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Wednesday, October 27, 1999
Coyotes 'keepers thriving in desert
Everything the Phoenix netminding tandem is enjoying right now could be washed away at a moment's notice, with one swipe of Nikolai Khabibulin's pen. So they're enjoying it while it lasts.
"Phoenix is a good team, a great town, and the most important thing is I have the opportunity to play a lot,'' said Shtalenkov, who took a 5-1-2 record, 1.96 GAA and 923 save percentage into last night's game against his former team.
"So far I'm just enjoying it. We'll see what's going to happen in the future.''
Right now Shtalenkov is one of the hottest netminders in the league, the backbone of the Coyotes' red-hot start.
But the minute Khabibulin comes to terms with the Coyotes, Shtalenkov's run is over. He'll be relegated to No. 2 status for as long as he's a Coyote.
"I'm playing well right now, but I'm 34 and he's 26. He can carry this team for another 10 years. He's a great goaltender, one of the best in the NHL the last few years.
"My opinion is that we'll sign him. But I'm not looking that far right now. It's just day by day, game by game. We'll see what happens.''
He's certainly having more fun in Phoenix than he had in Edmonton, where he was dogged by pressure and incessant trade rumours.
"Sometimes what's going on around the team is not really good for the players,'' he shrugged. "So many rumours and things like that. It's a great place to play hockey, but at the same time it's a tough place. The media is really tough.''
So is losing. The Oilers didn't offer much in the way of offensive support when Shtalenkov and Essensa were here, which made every one of their mistakes that much more deflating. Rare was the time an Edmonton goalie could let in two bad goals and still win 5-4.
"It was hard,'' said Shtalenkov, who started off brilliantly last season before the grind took its toll on his slight frame. "I thought I was playing good enough, but there were lots of games where we were losing 2-1, 3-1, 3-0 ... After a while, when you're losing all the time, even if you're playing well, you lose your confidence.''
Essensa will be even more dramatically affected when Khabibulin signs. He'll be the odd man out when the deal finally gets done.
"A month or so ago I didn't even think I'd have a job,'' he said. "I figured I'd be playing golf full-time. I'm looking at this as a great opportunity to extend my career by a year or so.
"It's different in the fact we have Nik waiting in the wings. The day is obviously coming (when he signs). It's going to change things around here, but until it happens I'm going to make the most of it and enjoy my time. There's a good bunch of guys here. I know a lot of them from my time in Winnipeg. It's a great environment.''
He even bought a house in Arizona, which is usually the kiss of death for player in love with his city.
"I figure my future is as grey as it's ever been, so I might as well buy one anyway. Living in South Carolina in the off-season and wintering in Phoenix, I think I have all the golf meccas covered.''
Head coach Bob Francis doesn't seem to be counting the days till his No.1 comes back. He's quite content with the netminding he's received so far.
"They've been outstanding. They've made the stops when we needed them, when the games have been on the line. And they've been consistent in doing that. We're pleased with our goaltending. Based on my observations I don't see any reason to have any concern at this point.''
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