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Dvorak, Smith have Coyotes winning during season's stretch drive

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Confidence is key.

That appears to be the case with Arizona Coyotes rookie forward Christian Dvorak, who has come into his own this month, scoring five goals in February, a total topped by only three players league-wide.

A former star in the OHL, Dvorak tallied 121 points in 59 games a year ago with the London Knights, two years after he was drafted by Arizona.

"His first 20 or 30 games, he's just happy to be in (the NHL)," coach Dave Tippett told Sarah McLellan of The Arizona Republic. "As he recognizes that he's capable of playing here and doing things right and is not in awe of people anymore, he goes out there and just plays and he's a really good player ... He's coming but like all young players, it takes some time."

A team well-stocked with young talent, the Coyotes are finally winning - and at the season's most difficult point, with rival clubs gearing up for the playoffs. It's been a turnaround month for the Coyotes, who are 4-2-1 in February after putting up sub-.500 showings in the previous two months. Only three teams in the West have put together better records so far in February.

Though he's posted an impressive eight points on the month, Dvorak hasn't been the only contributor to his team's recent success.

Starting goaltender Mike Smith continues to be the club's MVP. Arizona's 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday marked the 10th contest this season in which Smith has faced at least 40 shots. More impressively, he is undefeated in regulation in those games, owning a 7-0-3 record.

Smith turned aside 41 shots against the Kings, three nights after recording his second shutout of the season in a 5-0 hammering of the Calgary Flames. That blanking saw him equal Arizona's all-time shutout mark, a record shared with Nikolai Khabibulin and Ilya Bryzgalov.

While Arizona's playoff hopes are long gone - the Coyotes sit 14 points back of a wild-card spot - both Dvorak and Smith have been highlights in a season of progress, and early showings of what's on the horizon in the desert.

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