GLENDALE, Ariz. -- There is no denying that the Coyotes were competitive in a five-game stretch against NHL playoff teams that concluded in a 5-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday.
If not for a very fortunate bounce in Chicago, however, the Coyotes would also be winless against the Red Wings, Blackhawks, Blues, Sharks and Rangers.
It's not hard to figure out why. Take away the goal for which Arizona is automatically credited in a shootout win over the Blackhawks, and the Coyotes have scored two goals or fewer in six straight games.
"That's a very good measuring stick for them, playing games where you're playing against good teams, playing against good players. When you're lined up against good players, you see how they react," coach Dave Tippett said. "The work is there. Guys are trying hard but we need some execution. We need to finish some plays."
Arizona had its chances against New York at Gila River Arena, including a failed Tobias Rieder penalty shot (remember Martin Erat's missed penalty shot against Detroit?) that could have tied the game early in the third period. The Coyotes didn't cash in and the floodgates eventually opened.
The Rangers blitzed the Coyotes for four third-period goals to hand Arizona its seventh straight defeat at home (0-6-1). The Coyotes' last win at Gila River Arena was Jan. 8 against Winnipeg. Since Nov. 4, they are 5-13-4 at home.
"We have been playing pretty good here, lately," defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson said with a shrug. "We have to just keep working hard and find ways to win hockey games. That's all we can do here."
Rick Nash, the NHL's leading scorer, started the Rangers' third-period run by inexplicably getting behind defenseman Keith Yandle and burying a short-side chance above goalie Mike Smith's glove for a 2-1 lead just 1:19 into the third period.
Five minutes after Rieder's penalty shot, the Coyotes had a power play chance to tie the game, but Ekman-Larsson's stick broke, the Rangers went the other way and Kevin Hayes beat Smith's short side on a terrific shot, but from an angle Smith should have been able to handle.
Just like that, it was 3-1 and the Rangers were a step ahead the rest of the way against the Coyotes, who had played Friday against San Jose while some Rangers watched the game from the stands.
"If I score the game goes the other direction, maybe," Rieder said. "They get a couple good chances and lucky bounces and they just buried them. That's how the game turned around."
There will be many similar lessons for the Coyotes to learn over the final two months of the season, and there will likely be more young players in the lineup to learn those lessons as the March 2 trade deadline approaches and general manager Don Maloney finally pulls the trigger on a number of expected deals.
"It's one thing to work, but everybody in the league works. It's what you do after the work that counts," Tippett said. "Young players are learning how to work but now you've got to learn how to have an impact on the game."
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