GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Coyotes believe they found the impact scorer they were missing when they acquired Nick Schmaltz in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
The Coyotes have scored 52 goals, second-fewest in the NHL after the Los Angeles Kings (50), and have scored two goals or fewer in seven of their past eight games.
General manager John Chayka believes Schmaltz can be a major upgrade to the offense, and traded forwards Brendan Perlini and Dylan Strome to the Blackhawks to get him.
"(A trade) can spark some good chemistry, ignite some guys, and it can send a message too," forward Derek Stepan said following practice Monday. "It's not good enough around here and we've got to make sure we all pick up our games because no one is safe.
"He (Chayka) saw an opportunity to get us better up front and that's what he did."
The Coyotes have lost eight of 10 (2-6-2) following a five-game winning streak but are within five points of the third-place Vegas Golden Knights in the Pacific Division and six points behind the Dallas Stars for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
Chayka believes the season has come to a point where the window to climb the standings is closing.
"Sometimes when you make a trade at certain points of the season, for whatever reason … it kind of wakes up a lot of guys," coach Rick Tocchet said. "I'm not saying we have a lot of guys like that, but (there can be a sense) of entitlement, a ho-hum type of thing. You always want a tweak and sometimes it can help both dressing rooms."
Schmaltz, 22, had 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 23 games with the Blackhawks after he had 52 points (21 goals, 31 assists) in 78 games last season.
"I think he's waiting to break out," said forward Vinnie Hinostroza, a teammate with the Blackhawks the previous two seasons. "He's had a few good years, and coming here, it's like leaving home a little bit and getting a fresh start. I think he's really going to thrive here, getting away from Chicago and the big city and getting down here. I think his skills are going to come up and show."
Schmaltz didn't make it to Arizona in time for practice Monday. He has said he prefers to play center but Tocchet hasn't decided where he'll fit in.
"We're struggling in certain areas of our game … he's got a lot of speed and can make a lot of plays," Tocchet said. "When you're struggling to score, you look for those kind of guys, a game-breaker, a guy who can make a play. Those guys are hard to find."
Arizona starts a two-game road trip against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-A PLUS, NHL.TV). It's the first of a stretch of seven of 10 away from home.
"This is a great test for us," Stepan said. "We've got a difficult road trip coming up and what an opportunity to go into some really tough buildings and get our game back."
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