AJC > Sports > Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2007 > April > 02
Monday, April 2, 2007
Focusing on the division
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Thrashers have to share the spotlight a little bit today as word is traveling that they’ve made the playoffs. You’ve got the National Championship tonight, the Braves opening day, The Masters - it’s a busy time. But really, clinching a playoff berth didn’t seem like a real big deal today at practice. Some, maybe most, of the players didn’t even know it was official until they saw a note written on a dry erase board in their lockerroom this morning. Even the league was a little slow in recognizing it. The official standings printed out by the team didn’t give the Thrashers the coveted X next to their name in the standings.
The truth is, this team is focused on winning the Southeast division. Carolina travels to Tampa Bay on Tuesday - if the Hurricanes beat the Lightning, the Thrashers can clinch the division at home on Wednesday against the Caps. So, as much as you guys hate the Hurricanes, it might be time to get out your Cam Ward sweaters and root on the ‘Canes. As one fan told me - every time they say the words “Go Canes” they throw up a little in their mouth. But for one night, you’ll have to suck it up and root for Carolina if you want the Thrashers to clinch against Washington.
So now, do you want to discuss who the Thrashers might play in round one?
Before we get into that, how about this? The Devils fired coach Claude Julien today in a surprise move. General manager Lou Lamoriello is moving behind the bench, according to the Canadian Press. All the Devils have done this season is set themselves up to win the No. 2 seed in the East, and have won four of their last five. I’m curious to see what the deal is here.
Practice update: The most interesting thing was chatting with Jon Sim, who had his stitches removed on Friday and has a doctor’s appointment this afternoon to get an update on when he can return. If he can somehow get back for the first round, that’s a big plus for the Thrashers. Scott Mellanby will be the first to tell you that he’s not a guy who wants to play 15 minutes a game. Ideally, you plug Mellanby in for about 8-10 minutes. Well since Pascal Dupuis was put back on the Holik line (where he’s a better fit), Mellanby has been logging serious minutes in Sim’s old spot with Tkachuk and Kovalchuk. He played 16:27 against Toronto and 14:25 against Boston. Sim has been working out for almost a week now, so maybe he’ll be able to come back sooner than Knuble was able to with a similar injury. I’ll keep you posted.
