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Coyotes take aim at top seed in West

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Let’s forget all of the nasty rumors about the Phoenix Coyotes possibly being on their way to Winnipeg*. The Coyotes are just four points behind the San Jose Sharks and the top seed in the West, something that is incredibly impressive considering the state of the franchise just months ago.

*I don’t want to step on Jets fans, either. It’s an ugly situation all around.

Someone who has to be most proud about the turnaround is Shane Doan, who has been with the franchise since 1995 -- when they were the Winnipeg Jets. From Justin Piercy of CBC Sports:

“It’s special for us as a team,” said captain Shane Doan, who started his career with the team before it was relocated from Winnipeg in 1996. “Obviously there were a lot of doubts coming into this season by a lot of people. It’s nice to answer those doubts and have an opportunity to do even better than that.”

Now, not to rain on the Coyotes parade here, but this season’s magic will just go up like a puff of smoke if the team doesn’t get out of the first round of the playoffs. We’ve seen Dave Tippett’s teams before; always great in the regular season, shaky in the postseason.

Hence, getting as high a seed as possible would be ideal. Except if they nail down #2 and Colorado get #7. Those first round exits against the Avalanche will haunt Tippett forever.

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