Schmaltz's return from knee surgery gives the Coyotes more skill and speed on their second line.
He leads Arizona with eight points (three goals, five assists), all in the past five games. He scored 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 17 games with the Coyotes after being traded to Arizona by the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 25 but missed the final 43 games because of the injury.
Tocchet said Schmaltz's line, with Christian Dvorak at center and Conor Garland on the left wing, has been the Coyotes' most consistent. Garland leads the team with four goals and Dvorak has three. He has also won 68.2 percent of his face-offs (45 of 66).
"[Schmaltz] can find that open ice and and be patient with the puck," Tocchet said. "He doesn't really get rid of pucks. He can find somebody. He just doesn't throw pucks or dump it all the time. He can make a play and I think that goes a long way. He's shooting the puck and he's got a great shot."
Tocchet wonders if Schmaltz would have made the difference to help Arizona get into the playoffs last season. He specifically pointed to a four-game road trip from March 18-24, when the Coyotes scored a total of four goals and went 0-3-1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders.
"A goal here or there," Tocchet said. "Is there a goal that maybe he would have gotten or maybe he would have made a play? Yeah, you take a playmaker out of our lineup it's a big thing for us. He's a guy that can make plays."
The Coyotes' forward depth this season doesn't stop at the second line, a problem in previous seasons.
The third line of Carl Soderberg, who was acquired in a trade from the Colorado Avalanche on June 25, Lawson Crouse and Christian Fischer might be the Coyotes most trustworthy defensively. Soderberg also has five points (two goals, three assists).
Their fourth line of Brad Richardson, Michael Grabner and Vinnie Hinostroza is arguably their fastest line.
"I talked to some guys in training camp and I was like, 'Oh, you can really feel how we stepped it up from last year,' " said Ekman-Larsson, the Coyotes captain. "I mean, it's hard to practice against our forward group right now and I think that's good for 'D' corps too. That's how we get better too.
"It's been a long time since we've had a team like this."