AJC > Sports Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2008 > March > 09
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Three Points, Three Questions From The Weekend
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday night the Thrashers were able to dust off the column under the “W” and change the 29 to 30. They had been waiting three weeks to do that. Much like that last win in New Jersey, it took a shootout following a last minute tying goal by Atlanta. This time it was Ilya Kovalchuk notching his 44th of the season with 44.9 seconds left in the third to send the game to OT. Back then it was…was…flipping through notes…this guy named Marian Hossa. Remember him?
Again the Thrashers were outshot…to the tune of 39-26. However this time it didn’t matter, as the home team was able to steal one away from the Wild.
The Moose was loose Friday as he stopped 37 of the 39 shots he face. The two that got by him were on power plays, the first being the 5-3 variety and the second following an atrocious hooking call against Joel Kwiatkowski. Even the Minnie-SO-tah TV guys found the call “questionable”.
Colby Armstrong notched his first goal in Thrasher blue and Erik Kristensen accounted for the only goal of the shootout, bouncing the puck off the pipe and having it ricochet off Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom into the goal. Just the way Erik drew it up!
Yes, the losing streak is over! The world is right! What’s next? Jews and Arabs embrace, Republicans and Democrats dance arm-in-arm, Stendec and Kari Lehtonen…well, let’s not get crazy. But, the losing streak was over.
Until…
Then there was the game in Sunrise, Florida the next night where the Thrashers blew an early 2-0 lead against the Panthers.
WAIT…the Thrashers HAD a two-goal lead TO squander? Yup, not since…flipping through notes… Marian Hossa, (there’s that name again), put home an empty netter with 40 seconds left in the February 2nd game in Washington had the Thrashers even possessed such a margin. So I guess they are just a little out of practice in that regards.
Atlanta eventually fell to Florida 3-2 in overtime. All five goals coming via man advantages. In fact…the Thrashers did not allow an even-strength goal in either game. This is good!
In the end, it was 3 points earned in back-to-back games. Given the poor showing this season in such pairings, not bad…not bad at all.
The Town Hall Meeting
Before the weekend’s games, there was this little chat that Don Waddell and Bruce Levenson had with the Season Ticket Holders. It was a much needed Q&A session that was called to try and defuse the tension stemming from raised ticket prices, poor play of the team and doubts about the management of the team. Apparently, it had not gone un-noticed by the two.
From it, one could surmise that there have been lessons learned from last season. Then, they were over anxious to cut a deal and try and make the playoffs even at the expense of the future. This year they were cautious to not mortgage the future to get someone like, say, a Brian Campbell type.
OK, I can dig that. I can dig it even more if the two are indeed serious about targeting such a top-flight defender this summer…or two. If so, it would indicate that the front office has begun that paradigm shift towards placing the emphasis on defense.
There will be plenty of room under the cap to spend on such upgrades. Time to open up the checkbook, boys.
Bruce Levenson acknowledged the fact that keeping Don Waddell behind the bench was not the correct move to make. Many here have said that for a while…why, even Brendan has recently come to this realization.
But this is now water under the bridge. Whether or not Don should/should not have stayed there so long is no longer relevant. What is important is that there WILL be a new coach for next season and it appears as though John Anderson is still on the top of that list. I would support that whole-heartedly.
It seems a though Don Waddell came across to those in attendance as one who is very aware of some problems the team is facing, (see also: defense). He was also said to have been very sensitive to the fact that he was in a room filled with some less-than-happy paying customers.
Bruce Levenson, on the other hand…from the accounts I have read, not so much so.
Now, Some Questions For You
Lastly, even though there are a great deal of questions that remain, the fact is I think everyone would agree that this was the right thing for Don Waddell and Bruce Levenson to do. It’s too bad that it took a near revolt from the paying customers to bring it about. However, I applaud their willingness to do so.
But ultimately there are 3 big questions that stem from Friday’s pow-wow that you need to answer, and this includes the lurkers out there:
Would you like to see more THM like this, say 2 or 3 times a year, especially during this period of transition?
If you were of the thought that Don Waddell should be removed as the general manager of the team, has your mind been changed?
(And this is, after all, the most important question)…did the THM convince you to re-up your season tickets for next season?
