Dave Tippett

If the Phoenix Coyotes are to demonstrate their mettle during this run to the playoffs, mid-February back-to-back games may be a telling barometer.

In facing the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks Feb. 12 and the Alex Ovechkin-led Washington Capitals two nights later, that kind of competition could help define the Coyotes' emotional state.

If the Phoenix Coyotes expect to qualify for postseason play, they need to learn to play with "the big boys."

That means acquiring the education "to put teams away," and maintain leads until the final buzzer.

Through the All-Star Game, the Coyotes' inconsistent game remains as troubling as their penchant to tease Phoenix fans. Just when the team strings a few wins together, they find ways not to play a complete game, can't quite go the distance in the 60-minute marathon on ice, and tend to lose leads late in games.

An often overlooked and under appreciated part of an NHL hockey team is the Head Coach.  An often thankless position, the tenure of a Head Coach does not tend to be very long.  In fact, of the 30 head coaches in place to start the 2010-11 season, only six coaches have completed the last three full seasons in their current position.

Throughout NHL history, coaches have played almost as important a role as the players they coach in regards to success. With each victory, and each loss, a bench boss takes as much of the blame as the skaters they deploy.

As part of a continuing series, writer Benjamin Benya will be previewing all 30 NHL teams over the next two weeks in preparation for the 2010-11 regular season.

Out West, we're with the Phoenix Coyotes.

Key Additions:

LW Ray Whitney, LW Andrew Ebbett, C Eric Belanger.

Key Subtractions:

6. Frank J. Selke Trophy: Best Defensive Forward Finalists

Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings

Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks

Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh Penguins

When deciding my pick for this award, I didn't really take points into consideration. Anyone in the league can put up good scoring numbers if that's their focus, and we know that these three finalists are very capable of getting on the score sheet. However, for this award, my pick will be the player who did the most for his team in situations like a penalty kill or overtime.

I'll admit it. Hockey is just not one of the sports I really follow.

That's not to say that I don't like it. The few times I have turned on a game, I have enjoyed it.

However, two things get in the way. One is that I don't know everything about the game like I do about baseball, basketball, and football. The other is that, as a fan, all my available sports time is all but taken. I follow the NFL, NBA, MLB, and college football.

As if you needed any help seeing that the Phoenix Coyotes are a much improved team this season, take a gander at their stats.

They’re in the playoffs for the first time since the 2001-02 season.

The first half of the season has already past leaving several Phoenix Coyotes opponents shutout thanks to Ilya Bryzgalov.

The Coyotes have become a success story in the Jobing Arena where the Coyotes ended a franchise record 10-game home winning streak to start the second half of the season.

The Coyotes 16-5-1 home record is second in the Western Conference next to the Chicago Blackhawks 18-4-1 home record.

While the Coyotes have enjoyed success this season, what people might have forgotten was how dominate were last year before a second half disaster.

With the Christmas just a week away, the Phoenix Coyotes have been fortunate of receiving a lot of their presents early.

For starters, the Coyotes will be moving away from the desert. After a heated battle this summer about the future of the Coyotes organization the ruling favored of keeping the Coyotes in the desert. After finding out that the Coyotes were staying in Phoenix, the presents began to fall from the cactuses.

Perhaps the biggest present that the Coyotes came on Sept.