AJC > Sports Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2007 > March > 20
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Logjam in the East
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As off nights go, this was a pretty discouraging one. We could have gone a long way toward clinching a playoff spot if a few teams had taken care of business. Instead, Montreal, Tampa and Toronto all win, further jamming up the bottom of the playoff race.
How about those Islanders? They come back from down 2-0, go up 3-2 and lose in OT to give Tampa two big points. It hurts us, for sure, but it surely hurts the Isles more. They NEEDED that win, that extra point.
Toronto and Montreal are now nipping at the heels of the Canes.
And I’ll tell you this, too. My friend in NY, who covers a lot of Rangers games, IM’d me tonight about the possibility of the Rangers and Thrashers meeting in the playoffs.
“Good,” I said. “We’ll kill those guys.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” he said. “They dominated the Thrashers the other night, but just go stonewalled by Hedberg.”
“Oh,” I countered. “So they play a great game … and STILL lose to the BACKUP goalie of the team that WON’T? beat them in the playoffs. That’s solid logic.”
Then he backpedaled and said he was merely disagreeing with my assessment that the Thrashers would “kill” the Rangers. And maybe that is strong, but the Rangers are definitely one of the teams I would like to face in the first round. Them and the Devils, because of this weird little run we seem to be having against them. Ilya certainly seems to have Brodeur’s number sometimes.
But the odds are it will be either Tampa or the Rangers. And I DO NOT … DO NOT .. want to play Tampa in the first round. Bad mojo.
Another day off for the Thrash tomorrow. … We’ll fill the void somehow.
