• Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Red Wings

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Red Wings

  • Coyotes clipped by Red Wings 5-4 in a shootout

    Coyotes clipped by Red Wings 5-4 in a shootout

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Kings

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Kings

  • Coyotes outlast Kings in 11-round shootout

    Coyotes outlast Kings in 11-round shootout

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Avalanche

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Avalanche

  • Coyotes blank Avalanche 1-0

    Coyotes blank Avalanche 1-0

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Devils

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Devils

  • Coyotes hold off Devils in third period

    Coyotes hold off Devils in third period

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Senators

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Senators

  • Senators rally past Coyotes for overtime win

    Senators rally past Coyotes for overtime win

  • Coyotes winger Radim Vrbata reaches 1,000-game milestone

    Coyotes winger Radim Vrbata reaches 1,000-game milestone

  • Arizona Coyotes Foundation Golf Tournament 2017

    Arizona Coyotes Foundation Golf Tournament 2017

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Hurricanes

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Hurricanes

  • Hurricanes rally past Coyotes with late third-period goal

    Hurricanes rally past Coyotes with late third-period goal

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Hurricanes

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Hurricanes

  • Coyotes react to road win over Hurricanes

    Coyotes react to road win over Hurricanes

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Sabres

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Sabres

  • Coyotes react to their 6-3 loss to the Sabres

    Coyotes react to their 6-3 loss to the Sabres

  • Radim Vrbata, Shane Doan remain with Coyotes after NHL trade deadline

    Radim Vrbata, Shane Doan remain with Coyotes after NHL trade deadline

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Bruins

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Bruins

  • Coyotes react to Burmistrov hit in loss to Bruins

    Coyotes react to Burmistrov hit in loss to Bruins

  • Shot Clock: Could they leave? Latest on Coyotes' arena situation

    Shot Clock: Could they leave? Latest on Coyotes’ arena situation

  • Coyotes react to Martin Hanzal trade

    Coyotes react to Martin Hanzal trade

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Sabres

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Sabres

  • Coyotes rally past Sabres in third period

    Coyotes rally past Sabres in third period

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Stars

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Stars

  • Stars rally past Coyotes for 5-2 win

    Stars rally past Coyotes for 5-2 win

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Blackhawks

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Blackhawks

  • Coyotes react to 6-3 loss to Blackhawks

    Coyotes react to 6-3 loss to Blackhawks

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Ducks

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Ducks

  • Coyotes hold off Ducks for 3-2 win

    Coyotes hold off Ducks for 3-2 win

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Sharks

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Sharks

  • Coyotes react to 4-1 loss to Sharks

    Coyotes react to 4-1 loss to Sharks

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Kings

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Kings

  • Arizona Coyotes hold off Los Angeles Kings in third for 5-3 win

    Arizona Coyotes hold off Los Angeles Kings in third for 5-3 win

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Oilers

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Oilers

  • Oilers overwhelm Coyotes 5-2

    Oilers overwhelm Coyotes 5-2

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Flames

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Flames

  • Coyotes break out in win over Flames

    Coyotes break out in win over Flames

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Penguins

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Penguins

  • Coyotes react to overtime win over the Penguins

    Coyotes react to overtime win over the Penguins

  • Sidney Crosby closing in on 1,000 career points

    Sidney Crosby closing in on 1,000 career points

  • Hockey phenom from UAE takes the ice with the Capitals

    Hockey phenom from UAE takes the ice with the Capitals

  • Arizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald skates for the first time with Shane Doan

    Arizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald skates for the first time with Shane Doan

  • Coyotes bring their dads on the road to San Jose

    Coyotes bring their dads on the road to San Jose

  • Coyotes goalie Mike Smith on memorable All-Star Game experience

    Coyotes goalie Mike Smith on memorable All-Star Game experience

  • Coyotes captain Shane Doan not ruling out trade possibility

    Coyotes captain Shane Doan not ruling out trade possibility

After getting past the NHL trade deadline, the Coyotes wanted to avoid limping to the finish line as another spring without the playoffs loomed.

And to date, they’ve been able to accomplish that goal with the team toting a five-game point streak – its most productive run of the season – into Saturday’s home game against the Blues.

But only one of the teams the Coyotes have pried at least a point away from during that stretch is in a comfortable playoff position. The others are on the outside looking in, and just one club (the Kings) is within striking distance of a wild-card spot.

That won’t be the case on Arizona’s upcoming five-game road trip, as the competition appears to get stiffer with three playoff-bound teams on the docket and two others still very much in contention.

“Really good challenge for our young players,” coach Dave Tippett said. “You’re playing all teams that are in the playoff hunt or in the playoffs. Really good challenge to keep expanding our game.”

Saturday’s game against the Blues was actually the start of a tough schedule for the Coyotes the rest of the way, as only two of their remaining opponents are more than 10 points back of a playoff position (Stars and Canucks). Everyone else is either in possession of a berth or still close to one; the Capitals, whom the Coyotes will play twice in that span, are jostling for the Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s top point-getter.

RELATED: Jakob Chychrun playing beyond his years

Arizona’s 11-round shootout triumph over Los Angeles last Tuesday has been its only recent win against a team still in pursuit but if that game was any indication of how the Coyotes feel about matching up with a desperate group, the vibe seems to fuel them just as much as their competition.

“I think as you’ve kind of seen of late, it’s kind of brought the best out of our group playing it those meaningful games,” center Jordan Martinook said. “Obviously, we’re not in it, but if you can play the role of spoiler, play those teams hard, it just kind of builds our confidence going into next year and try to develop everyone.”

Perhaps the best example of the Coyotes feeding off this urgency is how they’ve manufactured points lately. Arizona had scored a third-period goal in three of its last four games, a timely tally that has either helped them secure a point or two.

“It’s just kind of the no-quit attitude,” Martinook said. “Looking back to the beginning of the year, we’d get down in the third period and we couldn’t string anything together. Now I think this last-month stretch, (we’re) kind of gaining confidence with games in that situation. You can gain confidence that you can come back. So instead going into the third period down a goal and thinking, ‘Oh, OK. We’re probably not going to get back,’ we’re thinking, ‘OK, let’s get it back and let’s try and get the lead.’ ”

The back end has behind a few of these late-game rallies, with defenseman Anthony DeAngelo scoring the game-winner in the third last Saturday against the Devils; he also converted the game-deciding goal in the shootout against the Kings. And defenseman Jakob Chychrun delivered the game-tying goal Thursday in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Red Wings.

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Overall, the unit had chipped in four goals in its last four games and had combined for 10 points during the five-game point streak.

“We’ve made some plays off transition, and our goalies have done a good job of getting the puck up to us,” defenseman Alex Goligoski said. “I think with the group we have it could be a good way for us to create offense going forward here, and we’ve done a good job of that lately.”

This productivity would be more meaningful if the Coyotes were gearing up for the playoffs or pushing to get in, but it’s still significant to the players because how they finish this season could establish momentum for 2017-18 and beyond.

“It’s important,” Goligoski said. “We may not be in a playoff run, but the end of the season matters going forward here. As an organization, we want to set the tone and have kind of a standard to live up to.”

Injury update

Captain Shane Doan didn’t play Saturday after leaving Thursday’s game with a lower-body injury. He’s considered day-to-day and will accompany the team on its road trip, Tippett said.

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-8276. Follow her at twitter.com/azc_mclellan.