By Dave Vest
GLENDALE -- The Coyotes will conclude a four-game homestand tonight when they host the Nashville Predators at Jobing.com Arena. The puck drops at 7 p.m. (Arizona time).

Photo by Getty Images.

The Coyotes (23-14-9) will enter the game in fourth place in the Western Conference standings with 55 points, one more than fifth-place Nashville (24-15-6).

Phoenix, which lost 4-2 to San Jose on Monday afternoon, did not have a formal morning skate on Tuesday. 

Ilya Bryzgalov is expected to start in goal for the Coyotes, who have won seven of the last nine games they have played vs. Nashville on home ice, including three in a row.

Head Coach Dave Tippett is hoping either Ed Jovanovski (lower-body injury) or Michal Rozsival (upper-body injury) will be healthy enough to play because defenseman David Schlemko was placed on the injured-reserve list on Tuesday after he absorbed an elbow to the head on Monday from San Jose's Scott Nichol. The NHL suspended Nichol for four games on Tuesday. In related news, the Coyotes recalled defenseman Chris Summers from the American Hockey League on Tuesday. Click here for more information.

The Predators were in Glendale on Monday and Head Coach Barry Trotz watched the Coyotes play the Sharks from the press box. He witnessed the Coyotes go 0 for 4 on the power play. The Preds rank fifth in the NHL in penalty killing at 85.3 percent.

Nashville is a solid defensive team that allows only 2.38 goals per game. Only three other NHL teams are stingier. A big reason for that is the team's discipline; it ranks second in the NHL with only 9.2 penalty minutes per game.

Predators goalie Pekka Rinne is having an outstanding season. His goals-against average (2.13) and his save percentage (.927) both rank second in the NHL behind Boston's Tim Thomas.