Thrashers

By Russian

October 31, 2008 2:10 PM | Link to this

Wow. This is going to be intersting. Kovy got -2 with Rangers game. I am just wondering if they will score some goals. I think it will be good idea to see Sterling if he can do something. I guest it is his Last chanse to show up before he will send to Chicago.

By jimmy

October 31, 2008 2:15 PM | Link to this

scratch Slater and play the 3 Erics on the 4th line. It won’t help us win, but it will be funny to watch a line with 3 Erics. That’s a positive i guess, because everything else sucks right now

By Robert

October 31, 2008 2:17 PM | Link to this

I like those lines somewhat better. Sterling prefers LW though, the team tried him at RW last year and it didn’t work.

Christensen really doesn’t deserve to be on the number one line, good to see him demoted. 5 other centers on this team have been better than him.

If only they’d get to work on those defense pairings.

By BAF

October 31, 2008 2:25 PM | Link to this

I made this suggestion this morning on the Thrasher main board. Coincidence…….

By R. Stroz

October 31, 2008 2:30 PM | Link to this

Williams should be demoted too.

By Bob

October 31, 2008 2:48 PM | Link to this

Kovy-Williams-Sterling sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

But what the heck, might as well try something. I have no problem putting Christensen down there, he hasn’t shown me anything since the day we traded for him.

By Alan

October 31, 2008 2:54 PM | Link to this

I’m not sure I like the idea of Williams playing first line center. The first line needs a big body to push people out of the way and help create scoring chances for the other guys… maybe even pot a few goals himself. With this line, we don’t have that.

The only guy we really have to fit that role is Hoffman. Maybe Thorburn would work, too — he did play pretty well with Kovalchuk last year.

That second line looks interesting, though… White centering Kozlov and Little. We might see some activity from this line tomorrow night.

By Barry

October 31, 2008 2:58 PM | Link to this

Personally I’m not sure why Christensen gets the boot to the 4th line. Yes he’s been struggling to find the back of the net, but I thought he had a very much improved game against the Rangers. I know he can’t be taking this demotion well. Glad to see Sterling get a shot with a scoring line and some real minutes. He isn’t going to have time to do what he does best playing 4th line minutes…he just won’t.

By Alan

October 31, 2008 3:13 PM | Link to this

Anderson doesn’t consider lines the way most people in hockey do traditionally. The fourth line is expected to score, just like the first line is, and with just as much intensity, in the John Anderson system. It’s not a “demotion” to the fourth line, so much as it is putting Christensen in a position where he might be more effective.

By ranallo10 (in AT)

October 31, 2008 3:37 PM | Link to this

Anderson had a good quote about the lines the other day.

His expectations for the lines:

First — Score goals.

Second — Score goals.

Third — Score goals, keep the opponent from scoring goals.

Fourth — Energy.

By WW5

October 31, 2008 3:59 PM | Link to this

thrashers need 4-5 goals per game from some line if letemin continues to be the #1 goalie

By Alan

October 31, 2008 4:06 PM | Link to this

Indeed, ranallo — but by putting Christensen on the fourth, you know he’s expecting some production. Let’s call it “energy with a kick.” :)

By Jonny

October 31, 2008 4:12 PM | Link to this

John Anderson, read and execute: Kovalchuk / Little / Thorburn Sterling / White / Williams Kozlov / Reasoner / Christensen Perrin / Slater / Armstrong

Thanks

By BG33Brown

October 31, 2008 4:16 PM | Link to this

I still think Thornburn should be the 1st line RW. There is your size.

17-JWill-Thorn

13-10-Sterling

EC-Reasoner-Army

Perrin-Slater-White.

Call me crazy but those are 4 very balanced lines.

By Hip Czech

October 31, 2008 4:20 PM | Link to this

Think this is a one game thing based on matchups…what line does Gionta play on? Sterling vs. Gionta would be a good matchup.

We’d see who would come out on the short end.

By R. Stroz

October 31, 2008 4:43 PM | Link to this

More Discount Tickets

By Mike Knobler

October 31, 2008 4:49 PM | Link to this

Anderson’s explanation of the new first line: “We need scoring from our big line. We can’t have guys on our big line with no goals. That’s not rocket science. It’s obvious. Listen, I made my living scoring goals. I understand it’s one of the most difficult things in the game. But if you’re given that opportunity, that’s what you have to do. If it’s not happening, it has to be changed. The decision’s almost out of my hands. It’s in theirs. It’s tough, but that’s reality. Time pushes on. Hopefully, it’ll correct itself.”

By Mike Knobler

October 31, 2008 4:51 PM | Link to this

Hip Czech “Short end.” I get it.

By UpperDeck4Life

October 31, 2008 5:57 PM | Link to this

I made the observation in the other thread this morning that the Kozlov-White-Little, Thorburn-Reasoner-Army line we our to most productive and consistent last night. I wouldn’t mind seeing those lines given a couple of games together and see if they can develop some real chemistry. I would like to see what Williams can do as Kovy’s center. He has been quoted as saying he is more comfortable at center, let’s see if he is right.

By josh

October 31, 2008 6:12 PM | Link to this

He has been quoted as saying he is more comfortable at center

i heard the exact same comment from Eric Perrin last year.

By Rockem Sockem Thrasher

October 31, 2008 6:28 PM | Link to this

In a different discussion I mentioned the Kovy trade rumor. Here is the source of that rumor:

Ottawa Sun - Bruce Garrioch

Good Analysis from a Thrasher Blog

There is a good point made about trading him sooner rather than later.

Personally, I’d rather see him stay.

By Rocket

October 31, 2008 7:30 PM | Link to this

There is a rumour out here in Montreal trading Kovalchuck to Montréal for Chis Higgins, Ryan O’Byrne and a first round pick in 2010. Heard anything like that in Atlanta.

Thank you

Go Habs Go!

By shaker

October 31, 2008 8:02 PM | Link to this

Trading Kovalchuk will really fill up those empty seats fast. The only player with any recognition and he’s rumored to be traded? If a team is willing to give up two players and a future draft choice the guys they want to dump must be having problems too. Are we waving the white flag already? The rumors are probably true because this sounds like an idiotic stunt Waddell would pull. Talk about empty seats. I wonder what the other GMs around the NHL think of Waddell? They would probably say they respect him but respect doesn’t make you a good GM. Knowing when to hold em and knowing when to fold em does. Does Waddell even know houw to shuffle? From my perspective when he shuffles, the cards fly in all directions much like the players who have come and gone from the Thrashers from his past dealings. I sit and wonder what will be his next card trick.

By Sage of Bluesland

October 31, 2008 10:05 PM | Link to this

New linemates??? New linemates?!

Does it even matter???!!!

Who assembled this, umm, “team”? Who is responsible for this veritable fountain of “talent” that we have after—what—eight years of “building through the draft”?

Wake up and stop directly subsidizing the incompetence. That is the ONLY way to get ownership to make the much-needed change of GM.

Do you honestly think the ownership is serious about winning a title? Why would they employ Don Waddell if that was their desire?

Face it, we are nothing but schedule-fodder for the real teams in the league. Over half of the teams make it into the second-season and we’ve only been above mediocre once in almost a decade.

Despite picking in the top-ten year after year—but, unfortunately, it takes more than 1st round picks to build an entire team…Well, and even bumbling Donnie’s 1st rounders have been pretty hit-or-miss (with too much ‘miss’).

It’s too bad—the real fans of this ‘concept’ of a team deserve better. Deciding not to tell the emperor he has no clothes only delays the inevitable.

Think about that. I know most of the sheeple here are so narrow-minded that they refuse to entertain any thoughts outside of their sunshiney-own.

Just do me a favor and think about that ‘emperor’ phrase above—there is a very good reason it’s an ‘old’ one. (for the dim-witted sheep out there, I’ll even give you the answer on why it’s ‘old’—it is because it is time-proven to be ‘true’).

By shaker

November 1, 2008 1:04 AM | Link to this

As we all know hockey is a yankee and canadian sport. I guess they think us southern crackers don’t know much about hockey since it’s only been in the south for a short time. Well guess again. We know a hell of a lot more than you give us credit for. Wise up and stop trying to pull the wool over our eyes. We can tell when someone doesn’t know their a** from a hole in the ground and we certainly can tell that Dumb Waddell has trouble telling which is which.

By LAC

November 1, 2008 2:20 AM | Link to this

Sage right on as ALWAYS… don waddell IS the root of 100% of this teams ON ice problems.

He has not been able to spot talent since day #1, he knows NOTHING about the sport of hockey and has NO business being a GM of anything from a used car lot to hockey.

don waddell is a PROFESSIONAL LOSER, he always has been and he always will be, so until the curse that is don waddell, is gone by any means we can think of, the Thrashers are doomed to failure.

Name any NHL team that would reward losing like Atlanta does, it’s flat out NUTS !

This team deserves much better, so do the loyal fans, we should be a MUCH BETTER team than this, but as long as we have IDIOT owners and a Lifetime Loser as GM… This team will likely move within two years… sad but true, but let’s all face it, don waddell has destroyed NHL hockey in Atlanta.

By Nikita

November 1, 2008 1:32 PM | Link to this

Yeah, all this wanky Waddell-thrashing is fun and all, but we have a game tonight. I think this will be interesting —no doubt NJ hopes to break their streak on the Thrash.

By Sage of Bluesland

November 1, 2008 7:58 PM | Link to this

Reality is “wanky” sometimes, isn’t it? That’s what happens when delusion is recognized—and finally overcome.

Otherwise, it’s an entertainment of the absurd (that is, the pathetic excuse-making by the sheeple)…