Tonight’s Avalanche-Coyotes game in Glendale, Ariz., will mark the teams’ first meeting this season. By the end of Wednesday, the Western Conference squads will have met twice in three nights.
By then, Colorado will know if it has overcome its problems with goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, the former Anaheim Ducks puck-stopper who is the backbone of the Coyotes’ defense.
The Avs haven’t defeated Bryzgalov in regulation in their past five meetings. The Russian had a 0.93 goals-against average and .967 save percentage against Colorado in the Ducks’ 2006 second-round playoff series sweep. Last season, the Avs faced Bryzgalov once, winning 3-2 in a shootout Jan. 13.
“What he’s done against us two years in the playoffs, and what he’s done with the Ducks the past couple years, speaks for itself,” the Avs’ Ian Laperriere said. “He’s a big goalie. It’s no secret. What he sees he’s going to stop. You have to put traffic in front of him.”
And yet, the Ducks put Bryzgalov on waivers in November, and Phoenix claimed him. Anaheim decided to go with Jean-Sebastien Giguere in goal and free up salary cap room for the return of defenseman Scott Niedermayer.
“We saw him in the playoffs that year and he played great,” Colorado coach Joel Quenneville said of Bryzgalov, who is sixth in the NHL in save percentage (.922) and ninth in goals against (2.31) for the Ducks and Coyotes this season. “He’s a big guy, and he’s given (Phoenix) some life. They’re a dangerous team, a young team that works hard, and he covers a lot of net.”
Phoenix has used four goalies this season. Bryzgalov easily has been the best, and has better numbers for the Coyotes (2.20 GAA, .927 save percentage) than he had for the Ducks, the defending Stanley Cup champions.
The Avs, meanwhile, are coming off losses at home to Detroit and Los Angeles. The lowly Kings brought an eight-game losing streak into Denver on Saturday, but won 3-1 by scoring three goals in the third period.
“The L.A. game, I thought, we were just hanging in there,” Avs forward Andrew Brunette said. “I don’t think we played poorly, we just needed that extra level that we have. We need to bring it (tonight).”
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
COLORADO AT PHOENIX
6 p.m. tonight, ALT, KKFN 950 AM
Spotlight on Derek Morris: The former Avalanche
defender has not turned into the offensive
star some predicted, but Morris is
playing better on offense this season. He
enters tonight’s game at a solid plus-8,
and hasn’t missed a game this season.
NOTEBOOK
Avalanche: Peter Budaj will get the start in goal for the Avs. He is 5-1-1 in his past seven starts. Budaj and the Avs beat the Coyotes at the Glendale, Ariz., arena in a New Year’s Eve game two years ago. Winger Wojtek Wolski has one goal in his past nine games. Defenseman John-Michael Liles has not scored a goal since Nov. 9. He scored 14 goals in each of his past two seasons, but has just two so far.
Coyotes: Phoenix is coming off a 4-2 loss at home to Detroit on Saturday night. Entering Sunday, the Coyotes were ranked 24th in the NHL in power-play percentage. “We need goals at key times, and that’s been the difference in probably five or six of our home losses,” Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky told The Arizona Republic.
Adrian Dater, The Denver Post
