"The Coyotes' mantra was a recurring one: end this home-ice funk and go into the All-Star break on a winning note.

Twice holding two-goal margins, only to see them sliced to one, the Coyotes hung on to defeat the Ottawa Senators 3-2 on Tuesday night at Jobing.com Arena. The win broke a three-game losing streak and finally got their home record over .500 (10-9-4).

And coach Dave Tippett would be the first to point out that nothing came easy in this one.

"It was a sloppy game, but we found a way to get points," he said. "We'll put those points in the bank, and I told the players everybody needs a break. The last two months have been as grueling a schedule as I've seen in a long time in the NHL."