NHL Playoffs 2012: 4 Players Who Need to Step Up for the Phoenix Coyotes

Tonight the Phoenix Coyotes take the ice at the United Center in Chicago and will try to do something they have never done since the franchise moved from Winnipeg in 1996—win a playoff series.

Standing in their way is one of the proudest and most difficult to eliminate franchises in the NHL, the Chicago Blackhawks.

In a series for the ages, the Coyotes and Blackhawks have gone to overtime in each of the five games played so far.

You could not script that if you tried, and the ways some of these games have ended is mind-numbing.

For the Blackhawks, it is all old hat for them. Including last year's series against Vancouver, Chicago has played in seven straight overtime playoff games.

For Phoenix, however, a golden opportunity to close out the pesky Blackhawks faded away into the desert sand the other night. The Coyotes now must travel into hostile territory if they hope to go where they have never gone before.

To do this, there are four players on the Coyotes roster who need to step forward tonight.

1. Radim Vrbata

The disappearance of Radim Vrbata in this series is probably the main reason it is going to a Game 6.

During the regular season, Vrbata led the Coyotes with 35 goals. He had a plus-24 rating.

In this series—ouch.

Vrbata has one assist and a dismal minus-four rating.

When your leading goal scorer is putting up numbers like that, you should be thankful to be ahead in the series at all as opposed to being on the golf course.

Needless to say, if Vrbata could come through and play close to his regular season form, it would be a massive lift for the Coyotes.

Sure, the Blackhawks have done a very good job of taking Vrbata out of his game and not allowing him to do what he does.

But, great players find a way to win, and if the Coyotes are going to put away the Blackhawks, they need their best scorers, like Radim Vrbata, to come through.

2. Ray Whitney

Continuing on with the theme of the night here, the Coyotes could absolutely benefit from more production out of Ray Whitney.

In the regular season, Whitney led the Coyotes with 77 points and a plus-26 rating.

In this series with Chicago, while his numbers are better than Vrbata's, they are only slightly better.

Whitney has just one goal and one assist and a level plus/minus rating.

Everything said previously about Vrbata holds true for Whitney, maybe even more so.

This is Ray Whitney we are talking about, the man who helped lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup championship back in 2006. He has scored 1,000 points in his very successful career. He has tons of playoff experience, and he knows how to succeed when the pressure is at its highest.

The Coyotes need to be able to look to him to pull them through when the going gets tough tonight in Chicago—and if this series is any indication, there will certainly be a few moments like that.

If Phoenix is going to eliminate Chicago, having Ray Whitney step up and take control would be very welcome indeed.

3. Shane Doan

If there is one player for the Coyotes who deserves to be the one to lead them to their first-ever playoff series victory, then it is Shane Doan.

Doan began his career when he was drafted by the original Winnipeg Jets back in 1995. He has played with Phoenix his entire career. He has yet to taste playoff success, and if there is a guy who deserves it, it is Shane Doan.

Doan had a solid regular season for Phoenix, as he was third on the team in goals (22), assists (28) and points (50). So, having him be the hero tonight is very possible.

In this series he has tallied a goal and an assist, so he has already shown that he can solve the Chicago netminder.

What a storybook ending it would be for the Coyotes if their captain and longest-tenured player was the one to lead them to the second round for the first time ever.

That is the stuff Hollywood dreams up all the time.

4. Mike Smith

Let me clarify this.

I am not saying Mike Smith needs to "step up" per se.

But he does need to maintain the excellent effort he has provided thus far—and that won't be easy.

Smith is probably the main reason this series stands at 3-2 for Phoenix and not the other way around.

He has faced 202 shots and stopped 190 of them for a .941 save percentage and a 2.12 goals against average.

For all the uncertainty the Blackhawks and their fans might have regarding Corey Crawford, the Coyotes and their faithful do not have similar concerns.

That is because Smith has been such a force in net. He has been such a stabilizing force that it enables the Coyotes to play a bit more loose, something they need to do to keep pace with the arguably more talented Blackhawks.

If Mike Smith can perform in Game 6 as he has in the first five games, the Coyotes might indeed be doing something they have never done before—moving on to the next round.