Halfway through the season, the Coyotes have been a mixture of good and bad.

They're hoping to get the second half off to a good start Thursday when they play host to the Tampa Bay Lightning, coached by former Coyotes assistant Rick Tocchet.

Despite the blowout loss Tuesday, the Coyotes remain in the top eight in the Western Conference, and that's a positive they hope can serve as a steppingstone for the last 41 games.

Coach Wayne Gretzky is looking at the positives.

"It's amazing that as quickly as you can sink, you can go back to the top pretty fast, too," he said "Now we have to look forward to the next 41 games."

What has to be encouraging for the Coyotes is that captain/left wing Shane Doan has had an excellent first half, and center Olli...

Adam Burish celebrated his birthday in style Tuesday night. Burish started a four-goal outburst in the opening period with his first score of the season, and the Chicago Blackhawks routed the Phoenix Coyotes 6-0 behind Cristobal Huet's 22 saves. "That was fun," said Burish, who also had a pair of assists.

Randy Carlyle found a lot to like in the Ducks' all-around play. "Tonight was our best team effort that we've had," the Anaheim coach said after a 2-0 victory over Phoenix on Sunday night. "I think the difference in the game was our special teams. "We got two power-play goals and they went (0-for-4) on their power play, so our penalty killers and our power play stood up." Rookie Bobby Ryan had a...

Doug Weight earned the admiration of his teammates -- and opponents -- with a milestone pass. Weight's first of two assists Friday night made him the eighth American-born player to reach 1,000 points, but the New York Islanders lost 5-4 to the Phoenix Coyotes. "It was unbelievable for the team to stand up and give me a hand and the crowd, too," Weight said.