Respect, gotta be earned. Usually the hard way. The Coyotes are doing their damndest to do just that. From their teammates, their fans and the rest of the world. There is a whooole lot of hockey to be played but if they continue to play the way they’ve started, there is no doubt in my mind that the hockey world will sit up and give credit where credit is due.

FOMs > than FOGs. GMDM has assembled a staff that knows how to do things right. (I know we all kvetched when Sulliman was brought in but apparently he’s doin just fine too) From the coaching down to the equipment handlers, everyone is on the same page, a team page, a pack page, a winning page.

We’ve been on a peak, there will be valleys. Teams still can’t believe what the standings are telling them and we’re still under the radar. But I have to tell you the weather is really fine down here in 09. I know I shouldn’t be all over the gloating thang but c’mon, it feels good to be able to point to the statistics in rebuttal to the haterz doesn’t it? And where the hell is the Canadian media? I guess now that they would have to refer to us as the Pacific leading Coyotes or the top of the league Phoenix Coyotes instead of the bankrupt Coyotes, we’re just not as much fun to write about.

So now that we’ve slapped the Stanley Cup champs, ditched Detroit, beat the Bruins, bruised the Blues, sauted the Sharks and konked the Kings maybe we can start gettin some love? Naaah, you’re right, let ‘em ignore us. We’ve got other things to think about.

Tonight we play the Kings again. The also rising Royals are quietly putting the moves on unsuspecting teams. King Kopitar, Frolov the wonder hobbit and Jonathan ‘they call me’ Quick are a sneaky band of miscreants. We can’t overlook them in our tour de force. We’ve both got 12 points (they have played a few more games than us) and we’re #2 in the conference, while they sit perched at #6 with a bullet. League wise its even tighter with us at #6 and them at #8. whodathunkit? Neither team wants to end their current winning streaks (we got 4 in a row, they are looking for a third). King Kopitar and his trusty knight Smyth are already in the double digits for points (16 & 14 respectively) while we are really spread out over the pack for ours. No matter, that may just make it easier for the Hanzal led Czech Federation to shut them down. It should be a very exciting game. We’re close in performance but with the home advantage, the coaching staff should be able to come up with some good matches.

Of course there are some sweet tickets available. You really should come out and watch. The Russian pillow they call Bryzzie (top dawg in shutouts and GAA in the league) along with firecrackers like Upshall and Prucha will definitely make it worth the price of admission.

********In other news********

I guess we’ve got court again on Monday at 1:30. A status hearing of some sort apparently. I think Moyes wants to see what the NHL has up its sleeve and the NHL needs to test the water on its bid language so they can get this over and done. Ice Edge is sitting in the wings, patiently waiting with wallets in hand (they’ve been to several games and show no signs of being scared off by the attendance issues). I won’t be in court on Monday but check Schoeder’s FB and HCKYFN on Twitter for updates as usual.

Sean Sullivan has been called up from the Rampage. Z has a wonky ankle and Sweets shows no signs of returning to the ice yet. With a road trip on the horizon, we need to take a 7th blueliner with us, just in case.

As always… Go Coyotes!