Phoenix Coyotes Tickets

The Phoenix Coyotes are currently in dead last in the Pacific Division and watching their playoff hopes slip away.

The good news is that the Coyotes aren't all that far out of the final playoff spot in terms of points.

The bad news is that they would have to play almost flawless hockey the rest of the way and would have a number of teams to jump past to claim a playoff spot.

Now comes a brutal stretch in which Phoenix plays four of their next five games away from home in what could officially eliminate them from playoff contention.

Making matters worse is the fact that two of those games will be played against two of the NHL's best teams in the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings.

However, give this talent-starved team a lot of credit for playing hard night in and night out and at least earning some respect out on the ice.

Right wing Shane Doan does it all for the Coyotes, leading the team in points, goals and assists with 54, 23 and 31, respectively. He also leads the club with eight goals via the power play.

The play in the net has been very average to say the least. Starting goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov has given up 2.95 goals per game while stopping just over 90 percent of the shots he has faced.

Backup Mikael Tellqvist hasn't been any better, allowing 2.89 goals per game and stopping just over 90 percent of the shots he sees.

Granted, all of the blame can't be placed on the goalies given the fact they aren't getting much help from the defense playing in front of them.

It appears to be just a matter of time before the Coyotes are out of the playoff picture, but don't be surprised to see this team fight hard to the bitter end. They might not have a lot of talent, but they have a ton of heart.