There is an old saying that beauty is but a light switch away. But this past week of Atlanta Thrashers hockey has been so ugly that not even the darkness could hide it.

All in all, it was an extremely un-good week for the home team. They played three games and lost by scores of 7-0, 3-2 and 6-1. That’s a combined total of 16-3.

That’s sixteen to freakin’ three…ugly.

While watching last night’s 6-1 mugging in New Jersey, there were exactly three things that I thought looked good emanating from my television.

One: Slava Kozlov notching his fifth goal of the season…tying him with Bryan Little for the team lead in that department. I thought his reaction…or lack of one…was very appropriate given the circumstance at the time. It was also very telling of his frustration right now.

Two: Ron Hainsey coming to the defense of Garnet Exelby after his defensive partner had taken an elbow high during the second period. Too many times a Thrasher player will get roughed up and no teammate seems to take exception to it. I’ll also add that the two of them have looked like the best pairing so far this season.

Three: Lastly…there was the lovely blonde from the Ed Voyles Honda commercial. But I don’t think that counts here.

Outside of that, everything I saw was ugly…no, butt-ugly!

Johan Hedberg started the game in place of Kari Lehtonen who was reported to be “under the weather”. Moose looked decent in the first period, stopping 11 of the 12 shots taken. But life began to suck for him shortly after the first intermission as five goals were scored by the Devils in the middle period…well actually, four were and one came off of Mathieu Schneider’s stick. Another goal was scored while a New Jersey player was laying on Hedberg.

In his last four periods of work, Moose has seen 10 goals scored on him. That ain’t pretty.

Of the way the team played in front of Hedberg, Exelby said, “I think it’s embarrassing…it makes me sick to my stomach”. I have to agree with the X-Man.

Over the past week, Atlanta has seen its GAA balloon to a whopping 3.91 and they are now scoring goals at a pitiful level of 2.27 per game. The power play is an anemic 15.1% effective while the penalty kill is successful but 75.0% of the time. And the team allows 35.1 shots on goal per game.

Those are extremely unattractive numbers.

Folks, I’m sorry to sound so negative…but right now, the Thrashers are not a pretty sight at all. There have been times over the past week that this team has looked almost as laughable as when MSNBC tried to pass Keith Olbermann off as a qualified, objective television news anchor.

The losing streak now stands at six…the last five without even the consolation point that comes with taking a team into overtime. Such a loss to Florida Sunday afternoon will make it six straight regulation losses in a row…you know, the way last season began.

You’ll also recall, general manager Don Waddell held Bob Hartley accountable for that mess…I believe stating that it wasn’t in as much that the team was losing but it was how they were losing. It was six consecutive losses… two of them being humiliating defeats of 4 goals or more…and being severely out-shot and out-hustled in those losses.

Yeah, that wasn’t pretty… wasn’t it, Don? Sure hope THAT never happens again, eh Don? That would be ugly, right Don?

Maybe ugly enough to even make the Spirit boys start thinking about who has been the one consistent figure during all of these disappointing seasons and maybe…just maybe…start looking for that light switch.

Permalink | Comments (45) |

Advertise here »