By Craig Morgan
FOXSportsArizona.com
February 14, 2011
Wayne Gretzky never experienced it.
Neither did Jeremy Roenick, Keith Tkachuk, Nikolai Khabibulin or Teppo Numminen.
By the time Valentine's Day rolls around, the Coyotes are usually battling to remain in the playoff picture. Today, they're in first place in the Pacific Division, marking the latest date the franchise has held that lofty perch since arriving in the Valley in 1996.
"Wow, I didn't know that," said captain Shane Doan, who has seen all 15 of those seasons. "That's a nice little accomplishment, but we've got a long ways to go."
Monday's 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals wasn't exactly a marketing gem. It wasn't even pretty.
"It was kind of a mucky game," coach Dave Tippett said. "Neither team was generating much."
But the Coyotes generated enough to win, notching their fifth straight victory to move a point ahead of idle Dallas and Anaheim in the Pacific standings.
Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov was the linchpin once again, turning aside 29 Washington shots including several power play chances to earn first star honors.
"Bryzgalov has been our best player the last five games," Tippett said.
Bryzagalov has benefited from a defense that is allowing fewer quality scoring chances than it did earlier in the season, before the midseason acquisition of Michal Rozsival.
He also benefited from 20 blocked shots by his teammates Monday, which were two more shots than the Coyotes' offense generated all night.
But Bryzgalov is at his best when his body and mind are quiet - when he uses his size, positioning and patience to confound the opposition.
That has been the case over the past 10 days, and the Coyotes are hoping it will remain the case Thursday against Atlanta when Bryzgalov makes his 17th consecutive start in the Coyotes' final home game before a brutal five-game road trip through Nashville, Philadelphia, Tampa, Columbus and Chicago.
"Just wait a day and we'll be back in fourth (place)," cautioned forward Ray Whitney, who had a goal and an assist Monday. "It's the tightest I've ever seen in the West right now. If you win five in a row you just kind of hold your head above water. If you lose five in a row, you're going to be out a long way."
A look at the standings illustrates Whitney's point. Despite the good vibes from Monday's win, the Coyotes are a mere four points out of last place in the division.
There's no telling how this season
