Phoenix Coyotes: Where's the Ilya Bryzgalov Coverage

See more of Eric's NHL Opinions at his blog, Tips for Hockey

With all of the media hype surrounding the NHL goalies, it's really surprising that Ilya Bryzgalov isn't being mentioned a lot.

After the stories of Martin Brodeur breaking the shutout record, and the coverage of Craig Anderson's stellar start to his season, it would seem like they wouldn't miss Bryzgalov.

However, it seems like they have.

To me, Bryzgalov is the most underrated goalie in the NHL. He's like the new Chris Osgood. His numbers are outstanding, but he's not getting the credit he deserves.

The reason that Bryzgalov is so special to me, is that he's the biggest reason the Phoenix Coyotes are having the great season they are. It would seem that more people would be talking about this, but they're not.

This season is one that Ilya Bryzgalov needs to be proud of. It's going to be one of the best seasons of his career. Right now, he's tied with Miikka Kiprusoff for the third best save percentage in the NHL at .927.

He also has the second best goals against average with 2.01. That's better than Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres.

My opinion is that he's not getting the coverage he deserves for two reasons. The first reason is the other distractions that the Phoenix Coyotes are facing, and the second is because he's not playing for a high profile team.

Either way, that shouldn't matter. He's playing some outstanding hockey and needs to have the credit.