In the Race, On the Road

The Coyotes open a three-game road trip tonight in Los Angeles against the Kings, 7 p.m.
They play the Sharks Monday and Wednesday in San Jose.
Big game. Big game. Big game.
Both road trip opponents -- the seventh place Kings and sixth place Sharks -- still are very much in the playoff picture, of which the Coyotes are in the thick of.

Standing points are at a premium; the fifth place Coyotes are one point back of the St. Louis Blues, who re-claimed fourth place with a 5-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche Saturday afternoon. The Blues currently have two games in hand on the Coyotes -- they will have three games in hand following Arizona's game Saturday night.

The trip could have make or break implications.
"We've got to be committed to playing the right way," Derick Brassard said. "We can't overthink everything. We can't look at the Blues' scores every night and (depend on) trying to get help from other teams. We've got to take care of our own game."
In essence, playoff hockey is already here, Jakob Chychrun said.
"These games coming up here, they're super important," he said. "We've got to treat them all like they're do-or-die situations. We've got to treat them like they're playoff games."

The Coyotes are 2-2-1 against Kings. Los Angeles is five points behind Arizona with three games in hand. The Kings lost to the Wild Friday night.
Back to the fourth place Blues: Eight of St. Louis' 11 remaining games are against the top three West Division teams.
St. Louis is 4-9-1 in its previous 14 games; Los Angeles is 4-10-0 in its previous 14 games; San Jose is mired in a seven-game losing streak.
Head coach Rick Tocchet acknowledged the outside help the Coyotes have received of late but is adamant his group must do its part to take advantage.
"You need to make sure you leave it all out on the ice," Tocchet said. "That's really what it comes down to. Colorado did us a favor (Thursday) night. Maybe we'll make something out of it. But you've got to win hockey games. It doesn't matter what other teams do if you don't win hockey games."
Chychrun echoed Tocchet's sentiment of the need for the Coyotes to determine their own fate.
"It's going to have to come from us," Chychrun said. "100 percent. We can't rely on other teams to do the work for us. We're in a spot where we're a point up, and we know (other teams) have a few games in hand. These next games coming up for us are crucial to hopefully continually add on to this small point that we're holding onto against (St. Louis). Very important games. We can't get too 'big picture.' I think we need to stay in the moment and really focus on one game at a time. You can't win them all in one night."

The race for the final playoff spot likely will not be decided until the final week of the regular-season, which looms May 8 for the Coyotes.
Back to now.
"I look at it like, 'We have to beat LA,'" Tocchet said. "You've got to look at it that way as a player. 'What are you willing to do to beat LA? Are you willing to block that shot, that Doughty shot? Are you willing to out-battle Kopitar in the corners every time?' These are the little things I look for. Big picture, we probably need 6-7 wins, I don't know. But I'm looking at a smaller picture, I'm looking to see our effort and a win in LA."
The team's goal of making the playoffs is very well within reach, said Chychrun, who stressed the organization's vision of becoming a perennial contender.
"That's what we're trying to do here," Chychrun said. "It's an exciting situation. We have an opportunity where we can really gain ground on some teams, and it's going to come from within. That starts with this first game here in LA."
Added Tocchet: "It's about belief."

Lead Photo Credit: Juan Ocampo - NHLI via Getty Images // Second Photo Credit:NHL Standings // Third Photo Credit: Debora Robinson - NHLI via Getty Images // Fourth Photo Credit: Rob Curtis - Icon Sportswire via Getty Images // Footer Photo Credit: Juan Ocampo - NHLI via Getty Images