Can Wayne Gretzky Lead the Phoenix Coyotes into the Playoffs?

All along, I have insisted that Wayne Gretzky is not a good coach. If his name wasn't Gretzky, I have said, he would have been fired long ago after leading the Phoenix Coyotes to back-to-back mediocre seasons.

And then there was that Rick Tocchet controversy.

Now, it looks like I will have to eat my words, as The Great One has proven me wrong as his Coyotes are making a late-season run.

While the Coyotes are still not holding a playoff spot as we speak--they are three points out at the moment--they have shown that they could still make some noise with only eleven games remaining.

And Gretzky has gotten his boys to play hard down the stretch. The Coyotes won two huge games this week, first a shootout victory against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday and then Thursday night against the punchless Vancouver Canucks--the team that they are currently chasing.

In the Thursday game, Phoenix upset the Canucks 2-0 with Ilya Bryzalov picking the 24-save shutout.

The Coyotes had 24 shots on their own in the first period alone, as they came out firing right from the start and showed they wanted the game more, but the Canucks' Roberto Luongo kept his team in the game.

Phoenix finally broke through at the midway point of the second with a power play goal, and clinched it in the third when Vancouver's Henrik Sedin coughed up the puck in the neutral zone, which led to Daniel Winnik's insurance goal.

Credit Gretzky for getting his troops ready for the Canucks.

The Coyotes franchise as a whole has had a sorry past in the pre-Gretzky era--the last time they won a playoff series (1987), they were still the Winnipeg Jets--having blown 3-1 series leads in 1990, 1992, and 1999.

(On another note, Gretzky's Oilers were the main culprits for the Jets' downfall in the '80s. If memory serves me correct, the franchise won only one playoff game against The Great One's Edmonton squad during that decade.)

It will be unlikely the Coyotes will make it this year, but you never know. That's why they play the games.

Perhaps Gretzky's magic will come to play and who knows, maybe somehow he'll get his team there.

Standing in the way? The Canucks.

Two factors make me want to see Phoenix make the playoffs, however implausible it may be.

1. I don't like the Canucks. The Coyotes are three points back of Vancouver for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference, and the two teams face off again on Monday at G.M. Place for what could be a momentum-changing showdown.

2. I root for underdogs. The Desert Dogs fit that profile perfectly in the Western Conference, given their past playoff failures and general mediocrity for years.

Phoenix's next game is against Edmonton on Saturday night, while Vancouver travels to Dallas to take on the Stars the same night. By the time the Coyotes and Oilers take the ice, the Canucks-Stars game will have already been over.

Edmonton is 12th in the Western Conference but has won three of their past four contests, and play well at home, so Phoenix will have to put forth a good effort.

Looking at the Dallas-Vancouver matchup, the Stars have been reeling with four losses in their last five, including Thursday's 5-3 meltdown in Detroit, when they coughed up a two-goal lead. Bet on the Stars to rally with a strong game against the Canucks.

If Vancouver loses and then Phoenix wins, then Monday's tilt at The Garage between the two teams will be crucial, and could vault the Coyotes past the Canucks into eighth place.

Should Gretzky be able to get his boys to pull it off, then I'll be sold on his legacy as a coach.

For now, let's applaud Gretzky and the Coyotes for their big victories this week.