"The Coyotes, picking up steam at a crucial point in their season, will be trying to win a season-high fourth game in a row, and increased focus has been a key factor.

"I think we're playing well as a group right now," coach Dave Tippett said. "We've got good energy; our players are competing very hard. There's a lot of little details in the game that we've been very strong in. San Jose and Detroit games, we had two good games at home, gave us some momentum."

The Coyotes followed that with a 4-1 win in Dallas on Wednesday night that propelled them into an eighth-place tie in the Western Conference."