back-to-back hat tricks for Corey Perry and Saku Koivu. The Ducks are still sitting a long way out of the playoff picture, but they do have some of the most dangerous forwards in the game, including the Perry - Ryan Getzlaf - Bobby Ryan line that is one of simply the best in the entire league. Defense has been the concern for the Ducks all season, but Jonas Hiller between the pipes has done more to keep them in games recently and steal a bunch of wins.

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The Phoenix Coyotes play nine of their next eleven games at home. The home heavy stretch begins today when they take on a team three points ahead of them in the Western Conference standings. The Colorado Avalanche are coming off a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday night and are 6-3-1 in their last ten games. The Coyotes on the other hand are coming off a stretch where they have lost eight of their last ten games. Today's game is the kind the Desert Dogs need to win and do so in regulation, so they can start making up ground on the teams in front of them.

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