By JEFF MEZYDLO
STATS Senior Writer
A visit from the Nashville Predators could help the Phoenix Coyotes bounce back from their first regulation loss of 2011.
The Coyotes hope to get back on track with a fourth straight home victory over the Predators on Tuesday night.
Phoenix (23-14-9) had its four-game winning streak snapped in a 4-2 home loss to San Jose on Monday. The Coyotes had gone 6-0-2 since their previous regulation defeat, 4-3 at St. Louis on New Year's Eve.
Despite the loss, Phoenix coach Dave Tippett felt his club had plenty of quality scoring chances, including a scoreless 10-shot barrage while San Jose's Dany Heatley was serving a four-minute double minor for high sticking.
"You hope if you do that on a regular basis, one or two of those will go in," Tippett told the Coyotes' official website.
Rookie Oliver Ekman-Larsson got his first NHL goal and Derek Morris also scored for Phoenix, which averaged 4.8 goals during its four-game winning streak.
The Coyotes have scored 13 goals during their three consecutive home wins against the Predators (24-15-6). Phoenix has won eight of 10 at home versus Nashville.
Defenseman Ed Jovanovski had his only hat trick in 1,010 career games and Ekman-Larsson added an assist in the Coyotes' 4-3 home victory over Nashville on Nov. 3. Jovanovski, however, could miss a third consecutive game with a lower-body injury.
Vernon Fiddler, one of the Coyotes' top defensive forwards, may miss a second straight contest due to an upper-body injury.
Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 32 of 35 shots but had his four-game winning streak snapped Monday. He could be back in net trying to improve on a 5-1-0 record and 2.39 goals-against average at home versus Nashville.
Though Phoenix is 4-1-1 in its last six against the Predators, Nashville's Pekka Rinne stopped 33 shots in a 3-0 victory in the teams' last meeting Nov. 30.
Rinne has posted a 1.42 GAA while winning six of seven but has allowed eight goals while losing two in a row at Phoenix.
He was not in net when Nashville opened a six-game road trip with a 6-3 loss at Chicago on Sunday. The Predators, who have dropped two of three following a season-high six-game winning streak, look to avoid a third consecutive defeat away from home.
A night after rallying for a 3-2 shootout win over the Blackhawks, the Predators gave up four consecutive third-period goals Sunday to split the home-and-home set with the defending Stanley Cup champions.
"We just found a way to get the lead and then found a way to blow it," said All-Star defenseman Shea Weber, who has three goals and 10 assists his last nine games.
Weber has two goals in his last three games against the Coyotes.
While the Predators are expected to welcome defenseman Shane O'Brien back from a two-game suspension for high-sticking Florida's Stephen Weiss on Thursday, they could be without defenseman Francis Bouillon after he sustained an upper-body injury in the first period Sunday.
Updated January 17, 2011
