AJC > Sports > Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2008 > January > 21
Monday, January 21, 2008
Thrashers ready to return to MSG
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
These are two big games coming up in New York for the Thrashers who are looking dangerously close to a team that packed up early for the All-Star break. And of all the teams in the NHL, the Thrashers can least afford to do that because the world of hockey is about to arrive in Atlanta in a few days and the spotlight will undoubtedly shift to the Thrashers franchise.
That focus can go one of two ways — the turnaround after a rough start that has this team in playoff contention or a team that is ice cold and in danger of losing one of its best players because he isn’t sure about the direction of the franchise. You guess which story the Thrashers would prefer is the focus over the break.
But here we are, the Thrashers head to New York for a pair of games that they desperately need. Seems familiar doesn’t it? I asked Kari Lehtonen, who may or may not start on Tuesday, if he is looking to bury that awful performance in Game 3 in his first return to Madison Square Garden. He said it wasn’t something he thought about, but joked that he would if I kept asking about it. So I’ll leave Kari alone for now. But he did say the team was getting amped up for these two games and I sensed it. Ilya Kovalchuk also said it’s huge that this team finish strong for the break for a lot of the reasons mentioned above.
Plus, let’s not forget the revenge factor. The last time they were at the Garden, they got steamrolled out of the playoffs and were sick about the way they sent Scott Mellanby into retirement. Those memories don’t just disappear.
I know some of you are getting worried about Kovalchuk’s scoring slump, hey it’s been over a week since he’s scored. I’m watching that situation closely and if the Thrashers lose on Tuesday and he’s shutout, you’ll most likely be reading about the scoring struggles setting up the second game in New York. But I’ve held off making too big a deal about it because he’s still getting his chances. He made Hasek look bad in Detroit, then hit a post when he went to the backhand. Then last night he had a rebound attempt on a Mark Recchi shot (great move by Recchi, by the way) that hit the post. If he scores on either of those, we’re not having this conversation. But if it gets to five games, we’ll have to explore it a little more in-depth. But I wouldn’t be concerned just yet.
Had a nice conversation with Joel Kwiatkowski, who I’ll be featuring in the paper for Tuesday. During training camp, I was sitting on a Kiwi story about how he’s a rock star, and never got around to doing it. Well, I thought it’d be timely for Tuesday. He’s coming off a strong game against Edmonton. I know you guys are looking for a big defenseman who can clear bodies in front of Moose and Kari and that’s not Kwiatkowski’s game. But he adds more offense and can move the puck, which has been an issue especially against strong forechecking teams. It looks like they have every intention of letting Kwiatkowski earn a spot, which creates a sort of logjam on the blueline. Obviously you don’t touch the top pair. But then what? Steve McCarthy can’t sit on the IR forever, and you can’t keep scratching your highest-paid defenseman in Alexei Zhitnik. Mark Popovic has been solid, so he’s not going anywhere. Any suggestions for a solution that isn’t an unrealistic trade?
Don Waddell was wrapping up meetings with his scouts today and I won’t be talking with him until later this afternoon, so there’s uncertainty about lineup stuff. Brad McCrimmon said he honestly didn’t know who would start in goal or if there would be lineup changes. I imagine that will be discussed on the plane ride to New York which is happening as I type.
I would point out that the Rangers are struggling right now too. But that doesn’t seem to matter when it comes to the Thrashers, does it?
Doell sent down: The Thrashers sent Kevin Doell to Chicago. He played pretty well in a limited role, but Brad Larsen’s return meant he was on borrowed time. The Thrashers are going to have some decisions to make after the All-Star game when Slater and McCarthy will presumably be ready.
