There are still 32 games left to be played, but the Coyotes are starting to feel the sand slip through the hourglass.
Phoenix, which remains in 12th place in the Western Conference, is now 9-9-4 on home ice and 0-1-1 on a season-long six-game homestand that began with an overtime loss to Detroit on Thursday. Next up is Ottawa on Tuesday.
The Coyotes have only one win in their last seven games and just three in the last 15 (3-7-5) dating back to Dec. 23. Some of the issues are due to injuries, some of them to a lousy travel schedule. There's also the looming distraction created by the lack of a team owner, as the countdown to the franchise's possible departure from Arizona has begun in earnest again.
But the only thing that matters is this: They just haven't been good enough. Teams such as Anaheim are ramping up their games in late January while the Coyotes are going backward. When Mike Smith plays well, there aren't enough goals. When the Coyotes get three, Smith and Jason LaBarbera haven't made them stand up.
Like Saturday night's game against the Lightning, the Ottawa game will have subplots. Kyle Turris will make his return to Glendale and could be facing some boos from the fans for his protracted holdout and trade demands. But the most important thing is the two points -- points the Coyotes have to collect in bunches now.
NOTES, QUOTES
-- It was a game goaltender Mike Smith wanted badly. But when it was over and the Coyotes had lost, there was no one else to blame.
Smith was pushed aside in Tampa when the Lightning traded for Dwayne Roloson last January, and he watched as "Rollie the Goalie" led the team to within a game of the Stanley Cup finals.
Smith left as a free agent after the season and has been very good for the Coyotes this year, but on Saturday he gave up a game-winning goal to Steve Downie that was as soft as they come.
"It comes down to making saves, and that fourth one is just a back-breaker," Smith said. "We should win that game. We scored three goals, and we should win most of those.
"We talk about having everyone on board, and if one or two guys aren't, we aren't going to win, and that goes for the goalie too. It stings anytime you lose, but definitely when you aren't at your best.
-- The Coyotes took 31 shots in the first period -- 15 of them on net -- and controlled the puck against a tired Tampa Bay team. But the Lightning struck twice on goals by Steven Stamkos and Teddy Purcell, both scoring from point-blank range to put the Coyotes in an early hole.
"It's the number of scoring chances we had that we didn't capitalize on," Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. "There are games where some days you don't work hard enough, some days that you're looking to correct problems, and that was a problem tonight. It was magnified by the fact that they were getting very few chances and capitalizing.
"It seemed like we're banging away and doing whatever we can to create chances, and every five chances we create we get nothing, and they get one on theirs. That puts a frustration level into your group."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "It's do or die now, because we can't afford to throw away any more points. Every game is going to be a playoff game for us." -- Coyotes goalie Mike Smith.
PLAYER NOTES
-- LW Lauri Korpikoski gave the Coyotes some life in the second period Saturday night when he took a Boyd Gordon pass, side-stepped Martin St. Louis and beat Dwayne Roloson to the top left corner at 8:29. It was Korpikoski's 11th goal of the year and his third short-handed goal -- one behind Minnesota's Cal Clutterbuck and New Jersey's Adam Henrique for the NHL lead. He also assisted on Keith Yandle's goal and now has 23 points for the season.
-- LW Ray Whitney scored his 15th goal of the season and the 356th of his career on the power play in the third period to pull Phoenix within a goal. He had another great scoring chance in the second, but his backhand flip was snatched out of the air by Tampa goalie Dwayne Roloson on a play that was so close it had to be reviewed. Whitney also assisted on Keith Yandle's goal and has 41 points in 49 games this season, leaving him 33 points shy of 1,000 in his career.
-- C Boyd Gordon assisted on LW Lauri Korpikoski's short-handed goal and won 12 of his 16 face-offs to help give the Coyotes a 38-34 edge.
MEDICAL WATCH
-- D David Schlemko (foot) has been ruled out for the rest of the regular season after undergoing surgery on his right foot last week. The Coyotes will miss Schlemko, who became a reliable player this year and a good partner for Rostislav Klesla.
-- D Adrian Aucoin (lower body) missed his fourth straight game Saturday after suffering his third injury in the last month. He is close to returning, though, and could play Tuesday against Ottawa.
-- D Derek Morris (lower body) left the game Saturday after only three shifts and did not return. The Coyotes called up rookie Maxim Goncharov from AHL Portland on Friday, and he could be in the lineup Tuesday against Ottawa.
-- C Daymond Langkow (face) was a game-time decision but did not play Saturday against Tampa Bay after taking a puck to the face against Detroit on Thursday. He is expected back against Ottawa.
