That game was only two points in the standings, but was a huge victory for Coyotes fans who have endured the acrimony of canadians for the past two years. The hockey fan base here has been torn apart by canadian media and also by canadian trolls on Coyotes message boards. The hostility was so bad, in fact, that azcentral has closed the comments on all Coyote articles.
The win was very cathartic and while the winnipeggers may be excited now, they will soon realize that the team they have is still the thrashers and that success on the ice will be hard to come by.
As for taking advantage of a dormant fan base, if the Coyotes get an owner by December they will own this town assuming that they remain competitive. With the Cardinals as one of the worst teams in football, completely inept on the field, and the Suns most likely on a one year vacation (in large part due to their own owner), the Coyotes will take center stage.