It was another night of firsts for the Coyotes. Saturday, the team emerged victorious in their first game of the year as offseason acquisition Olli Jokinen got his first goal as a Coyote and rookie Kevin Porter registered his first NHL point. Tonight, the Coyotes went into Orange County and stunned the Anaheim Ducks, getting goals from rookies Mikkel Boedker and Kyle Turris - the first of both their careers - in a 4-2 win.

                So what exactly does this all mean? Well for one, they’re going to run out of pucks at these games at some point because all the youngsters keep taking them home and putting them on their mantles. Beyond that, we really could be on the brink of something special here. In a conference where getting off to a quick start is imperative, the team is 2-0 to begin the year, something they haven’t done since before the 2004 lockout. In fact, last year they opened the year 3-6, the year before they started an impressive 4-12, and in the ‘05-’06 season they went a robust 1-4-1 to get things going. So the fact that they’re 2-0 is a big deal. Especially when you consider the fact that the schedule makers apparently hate them as they still face the up and coming Blackhawks, and legitimate contenders Montreal and Ottawa just on this road trip. Then they get Ovechkin and the Caps, Iginla and the Flames, and Crosby and Malkin and the Penguins to wrap up October. Nice, huh? What a way to break in a young team. So, with all due respect to the Blue Jackets, beating the Ducks - a team that hoisted the Cup two seasons ago and is considered by many to be a top contender again this year - is a more impressive win than Saturday’s home opener and one the team really needed. Add in the fact that this was Anaheim’s home opener after a tough loss up north on the I-5 to San Jose on Thursday, and Coyote fans have to be impressed.

                But it’s not a 2-0 record that has me pondering the possibility of something special. Let’s be realistic - there’s 80 more games so talk of playoffs right now is premature for any team in the league (except the Red Wings because they’re the Yankees of hockey but that’s a different story for a different time). It’s the fact that the Coyotes not only have all this young talent, but that it’s developing together.

                Let’s just look at the four main rookies - Boedker, Turris, Kevin Porter, and Viktor Tikhonov. They all bring something distinctly different to the team. Boedker, the team’s first pick in June brings speed. Turris - last year’s first rounder - brings an uncanny ability to know exactly where to be on the ice and ridiculous passing ability. Porter won the Hobey Baker award last year at the University of Michigan and is an impressive two way player who not only gets it done on offense (two assists already and he could have about three more if not for some decent goaltending) but skates back and plays solid defense as well. That’s extremely rare for a talented young forward. And then you have Tikhonov who has yet to get on the board through two games (I know, what’s he waiting for? They should deal him and bring Roenick back again right?). He was the team’s other first round pick in June and the one that most hockey people seem to think will be the best of the four when all is said and done.

                And that’s the best part. These guys can push each other to do better, they can develop chemistry on the ice, and they can grow up together as an extremely young and talented core that, if things all go according to plan, could be leading this team for awhile. When you look at it that way, the fact that they’re 2-0 is gravy. Oh yeah, let’s not forget all the second year guys like Peter Mueller, Daniel Carcillo, and Daniel Winnik, to name a few. I grew up a Penguins fan and what this team potentially has right now is very similar to what the Penguins had a couple of years ago (note: I said potentially. So if they finish the year 2-80, I don’t want your emails laughing at me). Granted, they don’t have a Sidney Crosby - those come around once a generation. But they do have better goaltending than the Penguins did at the time and they also have strong veteran leadership from guys like Shane Doan, Jokinen, and Derek Morris - something else the Penguins didn’t really have at the beginning.

                The team’s got a long way to go, but it’s nice to have a 2-0 record to be excited about. And it’s also nice to know the team should be getting better all the time.

- LUKE LAPINSKI, XTRA Sports 910

Well, Coyote fans couldn’t ask for much of a better start to the season. Considering the amount of youth on the team as well as how badly the team struggled to win at home last season, it was pretty important for the team to come out and put together a decent performance. Throw in the fact that Columbus came in riding the wave of a 5-4 overtime win over Marty Turco and the Stars in Dallas last night and the point that the team now hits the road for a four game swing through contenders Anaheim, Chicago, Ottawa, and Montreal. Now you see why a win Saturday night was bigger than just appeasing the home crowd. Oh yeah, and Phoenix somehow lost to these guys three out of four times last year.

                Columbus came out with the clear intention of asserting themselves physically but all that really did was put the Coyotes on the power play six times in the first period. And, unlike last season, the Coyotes managed to convert with the man advantage. It took offseason acquisition Olli Jokinen all of six minutes to score his first goal as a member of the Coyotes, taking a pass from rookie Kyle Turris (who took a pass from rookie Kevin Porter. Seeing a pattern here?) and slamming it past Blue Jackets goalie Pascal LeClaire for a 1-0 Phoenix lead. For Porter, it was his first NHL point (I don’t know what took him so long - he’d been in the league nearly six and a half full minutes). As far as Kyle Turris, the pass was great – something I think we’ll be saying about Turris for many years to come. You can teach hockey players a lot, but the way Turris sees the ice and knows when and where to pass it instinctively is natural talent.

                Porter then set up Doan on the doorstep but LeClaire turned the Coyote captain aside. Nevertheless, it was Peter Mueller just a few moments later taking a feed from – who else – Jokinen to put the Desert Dogs up 2-0. Three things stood out to me about this goal: a) that’s two power play goals in the first period when the team struggled on the power play all last year, b) anyone who thought the team gave up too much for Jokinen is a moron. This team has desperately needed a playmaker like him for years now and c) it’s scientifically impossible for a player to perform badly on his own bobblehead night. Someone should keep a stat on that. Not me though.

                Derick Brassard, one of the Blue Jackets’ top young players (the other being Jakub Voracek), scored his second goal in as many nights to cut the Coyote lead to 2-1 in the second before Keith Yandle blasted one from just inside the blue line from the left point at 6:44 of the second. From there, the Coyotes made a concerted effort to get more physical in the third and Ilya Bryzgalov showed why many around the organization and the league as a whole think he can be a top ten NHL goalie in ’08, stopping 28 of the 29 shots he faced.

                The game as a whole was pretty physical for this early in the year. Even Shane Doan had a number of bone jarring hits – one that knocked Christian Backman into the ref in the first. Always entertaing when a player flies into the ref. If that makes me sound juvenile, oh well. Blue Jacket RW Derick Dorsett didn’t make himself any friend in the Valley, hitting Keith Yandle from behind and into the wall in the first, prompting Danniel Winnik to beat upon him. The two tangled again in front of the net in the third as well. Whereas Columbus is a team that seems to pride themselves this year on being big and physical, much of their physical play seemed to put them on the penalty killl. The Coyotes clearly took it upon themselves in the second intermission to come out hitting in the third. After the game Coach Gretzky even pointed out how pleased he was to see his players stick up for each other.

                Overall, a strong performance on a number of fronts – both in the net, from some of the young guys like Porter, from new star Jokinen, and from the defense as a team. And while it is just one game out of 82, the excitement level amongst the sellout crowd was noticeably rising throughout the game and you can feel the fan optimism for this team that for once has a couple stars to play with Doan as well as a ton of young talent that is in a position to contribute right away without being forced to deal with the pressure of being completely relied upon. Sunday in Anaheim should be a good test against Bryzgalov’s former team and a legitimate Cup contender from within the division.

GLENDALE, ARIZONA --- Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney announced today that the Coyotes have traded center Mike Zigomanis to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for future considerations.

Zigomanis, 27, recorded 16-10-26 and 52 penalty minutes (PIM) in 108 games with the Coyotes during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons.  The 6-foot, 200-pound Zigomanis has collected 19-14-33 and 58 PIM in 167 career NHL games with Carolina, St. Louis and the Coyotes.  He was originally drafted in the second round (46th overall) of the 2001 Entry Draft by Carolina.

GLENDALE, ARIZONA --- Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney announced today that the Coyotes have reduced their training camp roster by two players. There are now 51 players remaining in camp.

The following players have been assigned to their respective junior clubs:

Nick Ross (D) – Kamloops (WHL)

Jared Staal (RW) – Sudbury (OHL)