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January 2006
No big names, just big goals
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just think of the Buffalo Sabres as the anti-Thrashers.
When the Thrashers had goaltending woes early this season, Buffalo had Martin Biron step in for injured Ryan Miller and win 11 in a row.
Where the Thrashers have three players in the top 10 in the league in points, Buffalo’s top scorer, Chris Drury, with 40 points in 48 games, is tied for 67th in the league.
Without any big names, the Sabres own the league’s No. 2 power play. They enter Tuesday’s game with only seven plus players (two are even).
The Sabres enter the game fifth in the East and 13 points in front of the three teams that are all tied for eighth, so, barring a major collapse, the Sabres are headed for the postseason.
Do you think the Sabres are simply lucky to have fallen into Biron’s winning streak, which propelled them to the top of the conference? In fairness, it’s hard for any goalie to win 11 in a row if the team in front of him is not playing well.
Or do you think after missing the playoffs in 2003-04, the Sabres management – consciously or otherwise – had a great feel for how the new game would be called and assembled the right team for it?
(P.S. – Props to Red Light Messina, who took the name of a broadcaster who brought me some of my fondest teenage sports memories.)
Breaking up hard to do
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It seems as Ilya Kovalchuk and Marc Savard go – not to mention Marian Hossa – so go the Thrashers. Today coach Bob Hartley referred to Kovalchuk and Savard as the team’s “steering wheel.�
Both players are slumping and the team has now lost five in a row and has fallen out of one of the top eight spots in the Eastern Conference. Hartley said he has not decided to break up the duo as a pair on a line yet. They have played together for almost two months now, accompanied by one of Ronald Petrovicky, Scott Mellanby or Peter Bondra.
What would you do? Would you keep them together or would you try other combinations. And those players seem to be so streaky. Why do you think that is? Is it just their nature or is it that it’s so much more noticeable when they’re off their games, as opposed to a role player who does not score as much?
Breaking up Kovalchuk-Savard
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It seems as Ilya Kovalchuk and Marc Savard go – not to mention Marian Hossa – so go the Thrashers. Today coach Bob Hartley referred to Kovalchuk and Savard as the team’s “steering wheel.�
Both players are slumping and the team has now lost five in a row and has fallen out of one of the top eight spots in the Eastern Conference. Hartley said he has not decided to break up the duo on a line yet. They have played together for almost two months now, accompanied by either Ronald Petrovicky, Scott Mellanby or Peter Bondra.
What would you do? Would you keep them together or would you try other combinations. And those players seem to be so streaky. Why do you think that is? Is it just their nature or is it that it’s so much more noticeable when they’re off their games, as opposed to a role player who does not score as much?
Healthy Lehtonen a must
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The skidding Thrashers need a victory in the worst way. But it won’t be easy Saturday night in Carolina.
The Hurricanes, on a 12-1-0 roll after Thursday’s 5-1 victory in Atlanta, have won eight straight at home.
Worse yet, it will be Ron Francis Night, with the retiring of his No. 10, and there will be a rare sellout at the RBC Center.
Carolina is a league-best 24-4-1 at home, but the Thrashers have administered two of the regulation losses. Included was a 9-0 pasting that ended the Hurricanes’ first of two nine-game winning streaks.
The Thrashers have lost four straight and no longer seem a near cinch to make the playoffs for the first time.
Ilya Kovalchuk, Marc Savard and Marian Hossa are all in scoring slumps and the Thrashers aren’t winning the individual battles that decide most games.
Since the mistake-laden 8-6 loss at Los Angeles with Mike Dunham in net that began the swoon, the Thrashers have just three goals in three games.
There is still plenty of time to turn things back around, but the Thrashers badly need to start building some positive momentum.
The Thrashers have just seven games left before the Olympic break, with five of them on the road.
At least the team won’t have to worry about Kari Lehtonen playing for Finland in the Olympics. The goalie claims that he wasn’t pressured to withdraw, but everyone is certainly relieved by his decision.
It looks like a healthy Lehtonen is needed more than ever. The Thrashers have taken a step back at the worst time with their recent play.
Hurricanes rockin’ NHL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Raise your hand if you thought the Carolina Hurricanes would be this good this season.
To me, they are the story of the NHL this season. Every knows how good Ottawa is, but they’ve come back to the pack slightly from their otherworldly form earlier this season, and Nashville has been very good, that was not entirely unexpected. Buffalo was unreal for a while, but their record is still not as good as Carolina’s. The Hurricanes enter tonight with the best record in the league.
Consider this: They only have four players going to the Olympics: goalie Martin Gerber (Switzerland), forward Erik Cole (United States), defenseman Frantisek Kaberle (Czech, remember him?) and center Eric Staal – the Canes’ best player who is on Canada taxi squad.
Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette – who would probably win the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year if voting were held right now – kept emphasizing the Hurricanes’ team aspect this morning. My colleague Guy Curtright kept parrying Laviolette with queries about Staal or the goaltending, but Laviolette seemed to get a bit irritated in stressing how integral all of his players are.
So, how much do you think the Canes are for real? Certainly, it would be a disappointment if they lost in the first round of the playoffs. How far do you think they will go in the playoffs? They have good veterans like Rod Brind’Amour, Aaron Ward and Glen Wesley, to name a few. Do you think they’ll finish first or second in the conference?
Officiating leaves ATL chilly
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
To put it mildly, the officiating in Tuesday’s game raised some eyebrows.
Whether it was Thrashers coach Bob Hartley questioning an NHL supervisor after the game, Andy Sutton labeling a roughing call against him “one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen in my life,� level-headed captain Scott Mellanby saying he thought the Thrashers were owed a few power plays, Philips Arena fans filling the building with boos or this blog or other online forums nearly bursting aflame with outrage, the consensus seems to be that the Thrashers’ being called for five penalties to none for Boston in the third period hit a nerve.
Where do you lay blame for the loss? With the Thrashers for a lame effort or with the officials for inconsistency?
To be sure, the Thrashers, save perhaps goalie Kari Lehtonen, did not play at the top of their game. Had they played better, they would have taken fewer penalties and would have drawn more. But there’s also an argument to be made that if the second roughing penalty against Sutton isn’t called, then Patrik Stefan isn’t called for hooking trying to kill that power play and the Thrashers penalty killers don’t wind up exhausted and icing the puck, which led to the winning goal. Perhaps then the Thrashers eke out a point by going to overtime or even a win in overtime or a shootout.
But that’s all speculation. What do you think?
Bondra’s back, but…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thrashers right wing Peter Bondra returns tonight after missing 22 games with groin and abdominal injuries. He said he was grateful that the injury did not require surgery, which he believed would have been “devastating� to his career – a possible allusion to retirement.
The soon-to-be-38-year-old ranked second on the team in goals with 13 when he injured himself on Dec. 3. Much has happened since then.
The Thrashers got themselves into playoff position with a 13-2-3 run that began two games after Bondra’s injury. Tonight he returns at a point at which the Thrashers have lost two straight for the first time since he got injured and stand just one point ahead of Toronto, which is ninth in the conference.
Coinciding with this two-game losing streak is a mini-slump by the team’s two most productive offensive players, Marc Savard and Ilya Kovalchuk, who have two points in the team’s last three games.
Bondra will play on that line tonight. How do you expect him to perform? Coach Bob Hartley had played a grinding winger on that line, either Ronald Petrovicky, who will sit tonight, or Scott Mellanby.
What effect do you think having a faster, more skilled player on that line will have? Would you prefer different line combinations?
Should faceoffs be focus?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thrashers general manager Don Waddell said he thinks finding a center who is good on faceoffs is the team’s top priority in regard to the March 9 trading deadline. Bobby Holik is among the league’s best at 55.8 percent, but has missed the last 10 games with injuries.
The Thrashers other centers – Marc Savard, Patrik Stefan, Serge Aubin and Jim Slater – have won just 48.3 percent of their combined 1,804 faceoffs.
Certainly, down the stretch of the regular season and in the playoffs, should the Thrashers make it, faceoffs are key. Games are won and lost on a faceoff won in the offensive zone or lost in the defensive zone and vice-versa.
How much importance do you place on this facet of the game for the Thrashers and do you think there are more pressing issues?
Sked shift sets up scramble
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday night’s game between the Thrashers and Kings was great to watch. Unless you were Mike Dunham, of course.
Coach Bob Hartley gave Kari Lehtonen the game off and the Thrashers didn’t do Dunham any favors in his return after missing more than two months because of a groin tear.
The 8-6 loss, which ended the Thrashers’ five-game winning streak, was the highest scoring game ever for the franchise.
The rules makeover has certainly worked like the NHL hoped, with wide-open action and more scoring. But will the new schedule be a plus?
The Thrashers’ remaining 34 games are all within the Eastern Conference. Of those, 15 are against Southeast Division rivals.
The Thrashers host Tampa Bay on Saturday, then have home-and-away games with division-leader Carolina next week.
Almost every game the rest of the way could mean a potential four-point swing in the standings, making for an exciting playoff scramble.
Do you like the new NHL schedule? Each team plays a division rival eight times. But there are just 10 games against teams from the other conference. That means that a Western Conference team like Detroit or Colorado will visit Atlanta just once every three seasons.
Blue boys red hot
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There can’t be many - if any - doubters left. The Thrashers definitely look like a playoff team.
They showed that with their 5-2 victory in Dallas on Thursday night. Down 2-0 to the Pacific Division leader midway in the game, the Thrashers scored five consecutive goals.
The first three - two on the power play - came during an eight-minute span late in the second period. The two insurance goals were the first third-period scores the Stars had allowed in eight games.
The Thrashers had never beaten Dallas before. But this should be a season of bigger firsts. Like a first playoff berth.
Things didn’t look good in early December, but the Thrashers have been as hot as any team in the NHL since.
Rookie goalie Kari Lehtonen deserves a lot of credit for the Thrashers’ five-game winning streak going into Thursday night’s game in Los Angeles. Certainly not most of the credit, though.
The defense had already turned its play around even before Lehtonen’s return and the offense is one of the most potent in the NHL. In Ilya Kovalchuk, Marc Savard and Marian Hossa, the Thrashers have three of the top scorers in the NHL.
Hossa had two goals against the Stars, raising his total to 24. Does anyone still think that GM Don Waddell got shortchanged in the Dany Heatley deal?
When Peter Bondra and Bobby Holik return from injuries, the Thrashers should be even stronger. Bondra is probably out another week and Holik for about three. But there is no need to rush either player.
The Thrashers are already playing playoff hockey.
Second chances out West
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Thrashers have never fared well on their trips West. Now is the time for them to start.
The Thrashers open a two-game road trip Wednesday night in Dallas, then play at Los Angeles on Thursday night. The Stars and Kings are the top two teams in the Pacific Division, but Atlanta is one of the hotter teams in the NHL.
The first trip West this season was a disaster, with losses at Anaheim, Phoenix and San Jose part of a five-game losing streak.
Kari Lehtonen is in goal now, however, and the Thrashers are on a four-game winning streak - tying for the franchise best. A win over Dallas would not only set a record, but move the Thrashers into sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
The Thrashers catch a break - maybe - against Dallas. Marty Turco, who has played so well this season, is banged up and will sit out.
There’s just one problem, though. Johan Hedberg is 8-1-0 this season as Turco’s backup and is 6-0-0 lifetime against the Thrashers. In his last 146 minutes and 56 seconds against Atlanta, Hedberg has allowed just one goal.
Of course, the Thrashers teams that Hedberg previously faced were struggling. This one isn’t.
The Thrashers are 6-1-0 in January. Still, they have never won in Dallas. They are 0-4-0 in Texas and just 0-7-1 overall against the Stars.
Keeping Dunham fresh
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thrashers goalie Mike Dunham picked up a 6-3 win on Saturday and a 5-2 win on Monday for the Gwinnett Gladiators as part of a conditioning assignment. This came after backing up Kari Lethonen in Friday’s 2-0 win over St. Louis.
He rejoined the team for practice on Tuesday and will back up Lehtonen on Wednesday night at Dallas. After that, the Thrashers travel to Los Angeles on Thursday to play the Kings. Those teams rank second and fourth, respectively, in points in the Western Conference, which is considered stronger than the East.
Hartley says as long as Lehtonen feels good, he will keep playing. The Thrashers owe their last two wins — a shootout victory and a shut out — to him. Hartley said he is not making up any longterm schedules, and that includes scheduling a goalie for Thursday’s game, because of the precarious nature of the groin problems that left Lehtonen out of the lineup for 38 games until Dec. 30.
After this week, the Thrashers do not have back-to-back games until Feb. 3-4. What would you do with Dunham/Lehtonen? Would you keep riding Lehtonen (5-2) in effort to amass points, as the Thrashers developed such a deficit from their slow October start. Or would you give Dunham, who ranked among the league’s leaders in goals-against average before getting hurt on Nov. 16, a game to keep him fresh?
At this rate, it’s possible that he might not play until after the Olympic break, which ends for the Thrashers in March.
Fraser returns to Atlanta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Curt Fraser returns to Atlanta tonight as a member of the St. Louis Blues coaching staff.
After being fired by the Thrashers in December 2002, Fraser landed a job in 2003-04 with the New York Islanders as an assistant, so he’s been back twice on the opposing bench.
The Blues come in with the league’s worst record. Fraser had left the staff of the Islanders’ Steve Stirling (fired earlier this week) on a mutual basis after the Islanders’ first-round playoff exit in ’04.
Do you have any fond memories of Fraser as coach of the Thrashers? How much, if any, credit do you give him for where the team is now? Certainly, being coach of an expansion team is no easy task. Do you think he’s been on the end of what could be simply called bad luck? He joins the Blues, who have made the playoffs 25 straight seasons, and under the new salary cap winger Pavol Demitra departs for Los Angeles, defenseman Chris Pronger (perhaps under financial pressure) is traded to Edmonton, defenseman Al McInnis retires, winger Keith Tkachuk is out for most of the year with injuries and goalie Patrick Lalime could not adapt to the new NHL. It’s not much of a surprise the Blues are struggling so much.
Sizing up StickGate
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What did you think of the fiasco last night with the Predators’ accusing Ilya Kovalchuk of using an illegal stick, then saying the Thrashers handed the stick in question to a trainer who ran it into the locker room? When the Thrashers produced a stick for Kovalchuk, the Predators said it appeared unused and they chose not to have it checked.
First of all, do you think having too great a curve should be illegal? If so, how should it be penalized? Is a two-minute penalty sufficient? What do you think about Nashville not being penalized — if a team asked for a stick to be checked and it is proven legal, the team asking for the measurement is penalized. Nashville was not penalized when it seemed the stick in question was not the one they believed was illegal.
Finally, what do you make of the whole farce of the thing?
Preds might be for real
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When the Thrashers host Nashville tonight, they’ll be playing a team that is just two points out of the top spot in the West. The Predators are almost like the little team that could. At least they were in 2003-04, when they rode one of the league’s best goalies to a tightly played six-game series against Detroit, which they lost.
I think I remember that particular playoff run evoking a few jealous comments from Thrashers’ fans.
But with the timely addition of Steve Sullivan then and Paul Kariya via free agency now, the Predators are not just a bunch of tight-checking no-names who are lucky to eke out a 2-1 win every night. They have some guys who can hit (everyone remember Darcy Hordichuk?) and a polished defense.
Don’t be surprised to see them pick up a big-name player again in time for the trading deadline.
So how good do you think the Preds are? Can they overtake Detroit for first in the Central Division and possibly first in the West overall? Will they be top four in the West? And how far can they go in the playoffs? Win one round? Two?
Hot-blooded hockey
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
OK, maybe this should have been yesterday’s topic — some people found their way to it any way — but it’s still not stale.
Time to discuss Ilya Kovalchuk, Sidney Crosby and Don Cherry. Crosby had been accused for whining too much earlier in the season, mainly by the likes of Don Cherry, the CBC broadcaster who can’t seem to do anything but antagonize in his “Coach’s Corner� segment on “Hockey Night in Canada� broadcasts.
What is the general consensus of what Kovalchuk did? Coach Bob Hartley didn’t approve, nor did captain Scott Mellanby when I spoke to him after the game. Mellanby was diplomatic, saying the team appreciates Kovalchuk’s emotional play and didn’t want to condemn him but also thought that pointing at Crosby in the box was not the right thing to do. Certainly, by the next day, Kovalchuk had gotten the message and avoided the subject, but he is hot-blooded and certain incidents, namely Crosby slashing him, do get under his skin.
As for Crosby, he certainly didn’t disprove what Kovalchuk criticized him for after Friday’s game when he earned a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for complaining to the officials after he got a diving penalty.
And what about Cherry saying someone should have broken Kovalchuk’s arm for pointing? A bit over the top, eh? Today when I asked Hartley what he thought about that, he only said that Cherry is free to say whatever he wants.
Lots of fodder here. Have at it.
Seven on 50-goal pace
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With less than half of the season to play – at least most teams have hit the midpoint, some have not – seven players are on a pace to score 50 goals, something that has not been done since the 2002-03 season when Milan Hejduk scored 50 for Colorado.
This decade has seen 50-goal seasons produced only six times, as compared to 55 in the ‘90s and 76 in the ‘80s.
Ilya Kovalchuk heads this year’s class with 32 goals. Here are the others on a 50-goal pace: Simon Gagne (Philadelphia), Jaromir Jagr (Rangers), Dany Heatley (Ottawa), Eric Staal (Carolina), Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa) and Alexander Ovechkin (Washington).
Alfredsson is currently injured with a cracked rib, but he is expected to be back soon. Do you think any or all of those players will score 50? Will anyone who is not on that list? New Jersey’s Brian Gionta, spurred by the return of Patrik Elias? San Jose’s Jonathan Cheechoo, now that he plays with Joe Thornton? Thrasher Marian Hossa or Vancouver’s Markus Naslund?
Win-win situation on tap
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Thrashers have two games with Pittsburgh, the East’s second-worst team, between tonight and Saturday. Since Michel Therrien took over for the fired Ed Olczyk, the Penguins have played better at 3-2-3.
Looking at this team, it’s hard to see how they might finish the second half of the season over .500. The status of Mario Lemieux, who has been out of the lineup because of an irregular heartbeat but was not playing well before that, has been a distraction. Underperforming veterans like John LeClair, Jocelyn Thibault and Sergei Gonchar have not provided the spark that the Penguins hoped for.
Much of the rest of the team is a collection of young players learning how to play in the NHL for the first time like goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and defenseman Ryan Whitney.
So, basically, they’re Sidney Crosby with a few talented veteran wingers like Ziggy Palffy and Mark Recchi and some offensive-minded defensemen like Dick Tarnstrom, Gonchar and Ric Jackman but not enough defensive-minded defensemen.
In short, my question is what is an acceptable amount of points for the Thrashers to win in these two games? Three or four or would you just settle for two?
Kovalchuk looking like a bargain
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In the last four games, Ilya Kovalchuk has scored four goals and has six assists, pumping his totals to 27 goals and 58 points.
Those tie him for the league lead in goals and make him second in points, despite missing the team’s first three games.
It’s starting to look like Kovalchuk was not just worth every penny of his five-year, $32-million contract, but that somehow – if this is possible – he is a bargain.
So, the question is, will Kovalchuk again finish in the league in goals (with 40 games left/ he’s only 14 away from his career high, which was good enough for first in the league in 2003-04)? Can he win the Art Ross Trophy for most points?
And how many goals do you think Kovalchuk will finish the season with? Does 60 seem like an unreasonable number?
Holik will be missed
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just when the Thrashers seemed ready to make a big playoff push, they have another obstacle to overcome.
Center Bobby Holik is expected to miss two-to-four weeks with a broken bone in his foot suffered when hit by a shot from Ilya Kovalchuk during Sunday’s game at Washington.
Holik had played in all 40 games before having to sit out Monday against Ottawa and the fracture was confirmed on Tuesday.
The Thrashers ripped Ottawa 8-3 despite Holik’s absence, but the veteran won’t easily be replaced despite what had been an up-and-down season so far. Holik gave the Thrashers a top faceoff man, something they hadn’t had in their previous seasons. He had seven goals and nine assists for 16 points, although his minus-10 plus/minus rating was the worst on the team.
With the injury, rookie Jim Slater has moved to center — his college position — from the wing. Winger Karl Stewart, rushed to Atlanta on Monday from Chicago (AHL), gets a chance to show that he can play in the NHL.
Holik’s foot is not in a cast and how the Thrashers survive in his absence may depend on how quickly Peter Bondra and Brad Larsen can return. Neither is skating yet.
Holik, signed to a big contract as a free agent, wasn’t having a great season. But don’t underestimate the potential impact of his injury.
Assessing Heatley’s homecoming
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s over now and the first meeting between the Thrashers and Dany Heatley was a rousing victory for Atlanta.
Marian Hossa (two goals, one assist, plus-4) outplayed Dany Heatley (one goal, minus-2), who scored a somewhat fluky goal to reduce the Thrashers’ margin of victory from six to five.
Does Monday’s 8-3 win over Ottawa influence your thinking about the trade? And what do you think of the decision of Thrashers’ fans to boo Heatley every time he touched the puck?
