Nick Cousins scored a power-play goal early in the third period and the Coyotes boosted their playoff chances Tuesday night, snapping a five-game losing streak with a 1-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Darcy Kuemper made his 18th consecutive start and stopped 31 shots for his fourth shutout of the season. Arizona, which was 0-3-2 in its previous five games, most of those on a recent road trip, has won nine of 11 at home.

The Coyotes moved into a tie with Colorado for the second wild card in the West at 81 points - though the Avalanche have a game in hand. They host Vegas on Wednesday before a critical head-to-head matchup with Arizona in Denver on Friday.

The Blackhawks, losers in three of four, were unable to gain ground on any of the four wild-card contenders in front of them in the standings. They remained at 76 points with six games left.

Corey Crawford had 27 saves.

Chicago takes on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.