Phoenix Coyotes vs. Columbus Blue Jackets - Game #37 Preview

A little bit of a busy day here in Coyote land. We signed on Anders Erikkson. Yeah. Take that every other team! Wait, who's Anders Eriksson? All I know is he's played for half a dozen NHL teams and almost as many different leagues. Supposedly Dave King had him on a team is Russia and we've seen him a bit down in San Antonio. Beats me. I don't get the signing but I'll trust GM Don Maloney for now, hey, it's worked so far.

On to the quick 5 for tonight:

Five for Winning

Knock It Off With the Friggin' Penalties!
I mean really. You're just killing yourselves guys. 9 penalties last game. Killed your momentum at the beginning of the last Jackets' game the same way. It's hard to get the offense going or play consistant defense when you're spending half the game in the box. I'm sure the staff let them know how costly these are if they didn't already figure it out for themselves.

Doan Took it Up a Notch
While he had been finding it hard to find of the back of the net, he did against the Ducks on Saturday. He was one of the few bright spots for the team as he was everywhere trying to make things happen. Hopefully now that we've moved beyond his 1000th game he get really start finding his groove for the year. With a couple of exceptions his seasons do have him getting hot in the second half of seasons and well, at game 37 this is about the time.

The Bryz Softies are Back...
While overall Ilya Bryzgalov has played outstanding in goal for the Coyotes, one thing is concerning. The return of the softie. While it isn't nearly as bad as it was last season, the return of the goals in concerning. Bryz had simply shut the door so hard early going that we didn't see these things. But in Detroit there were the two goals from near the blue line. And then in Anaheim there were a couple that he should have had but just couldn't get to. While i'm not getting the alarm bells out yet Bryzzie need to keep his head right and not let those goals get to him.

What Was Wrong With the Kids?
I really don't get this Eriksson signing. I mean I know Sami Lepisto and David Schlemko aren't the ideal guys we'd have in there, but they've been pretty solid filling in for the injured Kurt Sauer. Why bring in this guy? I know I just said I would trust GMDM, but Really? Even the fans from other teams he's been on are shocked. Basically saying he's just this side of useless. Though he can wrack up some assists, he doesn't really add much else. We'll see what he is tonight though. Hopefully it's not a wreck.

Finally We're Back Home.
Sure it was just a short roadtrip and we didn't do terribly, but our home record certainly has improved over what it was in the past. We're 12-5-0 so far this year in an arena that's been often criticized for having terrible ice. Maybe we've finally turned that into an advantage. Either way if we're going to make it into the postseason we';ll have to keep it up as we're about a .500 team once we go on the road (9-8-2).

Key Players

Shane Doan

#19 / Right Wing / Phoenix Coyotes

Height: 6-1

Weight: 224

Born: Oct 10, 1976

 Why not? The Captain is starting to get on a roll. Shootout goal, goal in Anaheim. Let's see if he can keep it going tonight against the Blue Jackets.

Rick Nash

#61 / Left Wing / Columbus Blue Jackets

Height: 6-4

Weight: 218

Born: Jun 16, 1984

Who else am I going to pick? He's still Rick Nash. He still scores goals and he likes to get them against us. NOT TONIGHT!

The Owie List

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Phoenix Coyotes Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Kurt Sauer	head	10/07/2009

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Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Rostislav Klesla	groin	12/01/2009
Derek Dorsett	hand	12/13/2009

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