AJC > Sports Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2008 > December > 27
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Hard To Get Happy After That One
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There are a lot of times that I would love to be in the Thrashers locker room following a game…to hear what is being said, to experience the moment. Friday night, however, I’m sure it wasn’t a happy time in that room.
Wasted in the 5-4 come-from-ahead loss to the Carolina Hurricane were a couple of very strong efforts from some of the hometown ice combatants. Bryan Little’s first ever career hat trick…Slava Kozlov’s four assist night…Todd White’s one-goal, two-point showing…a two assist effort by Ron Hainsey…the power play going three for three on the evening.
The Thrashers held a 1-0 lead after White’s power play goal in the first…then grabbed back a 3-2 lead when Little netted a pair of power play goals 1:43 apart late in the second and then took a 4-3 lead with 10:08 remaining in the game after Little turned the trick. But in the end, the drive to win back-to-back games for the first time since…well, the last time the Thrashers played Carolina in the second week of October…stalled out late in the game.
Or, should I say…Staal-ed out.
Eric Staal took this game over in the third with three goals separated by just 4 minutes and 31 seconds in the final frame. The last two were of the unassisted variety and were but 76 seconds apart.
On the night, the Canes were one shot shy of dropping 40 on Johan Hedberg. After the game, a dejected Moose was nothing short of “stand up” saying, “My third period was probably the worst I played all year, and a very bad time, and I think I cost us the game…It’s unfortunate. I felt like I let the boys down there”.
I think Heddy is being a bit harsh on himself. As the Thrashers have proven time and time again over the course of the past couple of seasons…you aren’t gonna win a lot of games in which you allow your opponents close to 40 shots in the game.
As frustrating and agonizing some of the many 1-goal losses have been this season for Atlanta…I’m guessing Friday night’s was probably the toughest of them all to take for the boys in blue…er, huh…burgundy. These are professional guys, but I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if more than a few inanimate objects took the brunt of their ire and were slammed upside a wall. To be honest with ya, I wouldn’t blame the players one bit if that were the case.
If so, I’m glad I wasn’t in the room to see it…or I might of caught a stray flying object in the chops.
Whole Lot-O-Scorin’ Going On Back There
In the three games Atlanta played this week, they allowed 13 goals, bringing the year-to-date total to 130 goals against after 35 games. In case you’re wonderin’…yes, that would be the most of any team in the league.
That will also put them on a pace to give up 305 goals on the season. As bad as last season’s NHL-worst GA stat was, the Thrashers only gave up 272. The last time an NHL team let up 300+ goals in a season was in the 2006-07 season when the Philadelphia Flyers let up 303.
Philly finished that season 22-48-12 for 56 points.
Schultz Knows…SOMEthing!
The AJC’s Jeff Schultz has another fine post on the current state of the Thrashers…which is an un-good state. Among other salient points, Schultzie notes that, “All of the problems obviously can’t be attributed to finances. Most of the problems can be traced back to year one. Waddell was here, the Spirit wasn’t. Even in budget-crunching times, a general manager can make things work to a degree if there’s a solid foundation. Waddell poured the foundation. It hasn’t been just about bad drafts or miscalculations in personnel. It’s mostly about never having a successful plan, a structure, an identity”.
ding-ding-ding
Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
According to Hockeybuzz.com, there are ten teams with payrolls that are under $50 million. Atlanta, $45.5M…Carolina, $49.2M…Chicago, $49.7M…L.A. Kings, $41.5M…Nashville, $46.3M…N.Y. Islanders, $43.2M…Phoenix, $42.4M…St. Louis, $47.9M…Tampa Bay, $44.7…and Toronto, $48.1M.
Only two of those teams have fewer points than do the Thrashers and four of those team…Chicago, Carolina, Nashville and Phoenix…currently hold playoff positions in the standings. The Kings, who have the lowest payroll, are currently 14-15-6, six points better than Atlanta and only three points out of the eighth and final playoff slot in the Western Conference.
So, it can be done. Even if the GM is saddled with an ownership that su…er, inhales profusely!
