Why the Coyotes will make the playoffs in 2019

Coyotes coach Dave Tippett and general manager Don Maloney announced Tuesday that they are going to make the postseason in 2019.

The Coyotes are already the NHL’s last team to make it to the postseason since the team was relocated to Arizona in 1980.

They have won four of their last five games.

Maloney said Tuesday that the Coyotes plan to use that experience to help other teams as they seek to improve their chances of making the playoffs this season.

“This organization has a lot of momentum going into the playoffs,” Maloney told reporters at the team’s morning skate.

“It’s going to be a challenge.

We have a lot to build on.”

The Coyotes had a disappointing 82-78 win over the New Jersey Devils in their season opener, but have since bounced back and are now in first place in the Central Division.

The team has a chance to win its first Stanley Cup since 1967.

“It’s a lot bigger than just the Stanley Cup,” Malone said.

“We have a great young core, a lot younger, and we have a very good chance of winning a championship.

It’s not just about the Stanley Cups, but the Stanley Wars.

We can make a lot more noise, and win more games, and be more successful in the playoffs.”

Maloney has already won the Stanley War, the inaugural one-night championship in the NHL in 1973.

Malone coached the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1974 Stanley Cup final.

Maloney is the fourth coach in NHL history to lead the team to the Stanley Finals.

In 1978, John Tortorella led the Detroit Red Wings to a championship, while John Stevens led the Pittsburgh Penguins to the 1993 Stanley Cup.

Malone also coached the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1990 Stanley Cup Final and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as NHL coach of the year in 1994.

Malones’ first playoff appearance came in 2008, when the Coyotes defeated the Washington Capitals in six games to advance to the second round.

He led the Coyotes to a record 26 wins in the second and final season in Tucson.