Coyotes defeat Blackhawks, tie for second wild card in West

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Coyotes moved into a tie for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference with a 1-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Gila River Arena on Tuesday.

The Coyotes are tied with the Colorado Avalanche and are three points behind the Dallas Stars, who hold the first wild card. Colorado has played one fewer game than Arizona.
Darcy Kuemper, making his 18th consecutive start, made 31 saves for the Coyotes (37-33-7), who were 0-3-2 in the past five games. Nick Cousins scored the lone goal on a power play 5:40 into the third period.
WATCH: [All Blackhawks vs. Coyotes highlights]
"There wasn't much room out there. It wasn't the prettiest of games … but that's what it takes to win this time of the year," Cousins said.
Corey Crawford made 28 saves for the Blackhawks (33-33-10), who are five points behind the Avalanche and Coyotes with six games remaining.
"That's pretty frustrating. We had a lot of good chances there, pushing the pace there in the third period and just couldn't capitalize," Blackhawks forward Dylan Sikura said. "It was tough to get shots through their layers of defense. They were doing a good job blocking shots and their goalie was pretty good."
Kuemper's shutout was his fourth of the season and the 15th of his NHL career.
"We didn't give them anything off the rush, and that's where they're so dangerous," Kuemper said. "They're a good team, they're going to create a little bit but we limited them. It was win by committee."

Cousins scored after Crawford stopped his initial shot from the low shot. The rebound went to Cousins in the lower left circle and he scored on a wrist shot inside the near post.
"That's a huge goal. I don't want to say he's struggled lately to score, but there's no secret you've got to get pucks on net and he went to the right area there and got rewarded," said forward Lawson Crouse, who drew the Brent Seabrook tripping penalty that created the power play.
"You could just feel it on the bench. Our energy went right up as soon as he scored and the rest of the game we were pretty solid."
Crawford said one unfortunate rebound for the Blackhawks cost them the game.
"[Cousins] cut to the middle, threw it off my shoulder and … the rebound came back and [the puck] kind of streaked through," Crawford said. "It's tough to give that up. We played so well. I think we deserved better but they played pretty well too."

Cousins' seventh goal of the season was his first in 20 games, since Feb. 12 against the Vegas Golden Knights. He was a healthy scratch for the 2-0 loss to the New York Islanders on Sunday, which ended Arizona's 0-3-1 road trip.
"I didn't like sitting out. You never want to see a game from the press box at this time of the year," Cousins said. "Going down the stretch, every game and every point is crucial for us, so it's nice to help contribute."
Arizona is 9-1-1 in its past 11 home games, with Kuemper starting each one. He is 12-5-2 in his past 19 starts.
"Like he's been all year, he's been our MVP, and you saw it tonight," Cousins said.
The Avalanche host the Golden Knights on Wednesday and the Coyotes on Friday. Arizona hasn't made the playoffs since 2012.
"Friday night is the most important Coyotes game in how many years, right?" coach Rick Tocchet said. "This is something we're looking forward to. This is a big, big game for us."

They said it

"It was a fun game to play in, high intensity, and we did a lot of good things. We're showing we can play in those type of games. We've just got to find a way to win them." -- Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford
"I thought the guys early were a little tight but as the game went on I could see the bench guys enjoying it. It was a good kind of pressure and that's what you want. This is good. You want the puck. You want to be in those situations." -- Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet

Need to know

The Blackhawks are 1-3-1 in their past five games. … Crawford is 12-4-2 against the Coyotes. … Arizona has scored five goals in its past five games and seven in its past six. … Tocchet broke up his usual defense pairing of Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Niklas Hjalmarsson, who have played together nearly all season, and paired Ekman-Larsson with Jason Demers and Hjalmarsson with Jordan Oesterle.

What's next

Blackhawks: At the San Jose Sharks on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, NBCSCA+, NBCSCH, NHL.TV)
Coyotes: At the Avalanche on Friday (9 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ALT2, FS-A+, NHL.TV)