Coach Wayne Gretzky said the Coyotes lost their biggest game of the year on Saturday night, but it is Monday's matchup at Vancouver that could either sustain their playoff hopes or stagger them badly.

Tenth in the Western Conference, a loss would be a four-point swing, and that would very tough to make up with nine games left.

Ending a five-game homestand with only four points was a stinger, and captain/RW Shane Doan knows the importance of beating the Canucks.

"We're not out of it yet, and we just made it that much harder," he said. "We had to win in Vancouver anyway."

Phoenix also has a Tuesday rematch with Edmonton, and Gretzky needs his team to continue its stellar ways on the road, where they are 20-13-2, or the season could pretty much be over for the surprise team of the NHL.

OILERS 5, COYOTES 2: LW Shane Doan had a power-play goal and LW Mathias Tjarnqvist scored in the last minute. The Coyotes managed 40 shots but were out of sync most of the game. The Coyotes were hurt by losing too many battles for loose pucks.

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