Coyotes go beyond surprise into revelation territory

Only a few months ago, you could have gotten better odds wagering the Phoenix Coyotes would be preparing to relocate rather than preparing for the playoffs as the regular season was drawing to a close.

As for being in contention for the top seed in the Western Conference? Well, let's just say suggesting anything of the sort about a team that had missed the last six postseasons and was bleeding money might have made you a strong candidate for institutionalization.

Acquisitions like Wojtek Wolski (right) could raise the ceiling for Shane Doan (left) and the Coyotes. (AP)

Everywhere but within the confines of the Coyotes dressing room, that is.

"Obviously we knew that not too many people picked us to do anything because of all the turmoil that was going on," said Coyotes captain Shane Doan, who came along from Winnipeg when the Jets moved to the desert back in 1996. "But in here, we knew we had a pretty good team with some pretty good depth.

"And when you tell hockey players they can't do something, that something can't work, they take pride in trying to prove you wrong. So for us, this season has been kind of a challenge."

One of many that began when the team was put into bankruptcy last spring by former owner Jerry Moyes as he attempted to sell. The move triggered a contentious and drawn-out court battle for control that ended up forcing the game's greatest icon, Wayne Gretzky, out of his job behind the bench while leaving Phoenix in the administrative hands of the NHL.

It was supposed to be a temporary solution until the league could find a buyer to keep the team where it is. But with less than a month to go on the regular schedule, the franchise's future in the desert remains in doubt because the NHL's favored potential purchasing group is struggling to find the financing it needs.

"We're on life support to a degree," admitted GM Don Maloney, "but we're giving ourselves the best possible chance to stay in a great city, in a great building, in a great part of the country that has a lifestyle that's second to none. That's been a great motivating factor."

No doubt. Despite all the uncertainty, the Coyotes have turned themselves into the NHL's story of the season. They have done it by riding a tightly structured defensive system put into place by a coach who took over only a week before the season began and turned it into one of the best overall records in the league.

Much of the unlikely success has been sparked by the brilliance of MVP candidate Ilya Bryzgalov, the league's shutout leader and one of its top statistical netminders. But Phoenix has been nothing if not consistent all season, with important and often unheralded contributions coming from players throughout the lineup. And heading into Thursday night's game in Florida, the Coyotes were on a six-game winning streak that had them sitting fourth in the West, but only five points behind the slumping Pacific Division- and conference–leading San Jose Sharks.

"If you look at our group, we've got great goaltending, a well-balanced back end that's experienced and mobile. And even though we don't have a 50-goal guy, we have guys who have scored 20 and 30 goals in the past," said defenseman Ed Jovanovski. "We've found ways to get it done by committee and to put points in the bank."

More often than not, they've done it the hard way too. Phoenix has scored only 14 more goals than it has allowed outside of those credited to the team in shootouts this season, but the Coyotes have won 24 one-goal games and 33 times when they have scored first, both league highs.

"Our guys deserve a lot of credit because they've stayed focused despite all the distractions and played to their strengths," said coach Dave Tippett. "As a group we've continued to improve and to find ways to win tight games, and that's something that will help down the stretch and if we can secure a playoff spot."

The experience that now permeates the lineup won't hurt either. Phoenix spent the last few seasons in a perpetual youth movement, trying to integrate the highly-touted players it had drafted and were not costing the franchise too much money. But with many of those players being exposed as unready for the rigors of the NHL's long grind, the organizational philosophy shifted over the summer when the Coyotes began turning more to veteran, moderately priced players to stock the lineup.

"There was sort of a here-and-now mindset, a necessity to win today," Maloney said. "It was a real conservative approach to how we could get to the playoffs."

Still the approach was liberalized to an extent a couple of weeks ago when the Coyotes surprised a lot of people by turning into active buyers at the deadline. Phoenix picked up forwards Lee Stempniak and Wojtek Wolski, along with offensive-minded defensemen Mathieu Schneider and Derek Morris, moves that have added a little more balance to the attack and have helped make the Coyotes a virtual lock for the playoffs.

Apparently, it has also fired up the fan base in Phoenix, which has started turning out in greater numbers lately and will greet the team Saturday night on its return from a four-game road with a sellout against Chicago.

"That's the way it is in Phoenix," Doan said. "If you win, they will come."

The only question, though, is will the team stay.