In the world of team sports it is said that it's not about any one player.

But the truth is that one player can make all the difference between a playoff team and a cellar dweller.

In football, that player is usually the quarterback like Tony Romo of the Cowboys or Peyton Manning of the Colts.

In baseball a hot starting pitcher can carry a team all the way to the title, like Josh Beckett with the Red Sox this season.

And in the NHL that difference making player is almost always the same.

The goalie.

This is never more evident than in Phoenix where newly acquired goalie Ilya Bryzgalov has put the bite back into the Coyotes.

Picked up Saturday off waivers from Anaheim , Phoenix wasted little time in getting Ilya's heavily padded feet wet throwing him into the net that same night on the road against the Los Angeles Kings.

Bryzgalov more than rose to the challenge stopping 28 shots as the Coyotes won 1-0 on a 5 on 3 power play goal from Captain Shane Doan.

For Ilya it was the third shutout of his career and a nice way of introducing himself to his new teammates.

For Phoenix however, the win and Ilya's play meant much more than just 2 points in the standings.

After being outscored 15-1 in three straight losses to division rival San Jose Sharks and once again finding themselves in the cellar of not only the division but the entire NHL, the Coyotes were in severe need of a boost.

Ilya has provided that and more for the struggling team.

In the Coyotes next game, played at home also against the L.A. Kings, Bryzgalov continued his sharp goal tending stopping 28 shots and looking, as one of the team's video people pointed out "intimidating", in his black pads on red jersey in a 4-1 win lifting Phoenix out of the Pacific division cellar and giving the team something it has lacked for quite some time.

Bite.

The next game would see the Bryzgalov and the Coyotes take their show on the road to face the defending Stanley Cup champions and Ilya's former team, the Anaheim Ducks.

This time the hero for the Coyotes would be RW Radim Vrbata who scored the game tying goal with 1:07 remaining in the game before Shane Doan sealed the 4-3 win with his shootout deciding goal.

But the good times weren't over yet as Phoenix returned home for a rare 5:00 start time to face the Toronto Maple Leafs in only their second game against an Eastern Conference team all season.

Daniel Winnick would score for the Coyotes just 4:16 in the first period and the route was on as Phoenix would score 3 more in the first, and end up winning 5-1 for their fourth straight victory.

Bryzgalov again was spectacular, allowing only 1 goal in 26 shots to go 4-0 as a Coyotes goalie.

But it wasn't all him, 11 different Coyotes players ended up with a tally in the points column.

The penalty killing was also stellar, killing 7 penalties including a 5-3 disadvantage in the second that was for all intents and purposes the Leafs last gasp.

To top it all off, the game was featured on Hockey Night in Canada which gave the team some excellent exposure outside of Arizona .

As with the previous four games the post game talk was centered mostly on Bryzgalov.

"He is truly one of the pieces of this puzzle," Coach Wayne Gretzky said in his post game conference.

"He's helped us turn this team around, and maybe our franchise. It's only four games and we have a long way to go. It's a nice start for him."

"When you come from a good organization like the Ducks and you come from working everyday with a guy as good as {Ducks goalie} Giguere, you can't help but become a better athlete."

"That's what this kid did and he was a good apprentice there and now he's getting his opportunity and he wants to seize the moment. He's working his rear end off every day in practice."

"He's making our players better I think by making them bear down every shot because he doesn't like getting anything scored on him in practice. It's pretty interesting to see."

Gretzky however tried to keep everything in perspective, stressing that this is a start but there is still more to be done.

"Our players feel pretty good right now," Gretzky said. "Sure, we've win four in a row. The last time I've checked, however, that doesn't win you too many rings."

For his part Bryzgalov didn't make a big deal out of his 4-0 start with the team.

"When you get more game time, you feel more comfortable in the net because you're always in game shape", Ilya said in the locker room after the game.

"Plus, when team believe in you and coach believe in you, you know it helps a lot."

This is definitely a team that not only believes in their goalie, but themselves as well and the atmosphere in the locker room said it all as the guys were laughing and joking as hip hop music blared from the speakers.

Captain Shane Doan summed up the feeling of the team best.

"We believe we can win and that's a huge step. When that starts to happen good things usually do and you've got to stay with it and it's something that you've got to continue to build on and momentum's a big thing for us and find a way to keep it going in the right direction."

And going in the right direction they are during this streak.

A team that ranked in the bottom third of the league in penalty kill before the streak has killed 21/22 during the streak.

A team that averaged 2.41 goals a game has averaged 3.5 a game the past four.

The team has also scored first in each game making them 10-1 this season when achieving the feat.

The only questions for the team now are how long can the team keep this up and just how good is this team?

The next 4 games should help provide answers to both those questions as the team goes on the road to take on the Wild, Blackhawks, Red Wings, and Penguins.

But if the team keeps on playing like they have during the streak, the rest of the league will be asking the same questions the Maple Leafs were on Saturday.

Who are these guys?