AJC > Sports Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2008 > November > 07
Friday, November 7, 2008
Coming From Behind, Thrashers Win
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Looking out over the blogosphere…OK you guys, I want absolutely no comments in regards to the looks and appearance of the Islanders logo. We will have absolutely none of that crap this go around!
Got it?…Good!
ahem
After period number two, the Atlanta Thrashers found themselves down 3-1 to the New York Islanders. The fans at Philips were grunting and groaning at the prospect of dropping a game they need to win in order to remove themselves from the bottom of the standings.
A pair of rapid-fire goals by the visiting team in the second period…goals that came only 17 seconds apart…made it look as though the Thrashers might just be circling the drain.
However, Atlanta’s O-fense started the third period stronger than the odor that permeates from the men’s room at a bus station. The movement toward the Islander net was fast and effective relief from what ailed them just the period before. 29 seconds after the dropping of the puck to start the final frame, Slava Kozlov tallied goal number two of the night. He now has eight after just thirteen games, which is tops on the team and is almost half his total for all of last year. In fact, he did not reach the 13-goal mark last season until Jan. 15.
Just 48 seconds after Kozlov’s goal, Jason Williams forced in the game-tying score off a nifty pass from Tobias Enstrom. The New York defenders were focused in on the Swedish blueliner…but he found his teammate on the backdoor of the Islanders’ goal and zipped the puck over to him.
Then Enstrom …after setting up Kozzy’s first goal and William’s power play goal…fired in the game winner himself with 8:31 remaining. It capped off a fantastic come-from-behind effort, pushing his team on to victory, caused the crowd to go nutty with delight and allowed the Thrashers to squeeze by the Islanders 4-3.
During the third period’s massive push…Atlanta unloaded 12 shots on Islander goalie Joey McDonald. Both teams managed 27 each for the night. Meanwhile, the Thrashers’ defense was busy pinching off all third period attempts made by the Islanders.
Todd White helped his team wipe away the Islanders with a pair of assists. His team-leading points total has been pushed to 14 and he is currently on pace to earn…let’s see if I can work this out with a pencil… here we go, 88 points this season. Not to shabby considering last year he managed to eek out only 37 and that his career high is 60 from six seasons ago as a member of the Ottawa Senators.
Ondrej Pavelec overcame a messy second period in which he allowed 2 goals on only 7 shots…but in the end he earned his second win in as many starts.
Mathieu Schneider was unable to go Thursday night due to a hip flexor injury. He sat down for the first time this season and Boris Valabik was called up to play in his place.
Good news…Kari Lehtonen worked out with the team for the first time in a week. He could be ready to rip sometime this weekend, either Friday night in Buffalo or Sunday at Carolina.
Great win tonight for the T-Birds. After being down a pair of goals to start the final period, it’s always nice to come away with two points while the opposition gets…squat.
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