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Bryzgalov blanks Kings in Coyotes debut

Nov 18, 2007 - 12:48 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Talk about your quick turnaround.

Ilya Bryzgalov, who was claimed off waivers on Saturday morning, stopped all 27 shots he faced and Shane Doan scored the game's lone goal in the Phoenix Coyotes' 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in a matinee battle between the Pacific Division rivals.

Bryzgalov was waived by the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks on Friday, but he quickly endeared himself to his new teammates less than 24 hours later.

"I knew it was probably going to be a hard day for him because 24 hours ago, he wasn't sure where he was going to go," Phoenix coach Wayne Gretzky said. "He gets a call two minutes after 9 (a.m. PST) today saying we got him, and five minutes later, he's getting a call from me telling him he's going to play at one o'clock.

"We knew it was going to be an emotional day for him, but he's a nice young man and he played hard. The Ducks did him a nice favor getting him a chance to play again. Now he gets an opportunity to make our team better, and it's a good situation for us."

Apparently it also was a good situation for Bryzgalov.

The 27-year-old Russian recorded his third career shutout and first of the season by stopping 11 shots in the first period, seven in the second and nine in the third.

"I felt very well," Bryzgalov said. "Guys playing in front of me played hard and very well. I didn't get too many scoring chances against me.

"I felt a little heavy in the first period because I didn't skate yesterday. After the first period, I was normal."

Bryzgalov likely will be the Coyotes' top goaltender, considering both Alex Auld and Mikael Tellqvist have been unimpressive and David Aebischer already has been banished to the minor leagues this season.

"We're lucky to have him. He's a good player," Gretzky said. "He's going to get an opportunity to play."

Doan provided the game's only offense with Phoenix on a 5-on-3 power play with 8:36 remaining in the second period.

The Coyotes' captain accepted a feed from defenseman Ed Jovanovski and blasted a shot from just inside the left faceoff circle that deflected off the right goalpost and past netminder Jason LaBarbera. It was the fourth goal of the season for Doan, who leads the team with 15 points.

"It's a 5-on-3, and a one-timer like that is tough to play for everybody involved," LaBarbera said. "When the puck moves that fast and the guy shoots it that hard, it's tough. I mean, the key is not to take penalties and take a 5-on-3."

The tally also snapped a goalless drought of 202 minutes, 24 seconds for Phoenix, which was shut out twice by the San Jose Sharks earlier this week. The Coyotes' last goal had been scored by Steven Reinprecht in the first period of a 4-1 loss at San Jose last Saturday.

With the victory, Phoenix halted a three-game losing streak while extending Los Angeles' skid to three contests.

Doan noted that the team discussed many things during a players-only meeting after its 6-0 loss at San Jose on Thursday.

"We addressed some things," Doan said. "We weren't as bad as we thought we were. We were terrible against San Jose, but we're not a bad team. That was discussed, and also that we needed some energy."

LaBarbera was solid in his own right, stopping 37 shots for the Kings, who begin a five-game road trip Monday at Dallas.

"We treated it like it was one of the bigger games of the year for us," LaBarbera said. "We just didn't play as well as we needed to. Maybe it's better we go on the road. Maybe we've been home too long. It will be good to get everybody together on the road and just enjoy our time away."