Arizona @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 18, 2019 ) Pittsburgh 3, Arizona 2

The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to log points despite several key injuries during the first half of the season, and look to add a few more when they host the surging Arizona Coyotes on Friday night. The Penguins, who have been without captain Sidney Crosby (hernia) almost a month along with several others, improved to 5-2-2 in their last nine games with a 3-0 win over reigning Stanley Cup champion St. Louis on Wednesday.

“I thought we played hard,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan told reporters after the latest win. “We compete hard. I think we’re hard to play against. I think we’re getting better away from the puck. I think everybody is buying in to the team concept. When we do that, I think we can win on any given night, regardless of who’s in the lineup.” The Penguins could get forward Bryan Rust (lower body) and defenseman Justin Schultz (undisclosed) back soon as they prepare to take on the Coyotes, who have opened their four-game trip with victories over Columbus and Philadelphia to take over first place in the Pacific Division. Arizona received two goals from Phil Kessel while Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves in a 3-1 victory over the Flyers on Thursday, improving to 8-1-2 in its last 11 road games and 8-3-2 in the past 13 contests. The Coyotes are second in the league in goals against per game (2.27) and Antti Raanta (5-3-2, .924 save percentage) is likely to be between the pipes in the second of a back-to-back.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Arizona, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

ABOUT THE COYOTES (17-9-4): Clayton Keller recorded a pair of assists Thursday to move within one point of Nick Schmaltz (20) for the team lead and fellow forward Christian Dvorak (18) extended his point streak to five games with an assist. Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (11 points) left Thursday’s game in the third period after being checked into the boards by Philadelphia’s Kevin Hayes. Conor Garland on Thursday netted his team-leading 11th goal while fellow forward Carl Soderberg chipped in with an assist after registering a goal and two helpers Tuesday at Columbus.

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (15-9-4): Teddy Blueger scored his third goal, Alex Galchenyuk added his second and recently signed free agent Stefan Noesen scored in his first game with the club Wednesday. Forward Jake Guentzel was kept off the scoresheet in the last two games, but leads the team with 15 goals and 27 points while center Evgeni Malkin (six goals, 16 assists) is the only other player with at least 20. Tristan Jarry (6-4-0) turned aside 28 shots for his third career shutout - first in 2019-20 - against St. Louis on Wednesday and boasts a .941 save percentage over his last six appearances.

OVERTIME

1. Arizona C Derek Stepan is slated to play his 700th NHL game Friday and needs one assist for 300 in his career.

2. Malkin is three goals away from becoming the fourth Penguin to reach 400 in his career, joining Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Crosby.

3. The Coyotes are 6-for-14 with the man advantage the last seven games while Pittsburgh has allowed eight power-play goals in the same span.

PREDICTION: Coyotes 3, Penguins 2