Quenneville: 'Biggest game of the year' awaits Hawks

A month ago, Tuesday nights' game against the Phoenix Coyotes might have been seen as just another important regular-season game down the stretch for the Blackhawks as they prepped for the playoffs.

Amazing how things have changed.

"Now it's the biggest game of the year," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville admitted.

That's because the Hawks are reeling, having dropped five of their last seven, while the Coyotes have won a franchise-tying nine straight and are tied with the Hawks atop the Western Conference standings.

"They've gone on an amazing run," Quenneville said. "They're a better team than people give them credit for. They've got it going right now."

The Hawks witnessed that first-hand Saturday when Phoenix rose from the ashes - twice - to battle back for a 5-4 victory.

"Boom, like that they're in first place," said Hawks forward Kris Versteeg. "We've got to come ready. They're a feisty team with a big winning streak."

Confidence game: What separates a team that is struggling like the Hawks from one that is on a roll like the Coyotes?

One word: confidence.

"It's nice when you get on that kind of roll, finding ways to win," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "You have confidence from the goalie on out. Confidence is a lot of it."

The Coyotes sure aren't lacking in that department.

"We just have so much confidence in this room right now and I think that's the big difference," goalie Jason LaBarbera told reporters after the Coyotes' 3-2 win in Dallas on Sunday. "The confidence right now is unreal."

Lesson learned? The way Kris Versteeg sees it, the Hawks' struggles at holding onto leads late in games traces all the way back to early January in Minnesota when they blew a 5-1 third-period lead and fell 6-5 in a shootout to the Wild.

"It's been frustrating," Versteeg said. "It started in Minnesota and I guess it's a good lesson to learn, but now it's time to stop.

"You can't overlook games at all because everyone's so close (in the standings)."

Streaking CoyotesAfter losing to St. Louis 5-2 on March 2, Phoenix has won nine straight games, including five shootouts:Phoenix 3, Colorado 1 (home)Phoenix 4, Anaheim 0 (home)Phoenix 4, Vancouver 3* (home)Phoenix 4, Carolina 0 (away)Phoenix 3, Atlanta 2* (away)Phoenix 2, Tampa Bay 1 (away)Phoenix 4, Florida, 3* (away)Phoenix 5, HAWKS 4* (home)Phoenix 3, Dallas 2* (away)* shootout