What is happening to the Arizona Coyotes? They lost the last game before the All-Star break 5-2 to the Winnipeg Jets, after falling behind 3-0. They came out of the break well rested, as not one Coyotes' player participated in the All-Star event.

No, we are not counting John Scott, since he was an AHL player at the time, besides the fact he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens. The NHL, in a move to remove egg from its' face, allowed Scott to play, where he was named MVP.

Kings, Blackhawks Come to Town

There are no excuses that the Coyotes were tired, or had a rough schedule which will hold any water. They came home for games against their arch rivals Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks with hopes of maintaining a playoff berth for the first time since the 2011-12 season.

It didn't go well.

They were thumped 6-2 by the Kings, who scored five straight goals in the last two stanzas to really give the Coyotes a reality check. You can't give consecutive goals to upper level teams like the Kings, and expect to come back for a win. It's not going to happen.

The third game was an overtime affair, and a very entertaining game against the Blackhawks who, as always, had their fans at Gila River Arena cheering them on. For some reason, if one were to attend a Coyotes' game it would be hoped that the chants would be for the home team, and not the visitors. 

Yet, the game was back and forth, as the two teams traded leads on five different occasions, only to see the Windy City club come away victorious. The Coyotes have lost twice to the Hawks, and both games were close, but close doesn't get you a thawed out puck in the NHL. Hard work and determination go a long ways. 

Yeah, but we can beat the Ducks, right?

The last game in this pivotal series of losses was against the Anaheim Ducks. You know, the same club the Coyotes dominated in three games thus far this season. Those Ducks.

Well, the poor puck possession and disappointing goaltending continued, and the results were not as anticipated. This time Head Coach Dave Tippett elected to start Anders Lindback to give Louis Domingue a night off. Back to back games do that. But, the way Domingue had been playing, it was time to change things up. 

Lindback did keep the Coyotes in the game in the first period, but after that he pulled a bonehead play much like Domingue's mysterious mask removal fiasco recently against the Kings. For some reason, Lindback thought he could stick-handle behind the net when no defenseman was in sight to clear the puck. Mistake! He misplayed it, and the Ducks pounced on it like huge, juicy steak. That was a turning point in the game, as it gave the Ducks the lead 2-1. Shane Doan did score later in the period to tie the game at 2-2, and tie Dale Hawerchuk's power play franchise record of 122 goals. Doan is also just one point behind Hawerchuk's franchise points record. 

This Trend Must Stop

The trend of the team yielding consecutive goals continued in this game, as well when the Coyotes gave up three consecutive goals in the third period to dissolve any chances of a win in Anaheim.

The team's coaching staff and management must be less than pleased with the fact that the team has given up 21 goals during this losing streak. Consider this disturbing statistic: in the 10 games prior to this losing streak, the team allowed just 18 goals. That's 5.25 goals against in the last four games compared to 1.80 goals against in the 10 games prior. 

If that continues the 'experts' who predicted this team would finish dead last may be gloating in their prognostication skills.

When a team is in the dumps of a losing streak, something has got to go down to improve things. A trade? A promotion from the AHL? Benching players who are at fault? 

Tippett will figure it out. He certainly does not want to deal with the losing he sustained last season. That tore him up. It can also tear into the fiber of a team's fan-base and support.

The good news is there are still 30 games left to redeem the team's fortunes. It will take some better puck possession, some more improved defense and goaltending to get there.

Does the team have it in them? 

We'll soon find out.