Though they will have gone 11 days without playing a game, the Chicago Blackhawks have won five of their last six games to move closer to a wild-card position in the Western Conference standings.They can disrupt things in a congested race even further -- and continue the struggles of the Arizona Coyotes -- with a win Saturday night in Glendale, Ariz.The Blackhawks are only four points behind the Coyotes in the conference standings as they get ready for their first game since the All-Star break. They were already in Arizona by Thursday while the Coyotes played a game against the Los Angeles Kings that night."Getting back this week, seeing some of the other games, seeing what's going on and tuning back in, I think definitely got that hunger, that excitement to get back," Chicago captain Jonathan Toews told the team website."Obviously (if) we can pick up two points and don't lose (our) game in-hand, it's a big momentum builder for the team," head coach Jeremy Colliton said. "We've had some games where we've rose to the challenge and then we had some games where we didn't. If we lose a game, it's not the end of the world, but it is a big opportunity." The Coyotes, meanwhile, are mired in their worst slump of the season. Arizona will still hold a wild-card spot by Saturday's game, but the Coyotes have lost four straight games (0-3-1) and are 1-5-2 in their last eight.They lost on back-to-back nights in their first two games since the break, and on Thursday had a 2-1 lead until 2:54 left in regulation time when Alex Iafallo scored the second of his three goals for the Kings.Iafallo struck for the winner 24 seconds into overtime, and the Coyotes lost an important point in the standings.The team opted not to practice on Friday and instead held a team meeting. Defenseman and team captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson, injured in a knee-on-knee collision Thursday night and unable to play in the third period, could miss Saturday's game."You got to keep your energy level up, you have to. You have to stick together, there's no other way," head coach Rick Tocchet said. "No one's going to feel sorry for us. You are going to get a lot of negativity around and we've got to stick together." The Coyotes could have All-Star goaltender Darcy Kuemper back in net for the first time since Dec. 19. Kuemper has dealt with a lower-body injury but has been practicing of late.Despite losing a late lead and being outshot 16-3 in the third period Thursday, the Coyotes rallied from a 1-0 deficit with two second-period goals."We have no time to dwell on anything right now. There is zero time for it," forward Derek Stepan said. "We shift our focus to Saturday night and each night the importance of those two points gets bigger and bigger." --Field Level Media
Looking for More Picks?
You can browse all the individual handicapper picks below.
Chicago Blackhawks
Arizona Coyotes
Pick Center
NHL
FINAL (2/1/2020)
1WinningPickADay
