By Eric Smith
FOX Sports Ohio
Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011
The Columbus Blue Jackets (20-19-3) hope their comeback Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings, even though it came up short, may be a launching point to turn around their tailspin. The Phoenix Coyotes (20-13-9), to the surprise of many, are putting a season together that will have them in the postseason.
The Coyotes are getting production up and down the lineup. Their comeback Monday night against the St. Louis Blues showed they are dangerous from start to finish of the game.
The Blues scored first and then scored two goals 20 seconds apart in the third period, but Phoenix refused to go away -- scoring two goals to come back and win. The goals for Phoenix were all scored by their third- and fourth-line players: Lauri Korpikoski, Lee Stempniak, Kyle Turris and the game-winner coming from Taylor Pyatt.
Pyatt has been hot, scoring three goals and two assists in the past four games -- all coming from his fourth-line position. This comes from a position of confidence as the team has won three of its past four and has gone 18-8-3 against Western Conference foes. The confidence coach Dave Tippett has in his players is critical, too. Even when the Blues scored those two quick goals, Tippett had faith in his team.
''I called [a] timeout just to tell them that we were doing some good things and to hang in there," Tippett said. ''I wanted them to be confident and keep working and that good things will happen."
Good things have been happening lately for the Coyotes even without the services of their top goaltender, Ilya Bryzgalov (14-8-6), who has missed nine of the past 13 games for a variety of reasons, the latest being a family medical issue and his own illness.
Jason LaBarbera (6-5-3) has 13 starts this season, 12 of them away from Phoenix. He has done a nice job carrying the load, going 3-0-2 in his past five starts with two shutouts.
The Blue Jackets are looking at a season that started with promise but is now on the verge of slipping into disappointment. To right the ship, they need to start tonight against a team that they will be battling for one of the final spots in the playoffs if they can start winning again. Here are keys to regaining that winning feeling:
1. Be Sick Of Losing
