Coyotes' Sam Gagner eager to improve after being a healthy scratch

The omission from Saturday's lineup wasn't the first time Coyotes center Sam Gagner has been a healthy scratch in his career.

He also took a seat a couple of times in his rookie season with the Oilers when he was still getting acclimated to the NHL.

"That was kind of expected," Gagner said. "I don't think this one was as expected. It's obviously frustrating. I feel like I want to be out there helping the team get out of it. It is what it is. Back in next game, so I'll focus on moving forward here."

With the Coyotes knee-deep in a rut that has them shouldering a franchise-worst, nine-game winless streak on home ice and a 1-6-2 record overall in their past nine, coach Dave Tippett has had no choice but to shake up the hierarchy with the hope of sparking the team to efficiency.

The decision to scratch a top-nine forward raised enough eyeballs to elicit a point in a 4-3 shootout loss Saturday to the Wild, but Gagner will draw back in Tuesday against his former mates from Edmonton and is eager to show that he received Tippett's message loud and clear.

"It upsets you and it fires you up, and it makes you want to go out and prove yourself," Gagner said. "I'm not happy with the way my season's gone personally or the way the season's gone for the team. I want to be a guy who's counted on every night, so it's important for me to bring that, and I'm excited to get an opportunity here next game to prove it."

Gagner's 10 points through 29 games represent his lowest production at that milepost since 2008-09, when he had eight as a sophomore in the league. The Coyotes acquired the 25-year-old this summer via trade to become a reliable piece of the offense, but with only three goals to his credit the transition hasn't gone as planned.

"I obviously expected things to go a little differently, but it's 30 games in now and there's really no excuses of adjusting anymore," he said. "It's important for me to lead the team offensively, and I need to find way to do that. It starts with being good defensively and going from there."

Although Tippett has noticed that Gagner's shooting percentage (4.5) is down from his career average entering this season (10.2), he agrees better defensive play could lead to more success for Gagner around the opponent's net.

"There's a second effort without the puck that I think can improve in his game and sometimes when offensive players get in a slump, they think the only way to get out of it is to create offense," Tippett said. "So they start thinking about not defending and just all about offense and in actual fact, good defense lets you play good offense because it lets you play in the offensive zone. Simple as that."

The grace period to adapt to the Coyotes requirements might be over, but there's still plenty of time for Gagner to become more of a factor. And his recent timeout reinforced what it'll take for him to do that.

"For me, that was the message is that it all starts with defense and making sure I'm in good defensive position," he said. "Chances will come from there."

Injury update

Winger Lauri Korpikoski missed practice on Dec. 15 becaus of a lower-body injury and is questionable to play against the Oilers.

Defenseman Brandon Gormley continues to practice but isn't ready to return from a lower-body injury suffered Nov. 16 against the Oilers.

Tuesday's game

OILERS AT COYOTES

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Gila River Arena.

TV/radio: FSAZ/KTAR-AM (620).

Oilers update: Amid a miserable slump that has the Oilers winning only once in their past 16 games, the team fired coach Dallas Eakins on Monday. General Manager Craig MacTavish will go behind the bench initially before Todd Nelson, who was the coach of the team's American Hockey League affiliate, takes over on an interim basis. The Oilers, who were limited to 16 shots in a 2-0 loss Sunday to the Rangers, have scored the fewest goals (65) in the Western Conference. In their past 12 games, they've been shut out three times and scored more than two goals only once in that span. Edmonton is 1-15-4 against the West this season. Center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins leads the team with 19 points, and winger Taylor Hall has a team-high eight goals.