Kesler to return tonight against Phoenix
Posted April 8, 2013 11:50 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Forward Ryan Kesler and defenceman Keith Ballard will return tonight from injuries when the Canucks host the Phoenix Coyotes (7 p.m.).
Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said this morning that the team will do like they did in the old days and “play him into shape”. Kesler, who has missed 19 games with a broken foot, skated on a line with Zack Kassian and Mason Raymond at the game day skate.
Ballard has missed five games with a fractured foot suffered in a 1-0 shootout win over Columbus on March 26th.
The Coyotes enter the night in a fight for a playoff spot in the NHL’s Western Conference, while the Canucks have a battle of their own on their hands, trying to hold off the Minnesota Wild for a fifth-straight Northwest Division title.
Tonight’s game is the first of a three-game road trip for the Coyotes. Phoenix swept a three-game homestand with wins over Los Angeles, Detroit and Colorado and sit ninth in the Western Conference, just three points back of the eighth-place Detroit Red Wings.
The game could be a battle of hot goalies. Cory Schneider, who was solid in Vancouver’s 5-2 win over Calgary Saturday will start his eleventh straight game, while Coyotes’ goaltender Mike Smith returned from injury Saturday with a 4-0 shutout of Colorado.
This is the final meeting of the regular season. The Coyotes and Canucks have split two games this year with the road team winning both games. Phoenix was a 4-2 winner at Rogers Arena on February 26th, with Vancouver winning 2-1 in Phoenix on March 21st.
