Mike Smith will be between the pipes for Thursday's game against the Sabres, Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic reports.

Smith will be between the pipes for Thursday's game against the Sabres, Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic reports.

Analysis:

Smith has been playing his best hockey of the season thus far in March (2.33 GAA, .936 save percentage), but his offense didn't show up for him until Tuesday night against the Red Wings, with the goalie finally scoring a 5-4 overtime win. It was just the second victory for Smith in his last 17 outings, but he'll have a great shot at getting wins in back-to-back outings for the first time since November when he takes the net Thursday. The Sabres are the only team in the league with a worse record than the Coyotes, and rank last in scoring with just 1.78 goals per game.