Coyotes gain ground in playoff race with win against Jets

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Coyotes moved within three points of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference with their third straight win, 4-1 against the Winnipeg Jets at Gila River Arena on Sunday.

Darcy Kuemper made 34 saves, and Clayton Keller scored his first goal in 14 games for Arizona (29-28-5), which has won six of its past eight games. The Coyotes have allowed two goals or fewer in each of those wins. Kuemper is 6-0-1 in his past seven starts.
"It's fun," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said of being in the playoff race. "There are big things at stake here."
WATCH: [All Jets vs. Coyotes highlights | Coyotes roll out red carpet for Doan's jersey retirement]
Patrik Laine scored for Winnipeg (37-21-4), which leads the Central Division by one point over the Nashville Predators despite losing four of its past five (1-3-1) games and seven of 10 (3-5-2). Laurent Brossoit made 20 saves.
"They are a desperate team to stay in the race, but like I said, things are tough for us right now," Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. "It's something we've got to work through. The score aside, if you look at the zone time we got, the looks we got, and the shots, you say before the game it's probably a game we win."
Laine scored on the power play 2:11 into the game, a one-timer of Wheeler's cross-ice pass to give Winnipeg a 1-0 lead. Wheeler became the first player in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history with successive 60-assist seasons.
"It's good to get going (on the power play) but it's not good if we can't score any 5-on-5 goals," Laine said of his third goal in two games. "At least we got that one. They didn't give us much tonight, and their goalie was good."

Brad Richardson tied it at 1-1, putting in his own rebound from the slot at 5:43.
The Coyotes took a 2-1 lead at 7:48 of the second, a goal credited to Lawson Crouse. Brossoit stopped his shot, but the puck deflected off Jets defenseman Ben Chiarot's skate and into the net.
"We got a bad break on that one," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "Those things are going to happen. We had some good looks but couldn't finish, and [Kuemper] made some good saves."
Keller made it 3-1 at 13:46 of the second with a wrist shot from the left circle, his first goal since Jan. 20 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"I think I've been playing good hockey, I'm just trying to put more shots on net," Keller said. "I've got a pretty good shot, I think, I need to use to it more. It's good to see one go in, but more importantly we got the win."

Tocchet liked how Keller shot without hesitation.
"Sometimes he'll take two more steps and two more fakes and then shoot it, and now it's one move and a shot, and he's got a great shot," Tocchet said. "Players like him are streaky. If he keeps shooting the puck, it'll go in for him."
Josh Archibald scored into an empty net at 19:29 of the third for the 4-1 final.
The Coyotes honored longtime captain Shane Doan before the game by retiring his No. 19 jersey, the first player in their history to receive the honor. Players on both teams wore Doan's No. 19 during warmups.
"A lot of us had a lot of extra juice tonight because that was a pretty cool ceremony," Richardson said. "It kind of got emotional at times."

They said it

"When things are tough for your team, the puck bounces the other way, it doesn't go necessarily to the guy that's open on the back door, they don't kick one in for us. It's a lot of those things when your team's fighting it a little bit." -- Jets captain Blake Wheeler
"Obviously, we know we've struggled here a little bit, but every day is a new day. We want to come out and be a tough team at home, and I think tonight was a good example of that." -- Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse on their 12-14-3 record at home

Need to know

Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey sustained an undisclosed injury in the third period. Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice did not have an update after the game. … Wheeler joined Nikita Kucherov, Connor McDavid, Nicklas Backstrom, Joe Thornton and Sidney Crosby as active players with consecutive 60-assist seasons. Wheeler has seven points (one goal, six assists) in his past seven games. … Winnipeg was 1-2-0 on its three-game road trip. … The Coyotes began a seven-game homestand. … Kuemper is 12-3-3 since Jan. 1. … Keller's goal was his first point in seven games. … Arizona forward Alex Galchenyuk had an assist, his ninth point (five goals, four assists) in his past eight games.

What's next

Jets: Host the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, FS-N, FS-WI, NHL.TV)
Coyotes: Host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; FS-A, FS-F, NHL.TV)