AJC > Sports > Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2007 > April > 09
Monday, April 9, 2007
Rangers wanted Southeast winner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As much as I wanted to go to the beach (Tampa) for Round 1, this matchup with the Rangers could be a lot of fun. I’m already reading stories about the big edge in goaltending for the Rangers, which I asked Kari Lehtonen about today after practice. His point was well taken — Lundqvist and Lehtonen both have the same amount of playoff wins (zero), so you have to wonder if it is that big an edge.
In a couple New York newspapers, it was mentioned that the Rangers wanted to play the Southeast winner instead of the Devils. Early returns suggest that the Rangers are the hot pick to upset the No. 3-seeded Thrashers, although ESPN’s Scott Burnside picks the Thrashers in seven.
Not much to report from practice — Keith Tkachuk wasn’t there, but Bob Hartley gave him the morning off so he could go to St. Louis to be with his family for Easter. Everybody else was there.
Other early previews of the series:
This Josh Thomson story says the Rangers preferred to play the Southeast Division champion.
The great Larry Brooks said the Rangers should be careful for what they wish for.
I looked online to find some Vegas odds on who will win the series, but didn’t have a lot of luck. The closest was that one casino said the Thrashers paid 17-1 for a Stanley Cup win versus 20-1 for a Rangers Stanley Cup win, so in that regard Vegas likes the Thrashers. I’ll post odds if I find any, but I’m guessing that the Thrashers will be the underdog going into this series, which is interesting considering they are the No. 3 seed and have played pretty well lately.
If you haven’t already, I’d love to see your playoff predictions.
