AJC > Sports Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2007 > March > 06
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Ka-ri’s bet-ter!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is how playoff runs begin. The top line starts to generate points, the defense clears the zone effectively and the goaltender is the best player on the ice.
Let’s not mistake the Florida Panthers for a good team, but they’ve been playing like a good team. Four wins in a row coming in, Ed Belfour playing every night just like the old days. But we put a stop to that right quick. Two more points in the bank to temporarily jump back into the three-seed, pending Tampa’s game later tonight.
The difference between winning the division and not is huge, as we all know. It’s the difference between beginning a first-round series at home against a lower seed and beginning on the road — likely against a top-three. (Of course, if the playoffs began at this exact moment, we’d be home against Tampa Bay … and I don’t think any of us want to see Tampa Bay in the first round; although, we’d much rather it start at home.)
The difference tonight was palpable. Tkachuk and Kovalchuk have been building a little relationship in their first couple of games together, they almost connected a few times. And tonight, the dam broke. Three points for Ilya, two goals for Tkachuk. The breakout pass was a thing of beauty, and Tkachuk put a veteran move on Belfour. You can see positive chemistry with KT and IK … I wonder if Ilya reminds Tkachuk of when he played with Selanne when they were kids in Winnipeg.
A few minutes later, Florida had a breakaway of its own, and Lehtonen gloved that sonofagun and established himself. His reactions tonight were a whole level above where’s he’s been the past few weeks. He was a lot more fluid, he was able to anticipate shots like he used. He had been just reacting recently, and it was good to see him dictating the play again. The second goal against was unstoppable. Dude just wound up on a loose puck from eight feet away. No goalie is stopping that. Lehtonen stopped 38 of 40 shots. That’s a playoff performance. (We’ll give him a pass on botching that play behind the net which nearly led to a go-ahead goal at 2-2).
Of course Hossa checks in with his obligatory goal. He’s the master. If he doesn’t garner a bunch of Hart and/or Pearson votes, it’ll be a shame. Bobby Holik nearly scored his first goal since WWII, but Pascal Dupuis’ leg got in the way. I had a bad feeling after that bad-luck play, but the Thrashers never wilted.
There’s a definite spring in the step these days, something that was lacking in our prior losing streak. I can see this team coming together, new guys, old guys …
Last note of the day: Great blogging yesterday; a lot of interesting and varied opinions on kind of a weird subject. Let’s call this the bottom line: Don Waddell has guided this franchise with a steady hand through some seriously adverse situations, and though it hasn’t paid off with a playoff berth (yet) the team has been markedly improved every season. And he’s done it in a humane and professional manner, representing the team and the city well. IF this team indeed can put together a little playoff magic, it’ll be just desserts for one of the good guys in this league. And what’s more, if DW finds a little success at the end of the rainbow, he certainly won’t throw it in the faces of those of us who have critiqued his shortcomings. And even though guys like sodapants and jason could use a little brushup on their social graces, I do think it’s neat to be in a town where fans can love their GM and their team so unconditionally. I’m a natural cynic, as are many of our people on this board, and I kind of always see the yin and the yang of a situation. To those of you who see flowers blooming in the turds, I salute you.
Anyhoo …
Big game against playoff-wannabe Montreal on Thursday — desperate Habs. Then a crucial stretch against some teams with nothing to lose. Gotta win those. Thrashers have to bear down and get into the mind-set of a playoff run; winning the division is the goal now (baby’s first banner) … and we want to make that season-finale with T.B. a moot point.
