AJC > Sports Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2008 > February > 06
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Big, Fat, Super Letdown Tuesday
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Let the record state that Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee were not the only ones who left the state of Georgia winners. The Philadelphia Flyers came to town and turned this night into Big, Fat, Super Letdown Tuesday. It was the ninth consecutive win for the Flyers over the Thrashers.
The 3-2 loss to the Philly wasted another strong effort by Kari Lehtonen as he turned back 33 of 36 shots including a shorthanded breakaway attempt by Mike Richards with 8:20 left in the third that kept the score at 2-2 at that point. In his 3 starts since the All Star break, Kari has faced 102 shots letting in just 4 for a .961 SV% during that time.
Just as voters massed at the polls Tuesday, Flyer forwards flocked to the front of Atlanta’s goal, launching 16 shots. Lehtonen let in only a power play goal to keep the Thrashers in the game at the first break.
As well as Kari played, Philly keeper Antero Nittymaki was just that much better. He came into Atlanta with a 7-0-0 record against the Thrashers sporting a 1.58 GAA and .947 SV%. Eric Perrin probably checked his locker after the game to see if Nittymaki had his watch and wallet because he robbed him twice on the ice. Once on a quick backhand in the second and then again on a wrister from the slot with 6:10 left in the third. He finished the game by denying Marian Hossa’s attempt on the far post with just seconds left to play.
The good news out of Tuesday is that Ilya Kovalchuk was successful in his campaign to convince team doctors and Don Waddell that he was healthy enough to play after a two game absence. He contributed a goal on three shots in 19:37 worth of ice time.
The Thrashers gave Philadelphia seven power play chances and were burned on two of them. When you give a team like that as many opportunities on the man advantage, your begging for bad things to happen.
Fortunately, the Nashville Predators gave the Thrashers a bit of support by beating the Carolina Hurricanes 1-0 in Tennessee. Combine that with Washington’s 4-3 OT win in Columbus and Florida’s building of a snowman in Toronto and you find quite the log jam at the top of the Southeast as one point separates all four of those teams…Washington and the Panthers with games in hand.
In fact, the Caps have a chance to leap frog over both Atlanta and Carolina tonight when they play these same Flyers in Philadelphia.
So, much like the way the Presidential campagns are going…this thing could see four contestants battling to the very end…the very bloody, messy, nasty end.
Let’s just hope that in the end it’s a Fat Tuesday-like party that will be going on in Blueland.
