AJC > Sports > Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2007 > November > 03
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Maybe a rookie can change the luck in Tampa
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Thrashers are going with the kid. Ondrej Pavelec will start in goal tonight as the Thrashers try and end their strong road trip on a positive note. I like the decision, especially considering the team has struggled in Tampa so far this season. You might as well mix it up. He seemed genuinely excited to make the start, and admitted that playing here last time has helped relieve some of the nerves. It’s a good spot for him and Don Waddell said he earned the start with his strong play in two relief appearances of Johan Hedberg.
The Lightning have been struggling lately, which meant Torts wasn’t in the best of moods at the morning press conference. But who better than the Thrashers to turn things around against? Tampa Bay is 16-5-1-1 all-time at home against the Thrashers and have outscored the Thrashers 11-4 in two meetings in Tampa this season.
The Thrashers will need to get off to a good start against Tampa, which is hard to do. As you know, the Lightning usually come out flying. That may be one reason Waddell’s top line tonight is Kovalchuk-White-Hossa. If Kovy and Hoss can get an early goal, that would be big for a lot of reasons. For one, it might relieve some pressure on Pavelec. But this team showed last game that it’s now capable of coming back from a large deficit which was certainly in question the last time the Thrashers were in Tampa. So in that regard, a fast start isn’t as critical as earlier in the season.
As for the coaching search, Waddell said this morning that he hasn’t contacted any teams about receiving permission to interview an assistant, although he can use other avenues than just direct contact to find out if an assistant is available. There still doesn’t seem to be any urgency in the coaching search, as Waddell continues to stress that winning games right now is much more important than making a hire.
There’s been an inordinate amount of buzz surrounding the Thrashers and potential trades. I’m not saying there won’t be any deals, but I also want to add that the Thrashers just recently played in Montreal and Toronto - where A) There’s tons of media and B) It’s a good spot for scouts up there to see a team they might not typically see. So stuff might get blown out of proportion more than usual. Now when a reporter I respect, like Jim Matheson, says Thrashers director of player personnel Mark Dobson attended his third Oilers game in a short span, I take notice. Although, I don’t think the Thrashers are currently interested in Dick Tarnstrom, as some other websites suggested. So cross him off your list, especially considering the Oilers recent injuries on the blueline.
But here’s why you have to be careful about internet trade rumors. The other day, I was chatting with Bobby Holik and we were watching the huge media scrum around Hossa, which led me to ask Holik if he was doing any negotiating with the team. It was a 30 second conversation, which I used as a quick note in the paper. The next day, I go online to a few hockey websites and see a headline: “Holik to be traded?” That’s how some of this stuff gets started.
I would wonder if there’d be interest around the league in a guy like Steve McCarthy if he continues to sit. I saw Don Waddell talking to him for awhile during the morning skate. Here’s what Waddell had to say about that conversation:
“I don’t want to lose him. He’s done everything for us. His plus-minus [Mac is currently at -12] has been very misleading… If you go through those goals you’ll find very few that were his fault. Sometimes you get caught in circumstances. He’s battled every night, he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. I told him not to lose faith in us. We haven’t lost faith in him.”
