AJC > Sports > Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2008 > October > 25
Saturday, October 25, 2008
How bad are they?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Eight games into the season, the Thrashers are 2-4-2 and on their second three-game winless streak. Last season’s team was 1-7 at this point.
Many picked this team to finish last or next to last in the NHL. It looks a little better than that.
Five of the games have been decided by a single goal, and another was a two-goal margin only because of an empty-netter.
So the sky isn’t exactly falling on the Thrashers. They’re looking like a below-average team that for a period or two a night can play with anyone but for a period or two a night looks overmatched.
It would be so much easier if you could call out a player or two as being responsible for all the team’s shortcomings. It doesn’t look that way to me. I’ve read all kinds of stuff on this blog about Ilya Kovalchuk disappearing; the guy has three goals and six points through eight games while being the focus of every opposing defense. Kari Lehtonen? He has looked good to excellent. A stat for non-believers: He faces more shots per game than any other No. 1 goalie in the league and has a save percentage that places him in the top half of all goalies.
Colby Armstrong, Jason Williams, Erik Christensen? Armstrong has a three-game point streak and is a hard-working two-way forward. Williams has two goals through eight games, on pace for the kind of season the Thrashers want from him. Christensen picked up his third assist Saturday night and put more shots on net than any of his teammates. Yes, the Thrashers need goals from him. It would take a lot of those, though, to make this a playoff team.
Permalink | Comments (61) | Post your comment |
Moose loose tonight
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Johan Hedberg gets his first start of the season in net as the Thrashers play their eighth game, at Boston. It will be interesting to see how he does after sitting out so long; his only action of 2008-09 aside from 3:37 at Florida when Kari Lehtonen lost a contact lens.
Hedberg, who appeared in 36 games last season, is likely to get a lot less action this year.
Thrashers coach John Anderson said Marty Reasoner is available for today’s game. Anderson declined at a 5 p.m. meeting with the media to say which skaters he’ll scratch from tonight’s lineup.
