flames v. coyotes pregame: the difference a goalie can make

first of all, apologies for my *gasp* four day absence. i sortof blew the proverbial load on six paragraphs in my last post and had nothing left in the tank to follow it up for anything regarding the kings.... ;)

secondly, i saw mikael tellqvist on the subway in toronto once, and wanted to just hug him and tell him to 'chin up.' partly because i love the swedes (and he looked so.... normal with his black pea-coat and satchel bag), but mostly because hogtown ain't no friendly place for a goalie.... he was dealt to phoenix a few days later.

well, i love telly to be sure. but it's no secret that the guy just ain't an NHL-caliber starting 'tender; which is clearly what GM don maloney decided when he saw ilya bryzgalov on waivers (??!?!!!?!) and put him in a crimson jersey. simply put: scott niedermeyer's return to the ducks might have been the best move of the year for the coyotes.... i could be wrong, but i'm pretty sure the team has gone 6-2-1 in the games played since adding bryzgalov, and they can most certainly boast a current four-game winning streak.

i've got a bit of a love-hate thing going with the 'yotes:
love telly.
hate jovo.
LOVE sjöstrom.
uh.... really hate jovo ?
love doan.
additionally, i also always thought brendan bell was a very promising defender in the leafs' system and, like the rangers, would love to see him succeed to spite JFJ and MLSE...

but i digress...

the coyotes, like the flames, are learning how to win games. now that they are backstopped by a guy with some actual talent, they are bound to play with more confidence. the flames have had a few days off (which any newsreading flames fan will know, since the team is now coaching the team, that presumeably means some light skating) and should be able to come out strong. i think it will be a pretty exciting matchup.

yep.