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Thursday, January 31, 2008
How will the Thrashers respond to Kovalchuk’s injury?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Thrashers might have dodged a bullet right there. All indications this morning point to a quick recovery for Ilya Kovalchuk, who as we speak, is getting an MRI done on his knee. Now, you never know, maybe the MRI will come back with structural damage, but it was done more for precautionary reasons rather than because the team thinks something is wrong. Obviously he didn’t skate today, and Waddell ruled him out for the weekend but at this point nobody thinks it will be much worse than that. He wasn’t limping and there wasn’t any swelling. Those are both good signs.
The Thrashers will most likely bring up Brett Sterling to play in Kovy’s spot, although Waddell said that hadn’t been decided yet for sure. The Wolves just returned to practice today after the AHL All-Star break. But Sterling would be the logical replacement for Kovalchuk for now, and Waddell indicated that’s what he would do.
The timing isn’t good, but sometimes teams rally when their best player is missing. There’s no shortage of motivation with Buffalo coming to town on Friday. Johan Hedberg will be in goal and is looking to bury that ugly 10-goal game behind him. It’s a somewhat interesting choice to start Hedberg, since Lehtonen should be well-rested and played fairly well yesterday. Waddell’s explanation was that Johan played well against Buffalo the last time they came to Philips Arena. And that’s true, he did.
Brad Larsen skated this morning for about a half hour before practice and said he’s feeling much better. He expects to join the morning skate on Friday but is probably a couple games away from returning as well. They won’t rush him, especially considering how well that fourth line of Slater, Thorburn and Boulton seem to play together.
Look for Steve McCarthy to get a shot at the point on the power play while Kovalchuk is out. Other than some ripped up knuckles, he’s ready to take advantage of the opportunity. So, who do you see stepping up while Kovalchuk is out? Will the Thrashers respond positively during a crucial stretch of the season, without the services of their best player?
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