There were certainly some bumps along the way in Game 5. But you're going to have that when a team Is trying to close you out.
The frustrating thing for Joel Quenneville has been something he expressed after his team stayed alive: They still haven't played their best game yet. Saturday may have been, down to their so-called final bullet (which they still are). But in victory, it was still an example of how tough this Coyotes team is to play against.
Getting the rare opportunity to stand in the hallway between periods, I can see who's hurting, who's limping in when they don't even show it out there on the ice. I can hear the volume through the closed doors at how hard Quenneville's working -- encouraging and directing this team -- and it offers a different appreciation, even if they had been closed out.
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But a game after the double-dose of costly mistakes on the winning goal two nights earlier, you feel good for Nick Leddy scoring the tying goal, and it makes a reporter feel good to ask Corey Crawford some questions about a win after you painfully ask and painfully listen to him about what happened to decide Games 3 and 4.
Now comes the interesting question of pressure: Who has it more? Is still squarely on the Hawks, still facing elimination, and even though they're going home - 0-4 versus Phoenix this season at the United Center, where Mike Smith has never lost?
Or is it on the Coyotes after failing to close it out and start a celebration for their fans who have never witnessed them win a postseason series since moving from Winnipeg - with first-round exits each of the past two years.
The monkey on their back isn't a fully-grown gorilla yet, but it might be if the Hawks follow them back to Jobing.com Arena after Monday night.