The view from Phoenix

The Kings are in the playoffs and, by virtue of their shootout loss, the Phoenix are now one point away from clinching a spot. The Calgary Flames were eliminated from contention last night, so the Dallas Stars are the only team outside the top eight that still has a chance to get in. Here’s how The Arizona Republic covered last night’s Kings-Coyotes game, followed by some additional quotes from the Coyotes’ locker room…

Phoenix Coyotes miss chance to clinch in loss to Los Angeles Kings

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COACH DAVE TIPPETT

(on the game recap…) “I thought our guys competed very hard, made a couple mistakes that gave them a couple goals. But that second period, we had that power play and had some great chances and couldn’t extend the lead to get it past 2-1. If we could have extended that to 3-1, that could have been a big factor for us.”

(on his team’s effort…) “I liked our resolve all day. We seemed like a real focused team all day and we knew that was the game that was the game that was going to have to be played for us tonight. It was a hard forechecking game, had to work hard for our opportunities. Fiddler’s line was a good example of that early in the game. They skated hard and they found ways to get a couple goals for us.”

LEE STEMPNIAK

(on the playoff-like atmosphere…) “It’s good, this is when it’s fun. When the games are really important and everything’s on the line, that’s when you want to be out there and playing your best. I think it’s good to get into that mindset.”

(on Taylor Pyatt’s return…) “It’s great to have him back. There’s not many guys that have the stance and are as big as he is or as strong on the puck, so it’s a huge asset to us. When we scored, we sort of got them off getting the pucks in and just throwing them at the net. Wish we could have gotten some more chances, but it’s something to build on.”

SHANE DOAN

(on getting one point…) “It’s a big point, but when you come all the way out here, you want to find a way to get both of them. … We’ve got to find ways to win games. We’ve been close, we’ve been around it, but we just haven’t found ways to win.”

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