Coyotes keep on pushing

While all around you lose, even an occasional win can have a big impact.

Such is the case with the Arizona Coyotes.

Vinnie Hinostroza had two goals and an assist in Yotes win in Ottawa – file photo courtesy of Lewis Bleiman

On Tuesday night the Yotes picked up a 3-2 win over their host Ottawa Senators.

Vinnie Hinostroza struck for two goals and added an assist in the win as the Coyotes are now 6-1-1 in their last eight and are 23-22-4.

This from a club that has been counted out since the season started.

“We stuck to what’s worked for us and it led to some goals and some good defense,” Hinostroza said. “We’ve been playing really good hockey right now. We like where this is going. We just want to keep it going.”

Derek Stepan also scored for the Coyotes.

“The Stepan line was excellent tonight,” Arizona coach Rick Tocchet said. “They had a lot of possession time, changed momentum when they were on the ice, and they did a great job for us tonight.

“[Hinostroza] is really hard on the forecheck, [Panik] is being real sticky in the corners, and [Stepan] is a smart guy, he kind of reacts off those guys. … Just the chemistry right now, they’re feeling it.”

Darcy Kuemper made 25 saves for the win.

“We all know where we are in the standings,” the Coyotes’ Jordan Oesterle said. “We know what’s at stake with every game that we play. We’re fighting every inch by inch to try and make a push to the playoffs.”

Ryan Dzingel and Bobby Ryan scored for the Sens.

“The guys fought,” Ottawa coach Guy Boucher said. “You saw that we had two high-end scoring chances at the end that could’ve definitely tied the game. We had some high-end scoring chances, whether it’s in the first or second. We could’ve scored more goals, absolutely.”

Ottawa dropped to 19-26-5.

“The wheels fell off [in the second period],” Ryan said. “We had a sloppy eight minutes of hockey, and it cost us the game.”

[WATCH: All Coyotes vs. Senators highlights]

Craig Anderson made 30 saves in the loss.

“It’s never fun when you lose, and I think having a couple losses here definitely hurts,” Anderson said. “But I think the way we’ve been playing, we’ve been in the game, we’ve been right there, it could’ve gone either way, a bounce here, a bounce there, so overall we’ve got to be pretty satisfied that we’re in the game and we’ve got ourselves a chance.”