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December 2008
Good Riddance 2008
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When the Atlanta Thrashers take to the ice Wednesday night in Carolina it will be the eightieth and last game played in calendar year 2008. After Tuesday night’s 4-3 overtime loss in Toronto, the Thrashers will enter the year-closing game with a record of 27-40-12 in the 79 games played so far in ’08. That would be a points winning percentage of only .418.
Calendar year 2007, straddling the 2006-07 and 2007-08 season, saw Atlanta play to a record of 39-37-5 over 81 games… good enough for a .512 P%. In the year prior to that, 2006, the Thrashers were 48-27-17 over 92 games…which is an amazing .614 P%.
BTW, a .614 winning percentage over an 82 games schedule will get ya 101 points.
So, the Thrashers have gone from a winning percentage of .614 to .512 to .418 entering into the last game of the “year” over the last three calendar years. If that’s Bruce Levenson’s definition of “moving in the right direction”…I would hate to see what moving in the wrong direction would be.
Moose Season Open In Toronto
After about eight minutes into the game in Toronto, Atlanta held a 2-0 lead on the Maple Leafs and the Thrashers out-shooting them 8-3. It was about that time that a pistol shot rang out from the game warden’s office and Moose Season was officially underway.
The Leafs then fire 43 shots on Moose in the final 52 minutes of regulation, then added one final blow 33 seconds into overtime for the kill.
In all, Toronto outshot the Thrashers 47-31 in 6o minutes and 33 seconds as Toronto simply moved at will throughout the Atlanta zone. In fact, in the past two games played against the Maple Leafs, Atlanta has been out-shot to the tune of 85-53.
Mind you, that’s not Detroit…or Boston…or San Jose…or Washington. It was Toronto.
To his credit, Moose turned away 43 of the 47 Toronto shots Tuesday night, (a .915 SV%).
Public Skate At A.I.C.
The Leaf’s ability to cruise though Atlanta’s defense Tuesday night caused former Thrasher, now TSN commentator, Ray Ferraro to remark that Toronto was moving through the Thrashers zone as if it were “public skate” in the Air Canada Center.
Ouch, Ray…just ouch!
A Little Power Surge
Bryan Little…what more can one expect from this kid than what he has provided over the past week? When Little took a nice pass from Todd White and scored Atlanta’s first goal in Toronto on the power play, it was the fifth consecutive Thrashers goal netted by No. 10.
I don’t know if scoring 5 straight goals is some kind of record for this franchise, but when my secretary Trixie gets back from her 3-1/2 week Christmas vacation…I’ll be sure to get her right on that.
Going back to the second goal scored by the Thrashers last Tuesday on Lonnnnnnnn-Gisland…to that opening tally in Toronto… Little scored seven of the next nine for Atlanta. In the past seven games, Little has a total of 8 goals and 9 points.
Who Should Skate With Kovy?
Mike Knobler has asked Thrashers fans just who they think should be on the same line with Ilya Kovalchuk. So far, Kovy’s skated with the likes of Marty Reasoner, Chris Thorburn, Jason Williams and Erik Christensen. Obviously, as Mike points out, Anderson’s not about to mess with the Little-White-Russian line, so that trio is off limits.
My suggestion…how about Marc Savard? Oh, no…wait. How about Pascal Dupris?…Oh, no…not here anymore either. How about Heatley, then?…Ugh, sorry. Eric Belanger? Wha…not here anymore either? Marian Hossa, maybe? Oh…%$#@-it.
looking at current line up “post-Waddell roster decision set-backs”
Oh, crap…just pick names out of a hat.
Happy New Year
This will be the last blog for me in 2008. And I may be a little scarce around here for a few days. At 9:00 this morning, my father will under-go surgery to remove a cancerous mass from his ascending colon. So, you know where the vast majority of my efforts and attention will be over the New Year.
Regardless, I wish everyone a very happy and joyous time tonight as 2009 is rung in around the city of Atlanta. Hopefully that celebration will be festive, fun… and safe… as 2008 departs us. Please be responsible in your activities, as we want to see you all at Philips Friday night!
Also…let’s hope part of the celebration includes a Thrashers win against the Canes tonight!
HAPPY NEW YEAR, BLUELAND!
The Two “Fenses” And ‘Tween The Pipes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’re almost halfway though the season…believe it or not…so let’s take a gander at the three main aspects of this Thrashers team thus far…the two “fenses”…O-fense and D-fense…and the men ‘tween the pipes.
The O-Fense
For all that hasn’t worked out for the Thrashers and John Anderson this season, there is one aspect of the team that has held it’s own so far…Anderson’s O-fence.
Going into Tuesday’s game in Toronto, Atlanta has 106 goals scored on the season after 36 games…a GAA that equates to 2.92, which is 11th best in the NHL. Last season, that stat was 2.52…22nd in the league.
Scoring goals at a this clip would net the Thrashers 240-something for year…the 246 goals achieved two seasons ago helped win the Southeast division.
The power play has been effective as well. Atlanta owns the league’s 10th best power play percentage…20.5. Though the Thrashers went 0-5 on the man advantage Sunday against Boston they went a perfect 3 for 3 in Saturday’s 5-4 loss to Carolina.
Atlanta’s big O has been led by Ilya Kovalchuk’s 35 points, 11 goals and 24 assists. No surprise there as that was the case last year as well. However, Slava Kozlov is following last year’s disappointing 17-goal, 41-point performance with 15 goals and 34 points, (which, for what it’s worth, is exactly the same point total as Marian Hossa). Add in Todd White’s 12 goals and 32 points and Bryan Little’s team-leading 18 goals and 30 points with Defenseman Ron Hainsey’s 5 goals and 20 points…and you have yourself a fairly balanced attack.
Really, the only negative I can find statistically for the Atlanta attack is the 27.1 S/G, which is higher only than Pittsburgh’s 27.0 S/G…but the amount of goals being scored on those shots tends to mask over it.
So, if John Anderson’s O-Fensive system is indeed being productive, just what is the cause for the 12-20-4 record so far? Well, that brings us next to…
The D-fense
Well, this defense has indeed allowed opponents an average of 32.4 shots on goal…which is actually down from last season’s league-worst 33.9. And the penalty kill is a putrid 73.5% “effective”, despite holding the Bruins to 0-5 on the power play Sunday.
But the real ugly number here is the 132 goals scored in only 36 games. If continued over the course of the season…that works out to an expansion team worthy 301 goals. Last season the Thrashers 3.24 GAA was dead last in the league. This season it’s 3.67.
Un-good!
But as I look at the individual players on this Thrashers’ defense…the only one that I really think needs to go is Garnet Exelby, (0 goals, 4 assist -6). Sure, Mathieu Schneider and his -9 hasn’t been everything we had hoped for…but he can still be a good fit on the third line and a huge asset to the development of young blueliners like Zach Bogosian and Nathan Oystrick.
Nic Havelid’s +4 ties Marty Reasoner for the team high in that stat and has chipped in with a goal and 8 helpers.
Toby Enstrom is a +2 and shares Havelid’s point production.
Ron Hainsey’s -15 is not a pleasant stat…but his 5 goals and 20 points helps to offset it and I think the +/- ratio is more the result of the team as a whole than his individual play.
Nathan Oystrick…done absolutely nothing but impress since his call up.
Boris Valabik…well the PIMs are a concern, but his -2 and five points merits his role as one of the three players that make up the third line defense.
Atlanta as a whole does not play solid team defense…and that means all five guys, not just the back two. Even so, given that the shots per games stat is down from last year, what then accounts for the fact that the Thrashers are surrendering goals at a higher rate than last season?
Well, that question takes to…
‘Tween The Pipes
Going into the game against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday, the goalie stats are such:
Kari Lehtonen - 3-7-2: 3.42 GAA and .903 SV%
Johan Hedberg - 6-7-2: 3.56 GAA and .886 SV%
Ondrej Pavelec - 3-6-0 3.55 GAA and .884 SV%
First off, look at the GAA for the three. Talk about “consistency”…only .14 points separate the three. But to me, the save percentages tell the story. The average of the three comes to only .891. Kari’s .903 is good, but not “great”. However, Moose and Opie’s 880-something numbers are butt-ugly.
Have there been lots of shots taken against the Atlanta goalies? Oh yeah…sure, sure their has been. And how many times have we lamented how we would love to see how well our goalies would do if they just didn’t have to face 30+ shots each game.
However, if I may return to the D-fense for a moment, there has been a fairly decent trend recently. In the seven games played since December 12th’s 7-3 loss to Boston…the Thrasher defense held their opposition to less than 30 SOG in six of the last nine games.
Unfortunately, they’ve only won two of those six games while surrendering 22 goals.
Whenever there is a situation in which a defense allows an average of 26.5 shots on goal in any given six games, but the opposition scores an average of 3.67 goals in those games…there is but one place to look and that’s between the pipes. Same is true when your defense holds the opposition under 30 shots twelve times, but only has 13 points to show for it… as has been the case for Atlanta’s defense this season.
Overall, in the 36 games played so far, Atlanta keepers have held the opposition to fewer than three goals but seven times.
Lehtonen has faced an average of 36.25 shots in his 12 starts…however, the two times he faced fewer than 30 shots, he allowed Min-EE-soh-tah to score 4 in a 4-2 loss and then lost 2-1 to Boston last Sunday. In the five games he has face 33 or less, he’s but 1-4 allowing 18 goals. In the one win, a 3-2 shootout win against Buffalo, he saw 30 shots in 65 minutes and allowed the Sabres to tie the score with 3:08 left in the third after bobbling the puck in his glove which led to Jason Pominville’s rebound goal.
Ondrej Pavelec can continue for now to use the excuse that he’s still not “ready” to handle the starting job just yet…as the seven losses in his last eight starts will attest. But even so, in his last two losses before being thrown back to the Wolves, he allowed 8 goals on but 18 shots. In the start against Boston back on the 12th, he allowed three on the first four he faced in the opening 8:41…Moose then allowed the first one he saw slip by as well that game. Boston scored 7 on only 25 shots.
Uber-un-good!
In Opie’s last start, Pittsburgh scored five times on thirteen shots before Hedberg again came in to relieve him. The Pens scored twice in the opening 9:40 of the game and only took 6 shots in the first period.
As for Moose, well…he’s the back up. And as such, he has not performed “overly” un-good. But when your “back up” leads in win %… and is the only keeper that can win consistently when the D allows less than 30 SOG, (3-1-1)…there’s a problem.
Oh, and going back to the nasty penalty kill stat…what’s that only saying about who the best penalty killer on the ice should be? Well, recently the Falconer posted this interesting piece asking just who is to blame for the poor PK of the Thrashers…the D or the goalies? I’m tending to lean toward the net minders here.
Anyway…going into the season I felt that one of the strongest assets the Thrashers had going for them was in goal. At the same time, like so many others, I thought the O-fense was going to struggle. We looked at the forward lines and worried about where the goals were going to come from.
Turns out…quite the opposite has been true so far.
Yet Another Painful One-Goal Loss
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Thrashers out-shot the Boston Bruins 33-28. They held Boston to but four shots on goal in the third period while at the same time launching twelve against Manny Fernandez. Atlanta won the battle in the face off circle to the tune of 39-17. Kari Lehtonen was sharp in the goal…stopping 26 of the 28 shots he faced.
Fernandez, however, was sharper and the Big, Bad Boston Bruins slipped out of town with a 2-1 win over the Thrashers.
Atlanta dropped a pair of 1-goal games over the weekend and is now 5-12 in such games this season. Friday night’s was a high-scoring 5-4 affair in which the Thrashers blew 3 one-goal leads.
Boston swept the season series with Atlanta, taking all four games played by scores of 5-4, 7-3, 4-2 and 2-1. It’s the first time the Thrashers have gone an entire season without as much as a point versus Boston.
The Bruins are now an amazing 27-5-4 and their 58 points are tied with San Jose for tops in the NHL…although the Sharks have one game in hand on the Bruins.
Other Bruins Stats That’ll Make You Green With Envy
Boston has scored now an amazing 132 goals for the season and have allowed but 80, a +52 difference.
The Beantown Bears have won eight straight for the first time since the end of the 1992-’93 season.
Boston is 14-0-2 in back-to-back sets this year, 7-0-1 on the front end, 7-0-1 on the back end. Consistency, you know.
Fernandez is now 12-2-1 with a 2.02 GAA and .930 SV%, while Tim Thomas is 15-3-3 with a 2.04 GAA and .935 SV%.
Marc Savard… remember him? … has 11 goals, 32 assist and is an NHL leading +23 on the season.
Meanwhile, Back At The Blueland Ranch
Despite playing the best team in the conference, possibly the league, very well overall and watching Kari make a quality start in his third game back after missing 21 games…the results were still all-too familiar for the Thrashers. The loss now drops the team to 12-20-4 and leaves them on a pace to finish with 64 points.
In contrast to Boston’s 132 goals…Atlanta has surrendered 132.
Since the “five game winning streak that means we are a ‘good’ team” of a month and a half ago…Atlanta is 5-14-2. Also since that time, the Thrashers have accrued a grand total of one victory on home ice in the past 11 games played in Philips Arena.
In holding Boston to only 28 shots, Atlanta has held their opponents to fewer than 30 SOG twelve times in the 36 games played so far. That’s a pretty good stat for this team. Unfortunately, they are only 6-5-1 in those games for 13 points.
After scoring 3 goals on 3 power play chnaces Friday night, the Thrashers went OH-fer five on the man advantage Sunday. To their credit, Atlanta’s penalty kill held Boston to the same OH-fer five stat.
If the New York Islanders win against the Rangers Monday night, the Thrashers would be tied with them for last place in the NHL. Considering that the Thrashers are 3-0-0 against the their fellow cellar-dwellers this year…that means the Thrashers have netted but 22 points versus the rest of the league and the Islanders have earned 26.
Bryan Little did score yet another goal for Atlanta. Going back to last week’s 4-2 win on Lonnnn-Gisland, Little has netted 6 of the last 8 Thrashers goals and his 18 goals lead the team.
And Finally…
Since the trade deadline deal last February 26 that sent Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis away in return for Erik Christensen, Colby Armstrong and other futures, the Thrashers are 17-30-8 in 55 games. That’s a points winning percentage of .382.
To give you a clear understanding of just how many years Don Waddell has set this team back over the last two season’s worth of dead-line deals…in the 2001-02 season, Atlanta’s third year in the NHL, they had a .329 Points%. In the 2002-03 season, the Thrashers 4th year, they had had a .451 Points %. So right now we’re somewhere between the two.
March 4, 2009…mark your calendars.
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!
Gifts, Returns And Re-Gifting
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ah yes, ’tis the season to…return gifts!
Didn’t get the new NHL ’09 you were hoping for…but instead got that lovely Chia Pet?
No prob…return it.
Got another sweater that looks more like a wooly mammoth than wool? It’s so hideous that you don’t even want to take it back to the store?
No prob…re-gift it next year!
Uh-huh…the Christmas season isn’t quite over until the mass rush to the mall and/or Walmart is made on order to exchange the gift… that someone else lovingly picked out… for something that we really wanted in the first place.
Ah…the true spirit of Christmas!
Anyway…after 34 games played by the Thrashers, let’s do some swapping, returning and re-gifting of our own, shall we?
First off, of the gifts the Thrashers have received from Chicago over the season…Joey Crabb, Nathan Oystrick and Ondrej Pavelec… the only returnee to the Wolves that I see is already back there…Opie. Like last fall, Pavs once again was called upon to fill in for an injured Kari Lehtonen and performed well overall. He showed us again the promise of what he can be in another year or two. But the last two starts also showed just why he isn’t quite ready for the big show on a full time basis…not yet, at least. Next season?…eh, quite possible.
Crabb and Oystrick on the other had have shown no reason why they need to go back down. In thirteen games, Crabb has a pair of goals to go along with a pair of helpers and is a +4, showing a lot of hustle and energy doing it. Oystrick, in 26 games, has played very solid defense and has chipped in with three goals and six assists.
OK…exchange time. Right now, I’d like to exchange Erik Christensen and Jason Williams with Colin Stuart and Brett Sterling. In the 21 games played by EC, he has seven helpers to go with his one whole goal and is a -8. Remember, this was to be Ilya’s top-line center and he’s filling the roster spot once held by this cat named Marian Hossa.
Williams, well he hasn’t performed as poorly as Crusher…7 goals, 10 assists and a -4…but at times he has looked as invisible as Santa is to the kiddies on Christmas Eve. Besides, when you’re 12-18-4 and you own the third worst points total in the league…again…it’s time to see if Stuart and Sterling are ready to fulfill their promise of a bright future.
Thinking of re-gifting? Well, once Zach Bogosian is 100%…no, make that 110%…ready to hit the ice again in games, I think the odd man out should be Garnet Exelby. Oystrick was called up to fill his spot last October and, as stated prior, I don’t think he needs to go back down on the farm. Boris Valabik is needed for his size, but needs to still cut down on the PIMs. He is second on the team with 51 behind Boulton’s 69…but he’s played in 15 fewer games. Still, I’d keep Boris as the #7 D-man.
That would mean my six blueliners are Hainsey, the Swedes, Schneider, Zach and Oystrick.
In my opinion, XLB, owner of 0 goals, 4 assists -6 and 49 PIM in 30 games needs to be packaged up and delivered to one of our 29 friends in the league.
And with that…let’s get ready to enjoy the rest of the season, starting with the Canes at home tonight. A win would mean the Thrashers leapfrog over the Ottawa Senators for 12th place in the East…even though the Sens will have played three fewer games than we have.
Then the Big-Bad-Beastly Bruins come a-callin’ on Sunday.
Don-Speak
During an interview in between periods of last Tuesday’s game on Long Island, Thrashers general manager Don Waddell indicated again that he thought the team he has put on the ice this season should be in the thick of the playoff race…and once again citing his belief that you don’t win five games in a row without being a “good” team.
Huh…whaaaaaaaa…?
Well, OK Don…I can dig that whole “5-game win streak equals good team” jive. But then, isn’t the opposite true as well? A team doesn’t LOSE SIX games in a row without being an UN-GOOD team, right?
This was the case with the Waddell-constructed Thrashers between Oct. 21 and Nov. 1 earlier this season when they lost to Tampa Bay, Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia, the Rangers and New Jersey by a cumulative score of 29-12.
Sure…they followed that up with five consecutive victories against teams that failed to qualify for the playoffs last spring. However, since that time Atlanta has stumbled at the pace of just five wins over the last eighteen games.
Do good teams do that?
In this recent Q&A session with our own Mike Knobler, Waddell was asked about his assessment of the season so far. His response, “The frustration part is, we have eight games where we were tied in the third period with less than seven minutes and we have found ways not to win any of those games. … You take even half of those games and split it, it makes the whole season look much different. … Most games we’ve given ourselves a chance to win and we haven’t found a way to do it. That’s the frustration part, because I think we’re a much better team than our record. I think we’re a better skilled team than we had last year. I think we got deeper at every position”.
I tell ya…he did everything but take Russ’ suggestion of saying, “Ya know…in games that we have won, we’re undefeated”.
Look, I guess we shouldn’t expect anything else from the GM of a 12-18-4 team that is following up a 34-40-8 season. I mean, it isn’t like he’s gonna say, “Whew…we stink on ice! God-almighty…it sure looks like I screwed the team with those trade-deadline deals over the last couple of seasons”!
Oh, And Speaking Of Sunday
The Thrashers play Boston at 5:00…the same afternoon the Falcons will host the St. Louis Rams. Kick-off is scheduled for 1:00. So, traffic around Philips and the Dome should just be dandy and parking will be at a higher premium than most Thrashers games. Plan accordingly.
Oh, And Speaking Of The Falcons
Make that…the playoff-bound Falcons. If things go right Sunday, we might even have the ability to call them the Division Champion Atlanta Falcons.
WOW! What a turn around for the Dome Birds and congratulations to them indeed!
When you think about where they came from just last season…what with the turmoil they faced…the whole Vick saga…having a coach grab his skirt and catch the first hay-wagon out of town to Pigville after just 13 games…going 4-12…well, nobody…nobody gave this team a chance.
They have overcome far more adversities than …ahem…their neighbors have and have soared to heights unimaginable. Amazing, isn’t it?
They…like the Thrashers…finished low enough to pick third in the entry draft last year.
They…like the Thrashers…brought in a new coach that is going through his first season as such in the big leagues.
They…like the Thrashers…brought in many new faces to upgrade from last years disappointing campaign.
They…like the Thrashers…were given ZERO chance to finish the season with their heads above water.
They…like the Thrashers…changed the entire tone and direction of the team by bringing in a new general manager that has…
Oh, wait…
Anyway…congratulations Falcons and good luck in the post-season!
Island Invasion Successful
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Our Thrashers provided us with a little early Christmas present to enjoy Tuesday night…4-2 dumping of the New York Islanders. The victory was the Thrashers’ second successful invasion of The Island this season. Back on the 6th of the moth they really piled it on ‘em 5-1.
And, if you subscribe to the NHL Center Ice package, you actually got to enjoy it with your own eyes! Seriously…if our AHL affiliate in Chicago can get all 80 of their regular season games televised then how come this organ-I-zation cannot at least get all road games aired…hmmmmmmmm?
With the win, Atlanta will enter into the Christmas break with a record of 12-18-4…winners of two of their last three and three of their previous five games.
Johan Hedberg had a very solid game ‘tween the pipes stopping 23 of the 25 shots he faced.
HOLD IT…25 shots on goal for the whole game? Last Saturday Kari Lehtonen was peppered with a massive total of 24 in the third period alone. Monday against Toronto, the Leafs let go 30 shots on Kari in just the first two periods.
Bryan Little netted a pair for Atlanta, including the game winner while Atlanta was on the…POWER PLAY! His goal coming after the IZ-lan-DUHs had wipe away a 2-0 Thrashers lead to tie the score in the third. They were goals numbers 13 and 14 on the season for Little.
Ilya Superchuk earned his 500th and 501st points of his career…first he assisted Little’s game-deciding goal and the second set up Colby Armstrong’s empty netter to finally drop the lid on the Islanders in the last minute of the game. Kovy reached the 500-point milestone in career game number 500 for him.
Nice win for Atlanta…but these are the Islanders. A loss to them woulda really stunk!
Shots Down
So, what do you make of the fact that the Thrashers have held their opponents to under 30 shots on goal in five of the last seven games? Of course, the other two games saw Tampa Bay crack off 39 and Toronto drop 38 on us…and those were the two that Kari started.
Even though this is an encouraging sign in a stat that the Thrashers have struggled with over the years…still, they are just 2-3-0 in those five games in which the defense played solidly.
Happy Holidays Blueland
Atlanta will be idle until Friday night…and so will I. I wish you all a very peaceful and wonderful holiday season. I hope you enjoy the time off, the time with family friends and loved ones.
Merry Christmas…I wish you all the blessings of this season.
Happy Hanukkah…may love and light fill your homes.
And a Wondrous Festivus for the Rest of Us…May you find satisfaction in the Airing of Grievances and may your Festivus Pole have a great strength-to-weight ratio.
See you all Friday on the other side of Christmas!
Stop! Don’t Shoot!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After missing 21 games to a back injury, Lehtonen has been welcomed back to the Thrashers lineup having to face 76 shots in two games. In total, the Bolts and Leafs took 77, the empty netter at the end of the 6-2 loss to Toronto making up the difference.
In three consecutive periods…the third last Saturday in which 24 shots were taken by the Lightning and the first two periods Monday night…Kari faced 54 shots on goal. My friends…fifty-four shots taken on your goalie in 60 minutes of play is exceptionally un-good.
To his credit, Kari turned away fifty of those fifty-four… which is a .926 SV%. However, in his two games back, Lehtonen has an overall .895 SV%.
Slow Starting Kari
Much like in Saturday’s 4-3 win against the Bolt’s, Kari Lehtonen allowed a couple of quick goals to start things off against Toronto on Monday night. Last time, Kari was able to stop 36 of the rest of the 37 shots he faced and his teammates were able to take advantage of it to work out a 4-3 win.
This time, however, the Maple Leafs held Atlanta’s O-fence to a pair of goals and finished off the Thrashers.
Thrashers Get SPA Treatment
The Stajan, Ponikarovsky, Antropov line had things going last night as the trio combined for three goals. Stajan accounted for a pair of goals and an assist, Ponikarovsky with a goal and pair of helpers and Antropov assisted on all three of the line’s goals. All three finish a +2 for the night.
How You Gonna Keep Em Down On The Farm?
Also worth noting are a couple of young-uns for the Leafs. Justin Pogge made his first career start in the NHL and earned his first win. The 21-year old Pogge stopped 19 of the 21 shots faced. Then there is Jeremy Williams, who will be 25 next month. He finished Monday’s game with a goal, an assist and a +1 rating and now has five goals and seven points in the six games he’s played since being called up from the Marlies earlier this month and is a +6.
Pogge has only one start under his belt, albeit a pretty good one. So I’m sure further evaluation is in order…but Williams is playing like someone who just doesn’t wanna go back down to the farm.
Skating In Circles
The Thrashers spent much of this game chasing Leafs around the rink…getting beat to pucks…being out-skated and simply looking lost. To point out but a pair of instances, on Toronto’s third goal, a 3 on 2 break in which Ilya Kovalchuk was the third skater back…Kovy pulled up at the blueline and coasted into the defensive zone. Then, in the third, Mathieu Schneider made a very nifty no-look pass out of the defensive zone…straight to a Toronto player who then took the gift pass back across the blueline and set up a Maple Leaf goal.
Win Streak Ends At One…Again
Since the five-game win streak that ended in mid-November…Atlanta has yet to put back-to-back wins together. Since that time they are 4-11-2.
Atlanta will get another chance to get another “streak” started as they wing there way to Lon-Gisland for a game tonight.
Feeling The Heat
Since Monday’s game was not aired locally on TV, I watched the Toronto feed via Center Ice. During the broadcast, a graphic was displayed showing the record of Don Waddell’s 8-plus seasons as general manager of the Thrashers. The header of the graphic read something like “Feeling The Heat”.
The Thrashers have played 689 total games since their inception…winning but 249. They do however have four whole playoff games under their belt, which came after their seventh season. No playoff wins…just games.
So, given Waddell’s track record…Atlanta should ice a playoff team again in the 2013-14 season.
If by “feeling the heat” they meant Thrashers fans feeling the heat stemming from their anger and frustration that Waddell is still the person in charge of this team’s make up…then I agree.
The Reason For The Season
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mike Knobler recently asked the question… how many of the games that will be played over the holidays will the Thrashers need to win in order to work their way back into playoff contention?
Well Mike, since ya asked….
First off…let me state for the record that I do not expect this Thrashers team to make the playoff. However, before you call me Scrooge…remember, before the season began I predicted Atlanta would net 86 points, finish third in the Southeast Division and eleventh in the East. I’ve never expected this team would compete for post-season play and to date they haven’t come close to proving me…and many other fans…wrong.
However, seeing that it is the Christmas season…and that the whole reason for the hockey season is to make the playoffs… I’m willing to put aside my worldly doubts and “Bah-humbug” demeanor on this issue and consider the possibility of “A Miracle on Centennial Olympic Park Drive” as well as what it’ll take to make it happen…at least in a mathematical and statistical manner.
For the Thrashers, their “star in the east” to look toward as their guide is 94 points. I’ve prophesized my belief in the past that it’ll take a minimum of that to get in as an 8 seed. If one can get in with less, great…but 94 is my number. Atlanta has 26 after 32 games. That means they need 68 points over the remaining 50 games. That would require that Atlanta go something like 32-14-4, a points winning percentage of .680…which is playing at just about the same level that the Chicago Blackhawks have played so far this season…18-6-7 after 31 games.
That’s quite a long distance between the way they have played so far and where they need to be, I’ll admit. But, as with all such journeys, to make such a trek begins with the first initial steps. And those steps would have to begin now.
If you take a look at the schedule… including last Saturday’s opponent, Tampa Bay…the Thrashers will play eight of nine games over the holidays against teams that did not qualify for the playoffs last season. This is significant because their record against such opponents so far this year is 9-2-2. In fact, five of Atlanta’s overall eleven wins this year have come against the three teams they will play this week…Toronto, the Islanders and Carolina. And they have outscored those teams 23-11 in those five games.
So, if there is a move that is going to be made…now is the time.
If…IF…the Thrashers are going to make a move to compete for the playoffs, in my opinion they have to go at least 7-2 over these nine games to put themselves at 17-19-4 for 38 points after 40 games played. Of course, they helped get such a crusade off to a good start with the 4-3 win over the Bolts this past weekend…so they need to take 6 of the next 8 to climb back into it.
Now, lets us not forget that inside this window of games are dates with the Beasts of the East, Boston… as well as the18-12-3 Vancouver Canucks. Also, even though Atlanta is 2-0-0 against them, Carolina is 15-13-5 overall. So it isn’t as though we’ve got a bunch of creampuffs on the agenda.
But, let’s just say…for grins and giggles…that the Thrashers do indeed accomplish this mission. 38 points after 40 games is exactly one point off last season’s pace of 39 after 40 played. And, as you’ll recall, they were still in the race at that point and even worked their way to a record of 29-27-4 for 62 points after 60 games, which placed them atop the division lead…even if just for a day.
However, going back to the “star in the east” guide of 94 points needed for a playoff birth, having 38 points after 40 games means that the Thrashers would still need 56 points over the remaining 42 games to get to their destination. That would mean Atlanta would need to play to a record of something like 26-12-4 down the stretch.
I know…still a pretty long camel ride. But again…to even set themselves up for the possibility of such a scenario is to get at least 12 points out of the next 8 games before going into the January 6 game in Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins and Cindy “The Crotch” Crosby.
So, if you are among those of us who believe that nothing short of divine intervention is needed in order to see this year’s version of the Thrashers compete in The Great Stanley Cup Tournament…I’d say you’re not being as much a “Scrooge” as you are simply a “realist”.
But I’m sure that there are still some in our number that believe such a miraculous run is possible from our Thrashers over the next few months … of course, I think our community Sage would refer to those group of believers as “the Blueland sheep abiding in the field”. However if such a miracle is to occur in our… Little Town of At-lan-ta…the time to see it begin is now, during the Christmas season.
But then…aren’t “miracles” the reason for this season in the first place?
Lehtonen Shows Moxy. Cindy…Not So Much
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The last time we saw Kari Lehtonen on the ice for the Thrashers was the night before we sent the kids out into the streets to extort candy and treats from the neighbors. The Thrashers lost 3-2 to the Ranger that night…two nights prior Philadelphia dropped seven on the Finnish keeper. Since that time he has missed 21 games due primarily to a back injury.
Saturday night Kari returned between the pipes and delivered the kind of effort that his team desperately need, helping his team to a 4-3 win over Tampa Bay.
The evening didn’t exactly start of well for Lehtonen, however. After being staked to an early lead thanks to Slava Kozlov’s 15th goal of the season…Kari then allowed the first two Lightning shots to get past him. After Ondrej Pavelec’s last two start, I though that maybe Opie had kidnapped Kari and stuffed him into the equipment closet…then put on the #32 jersey and played in his place.
But from that point on, we saw what Kari Lehtonen can be when on top of his game. After Martin St. Louis’ power play goal at 3:54 into the game made the score 2-1 Bolts, Lehtonen turned away the next 31 Tampa Bay shots over the next 53 minutes and 34 seconds of play. During that time, his teammates in front of him took the opportunity Kari afforded them and scored three consecutive goals.
Eric Perrin and Todd White made the score 3-2 by the time the first intermission rolled around and Joey Crabb notched his second of his career 4:06 into the third period.
And then that’s when all Hell broke loose in front of Kari!
After being limited to but 15 shots on goal in the first 40 minutes, Tampa Bay assaulted the Atlanta goal with 24 shots in the final period alone. The Bolts were on the man-advantage three times as Atlanta took penalties at the 11:40 mark, (Perrin-hooking)…14:20, (Schneider-interference)…and 16:59, (Valabik-holding).
For the game, Valabik took three penalties but did manage to finish the game a +2.
Kari stopped the first 18 shots…including a 4-shots in 12-seconds flurry between 8:10 and 8:22 of the third… before St. Louis was again able to convert on the power play at 17:28.
He then turned away another five Lightning shots to help preserve the win.
Hopefully this type of outing will be on display more often as the remaining games unfold. Well…minus the two-goals-on-two-shots way the game began for him, that is.
That we can do without for a while.
Speaking Of Big Saves
Kari Lehtonen will get credit for stopping 36 of 39 shots on goal on Saturday night. But one of the biggest stops of the game came during the first period when Marty Reasoner slid through the goal-mouth and denied a Tampa Bay shot on goal as the puck deflected off the Thrashers center. The “save” kept the score 2-1 Tampa Bay at the time and Atlanta followed up the play with a pair of goals before the end of the period.
However, later in the game Marty took a slap shot to the hand and had to leave early. Coach Anderson indicated afterwards that X-rays came back negative, so let’s hope it’s nothing too serious.
Also Returning To The Ice
Mathieu Schneider also made his return to the lineup Saturday night after playing last on Nov. 30 against the St. Louis Blues. The 39-year old defender had been down with a shoulder injury and he finished the night having played 19:23 with an even +/- rating.
Biggest Point Of The Night
The biggest point of last night’s action in Blueland goes to Tom’s little tax exemption earning an assist during the intermission exhibition match. Congrats on your first point on NHL ice!!!
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
The next two Thrashers games…Monday against Toronto and Tuesday on Lon-Gisland…will not be on local television. However, the good news here is that the Thrashers are 6-4-1 in such games so far this season.
But… for those who are Center Ice-less… as you are adjusting that AM dial looking for The Grand Kamalian’s call on 680 The Fan, keep in mind this interesting little ditty. The Thrasher’s AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves have a deal with Comcast Cable in which all 80 games and playoff games are televised in Chi-town.
Just sayin’…
Now, About Cindy
In case you missed Sidney “Cheap-Shot” Crosby’s “unwanted touching” incident Thursday night during Pittsburgh’s 6-3 win in Atlanta, here’s a little clip for ya…thanks to Sam. You can also review Valabik and Anderson’s comments about the incident here.
Ya know, for as great a player that Crosby is…anyone who takes multiple swings and a player’s “boyz”…while he is bent over tangled in a scrum with someone else and not in a position to defend himself …defines “classless” and “punk”. It also shows a severe lack of “boyz” on his part as well.
And… as per-usual for Cindy… he whined and cried all the way to the box before finally grabbing the hem of his skirt as he stepped in.
“How dare the mean ‘ol official man call me for a penalty. Doesn’t he know I’m the ‘chosen one’”?
Anderson, in my opinion, has an argument regarding Cindy being “third man in” in this case as well. As the clip clearly displays, Cindy came in late and then commenced to wailing away at the back of Valabik’s head while he was being held.
But let’s be honest here… Anderson shouldn’t hold his breath waiting for the league to dish out any punishment upon their golden-boy…their poster-child for the NHL’s post-lockout market recovery. In their eyes, he’s untouchable in that regards.
But I’ll tell ya something, Cindy…better keep your head up. ‘Cuz karma has this nasty little way of coming back around and biting ya square on the butt.
Or possibly…somewhere else.
Breakfast In Bed Blogging
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Oh yeah! Once again the Saturday prior to Christmas is upon us. I love this morning…the first day of my winter break away from the office and I get to snooze-in late. Then, once I do decide to rejoin the realm of the living, I sip the morning brew and I peruse the cyber-paper…all from the comfy confines of the flannel sheets. Of course you and the rest of the blogosphere are welcome to join me…just be careful not to spill any coffee, tea or breakfast cereal on the comforter. The Divine Mrs. R still is a bit upset over last years “Breakfast In Bed Blogging” food-fight incident.
This is why Brendan and RStroz are over there on the sofa in the sitting area with their morning elixir and Coco Puffs on a TV try… watching cartoons.
Anyway…one little ditty I’d like to share you before I pass the cyber-paper around. Do you realize that the Atlanta Thrashers defense has gone four consecutive games in which they allowed the opposition fewer than 30 shots on goal? Uh-huh…hard to believe but true. Two Fridays ago Boston took 25 total shots then followed up the next night with 29. Ottawa was allowed only 29 as well then Pittsburgh was held to 27.
Over the course of the last couple of seasons this type of blueline Scroogery has been far and few between. Unfortunately, Atlanta was 1-3-0 in those games.
Anyway…
First Off, The Front Page Of The Cyber-Paper
OK… I found this interesting article in the Chicago Daily Herald on Kevin Cheveldayoff, the general manager of the Thrashers’ AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves for 11-plus years. He has grown as a GM during that time and the Wolves have grown as a team with him in that capacity.
The hardware case has grown in trophies as well.
This season, Cheveldayoff once again has iced a squad that is atop the ALH’s West Division. This is even after losing long-time head coach John Anderson to the Thrashers last summer.
Players have come and gone and, as stated, Anderson departed after last season’s championship…yet the Wolves consistently compete at the highest level of their league. This speaks volumes to the capabilities of the man whose job it is to run the team, evaluate in-ice talent and produce results. And for over a decade, Cheveldayoff has succeeded in doing all of that.
Last spring and summer, when those in the Thrashers organ-I-zation were still trying to determine just how to fill the coaching vacancy after Don Waddell pushed the panic button the previous October…the one phrases that constantly came up when discussing Anderson was, “Well, he has had that much success in the AHL…surely he deserves a chance to prove whether or not he can do the same here and with many of the players he already knows so well”.
Indeed! And that was a sentiment that I agreed 100% with. I also believe that the exact same argument can be made for Kevin Cheveldayoff. He’s going to eventually get that chance. IMHO, it’s not a question of “if” as much as “when”.
Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing him reunited with his good friend John Anderson here in Atlanta before some other franchise gets smart and gives him his big chance elsewhere.
Here, someone find Bruce Levenson and have him read this.
And In The Financial Section Of The Paper
The Falconer took up the subject of “How to price tickets when times are tough”. In it he refers to a series of articles by David Shoalts regarding the financial situation our nation is facing and how it is affecting the NHL.
The piece referenced indicates that discount tickets are not the best way to handle things in a recession and suggest that teams should offer more “service” or “add value” to their customers by way of free parking and other types of perks.
Now, I’m not an Econ major…but I’m gonna wager that anytime you put forth an inferior product, continue to retain the same management that put forth that inferior product and increase the fee to your customer base to access that product, well…even Billy Mays wouldn’t peddle that product.
The Crossword Puzzle
So…what’s a six-letter word that means “high-priced rental player”?
Well, according to Allan Muir of SI.com…S-U-N-D-I-N.
However, as Muir notes, he may not be a savoir…but he will make Vancouver more dangerous.
Mats will work roughly half a season…three months and then possibly as much as just over two additional months depending on how deep the Canucks go in the post-season…for about $6 million.
Eh…it’s a living.
Stock Up Or Stock Down
According to ESPN’s power rankings from last Monday the Thrashers are holding steady…at number 28.
The two below us…The Lightning and Islanders…will provide the opposition for the Thrashers in two of the next three games.
Arts And Leisure Section
Puck Daddy reviews some of the more un-good bobblehead statues from the hockey world. Hey…look at the Bobby Holik one. It almost looks real! Oh wait…that IS Bobby Holik.
So…when is there going to be a Rawhide bobblehead night at Philips? Hmmmm…???
And Finally, The Back Page Op-Ed Bird Cage Liner
Adam Proteau of The Hockey News wonders if the Tampa Bay Lightning made a mistake by choosing Steven Stamkos with their number-one overall draft pick last summer.
Uh-huh…and I will remind you that this is the same person that was sure Ron Hainsey was going to prove to be the “worst signing of 2008”.
From Un-Good To Good…Back To Un-Good
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For the second consecutive home game, Atlanta outshot their opposition while losing big. Last Friday the total was 33-25 against the Boston Bruins…Thursday the gap was eleven as the Thrashers won the shot total 31-20.
So, in two home games they took 19 more SOG than their opponents but were outscored 13-6. How does a team do that? Look no further than between the pipes.
As un-good as Ondrej Pavelec look on Friday against Boston, he looked equally as good on Tuesday in Ottawa. As good as Pavelec looked Tuesday night in Ottawa…he looked equally un-good Thursday night against the Penguins. Opie went from stopping 28 of 29 and coming within a buck-nineteen of a shutout…to letting in five on just thirteen Pittsburgh shots.
But he did come within 54 minutes and 28 seconds of a shutout.
Pavelec allowed two of the first four shots to get by him. But what was even more frustrating to me came in the second… just after Bryan Little took a Todd White pass and beat Marc-Andre Fleury, making the score 4-2 and pseudo-bringing Atlanta back into contention.
How-EV-errrrr…the goal announcement wasn’t even half completed when it was rudely interrupted by Philippe Boucher’s shot from a-far slipping through Opie’s pads. His view was not obstructed and that shot has…HAS…to be stopped in order to allow the team to build on any momentum that could have been gained after Little’s goal.
After that, Johan Hedberg then turned away the remaining six Penguins shots. Unfortunately…he was called upon about two goals too late.
Evgeni Malkin’s empty-netter at the end made the score 6-3 and sent about half of the… wink-wink-nod-nod…15,124 in attendance home happy campers.
But…A Good Time Was Had In 119
Regardless of the outcome, the evening was not a total disappointment for your blog host. I did have the pleasure of sitting with the Professor of Hockyology…the author of many novelesque pieces on this forum…Brendan! Yup…and the two of us were also joined in section 119 by the bull-horned one…RStroz.
And to the three 14-ish year old young ladies who sat just in front of us…and to their parents…I humbly apologize. We do hope that the ice cream that we bought for them in some way, shape, matter or form makes up for the damage to their eardrums.
Weekend Reading Assignments
The Vancouver Canucks raised the No.16 jersey to the rafters Wednesday night in honor of Trevor Linden. Linden played in 1,382 NHL games for Vancouver, Montreal, the Islanders and Washington amassing 375 goals and 492 assists.
George Johnson writes that…even though it’s normally players auditioning for teams…right now it’s the Florida Panthers that are auditioning to keep their defenseman Jay Bouwmeester past this season.
Dreamy optimism gets hit head-on with harsh reality in Ottawa, writes Puck Daddy. My, my…I guess it takes getting pounded 4-1 by the Thrashers to bring a team and it’s fan base to the river of cold-hard reality and forces it to drink.
Ryan Dixon of The Hockey News has a gift for every NHL team this holiday season. For Atlanta…”A reality check, so they can finally embrace the fact Ilya Kovalchuk won’t be a Thrasher beyond next season and act accordingly”.
Talk about your virtual “lump-o-coal”.
Nice Recovery, Opie!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last Friday night when the Bruins invaded Philips Arena, Ondrej Pavelec let in 3 of the first 4 shots taken against him. In his previous start prior to that nightmare, he allowed 5 against the Ottawa Senators on 34 shots. So obviously, seeing that the Thrashers were heading back to Ottawa, it was time to see Johan Hedberg ‘tween the pipes…right?
Nope.
John Anderson decided that Opie was the man to put out there and the young Czech rewarded his coach’s trust with the finest performance from a Thrasher goalie so far this season. He stopped the first 28 shots he faced, allowing only the 29th and final shot to zip by. However, by that time the game was in hand and the only disappointment was that Chris Kelly’s goal denied him, and his team, the first shutout so far this season.
Ondrej’s shutout bid fell 1:19 short, but his team won 4-1 thanks in great part to his performance.
Coming into the game, the Thrashers had gone for 180 minutes and 18 seconds without holding a lead. But at the 10:50 mark of the first period in Ottawa, Slava Kozlov’s tip-in goal from Ron Hainsey’s shot put an end to that nonsense.
Going into the second intermission, Kozzy’s goal was holding up as Opie had turned away all 21 shots the Sens had taken against him to that point. It was a much-needed display of the kind of net minding that teams have to have every once in a while. The kind that buys the skaters time to get things going without having to worry about having to recover from a two or three goal deficit.
It sure didn’t take long for Pavelec’s mates to provide some cushion once the puck dropped to start the third. Colby Armstrong notched his fifth goal of the year…a power play tally at the 2:10 mark. It was the Thrashers second goal of the game while on the man advantage.
31 seconds later…Army scored again.
For Pavelec, this was a great recovery from those previous two starts. In fact, it was his first win since beating the Islanders 4-3 back on November 6 and his first road victory of the year.
So…do we see him again Thursday night when Pittsburgh comes a-callin’ at Blueland or does Anderson return to the Moose?
Power Outage In The Northeast
No…I’m not talking about the hundreds of thousands who have been left powerless from the winter weather up north. I’m talking about the Ottawa Senators offense. After the 4-1 loss to our Thrashers, the Sens have accounted for but 67 goals in 29 games. That puts them on a pace to net about 189 goals for the season.
Last season, Ottawa’s 261 goals were second only to Montreal’s 262. The season prior, their 288 was bested only by Buffalo’s 308. In the 2005-06 campaign Ottawa’s 314 lead the NHL as did two years prior…the season before the lockout…their 262. Also, in 2002-03 their 263 was second behind Detroit’s 269.
The folks up in Canada’s capital are not used to this type of power outage.
Healthy Serving Of Oysters
Nathan Oystrick’s assist on Todd White’s empty netter Tuesday night gives him five points in the last five games. He’s a +3 over those same five games and is playing very solid defense.
The Regina, Saskatchewan native who will turn 26 on the 17th of this month is playing like he does not want to be the odd man out once Mathieu Schneider is healthy again.
Did Ya Get The License Number Of That Truck?
In the second period of Tuesday night’s game, Bryan Little took a wicked hit from the 6-1, 214 pound Chris Neil. Neil politely declined Eric Boulton’s invitation to dance after the hit and ultimately it was Jimmy Slater that defended his teammate’s honor when he went up against Jarkko Ruutu. But Boris Valabik sure seemed as though he wanted to have a word or two with the Senators winger. As Little was helped off the ice, Valabik leaned over the wall and had a few choice words for Mr. Neil.
For those of us who were viewing the game via Center Ice and able to read Valabik’s lips…I’m quite certain that Boris’s very vocal desire of just what it was he wanted to do to Neil was strictly platonic.
Um, Don… How “Close” Are We Again?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Thrashers and their fans saw first-hand over the weekend just why the Boston Bruins are the best team in the NHL’s Eastern Conference. That team is fast, plays solid defense, has superior goaltending and takes advantage of everything a team gives them and every opportunity afforded them.
They are good. In fact, there’s just not enough “O”s in “good” to describe them.
And they didn’t get to 21-5-4 by playing games against teams like…well…Atlanta every night. They are where they are today based on decisions made by the owner and in the front office. Good decisions.
After Mike O’Connell was fired in March of 2006, Peter Chiarelli was hired as GM of the Bruins the following April. Apparently team owner Jeremy Jacobs didn’t feel that missing the playoffs for the first time in five years was…ahem…”moving in the right direction”.
Now, the Boston Bruins today are a far cry from the Bruins team that finished the 2005-06 season with 74 points and the 2006-07 season with 76 points. They are even light-years better than the playoff team that finished last year’s regular season campaign with 94 points seeing that they are currently on a pace to net 126 points.
Playing the way they are…they are “close” to putting away the Northeast Division and “close” to do the same with the conference’s top seed.
Conversely, over the same period, the Thrashers have gone from 90 points, to a playoff-qualifying 97 points, to 76 points last year…and now are on pace to get something like 62 points.
That’s sixty-frickin’-two points.
To say these two organ-I-zations have been heading in opposite directions would be much like saying the same about George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
And…like the Bruins…the Thrashers are where they are today based on decisions made by ownership and in the front office. Un-good decisions.
So… I’d like Don Waddell to tell us again just how “close” it is that we are…and just what it is that this disorgan-I-zation is “close” to.
“Close” to the bottom of the standings…again? Yup. Thanks a pant-load, Don…again.
“Close” to watching as Ilya Kovalchuk “Hossas” us next winter? Yup… Of course, Waddell has another trade deadline and off-season to bring in another Erik Christensen or Jason Williams to try and convince him that the team is “moving in the right direction”…doesn’t he?
“Close” to tying the franchise record of ZERO playoff victories at the end of the year…again? Oh, I’d say we’re well on our way to that.
“Close” to looking like a first-year expansion team? Well, the current 62-point pace is closer to the 39 points earned by the Thrashers in their initial season than the 97 points of two seasons ago, so… Don may not have us quite there yet. But we are “moving I the right direction” in that regards.
Just give him another trade-deadline deal or so, and we might just be “close”.
“Close” to seeing the fan base in Blueland dwindle to the point where they…ahem…”become one”? Well, unless about 9,000 fans are regularly showing up disguised as empty seats… I’d say “Yup” to that as well.
Folks, the word that needs to be used here is not “close”, as in “being near in space or time”…but “close”, as in “to shut” or “bring to an end”.
As in… It’s time for the Spirit Boys to pull their collective heads out of their…um, out of the sand…and bring to a “close” the Don Waddell era as GM of the Atlanta Thrashers.
“Close” the Waddell era as GM of the Thrashers…and do it now as to allow whoever replaces Waddell to come in, get a feel for the team and be ready two and a half months from now when the trade deadline is upon us.
“Close” the Waddell era as GM of the Thrashers…before he “Coburn for Zhitniks” the team again.
“Close” the Waddell era as GM of the Thrashers…and give the organ-I-zation a fighting chance to re-sign Kovalchuk. Otherwise, stand by while he “Heatleys” … “Savards” … “Hossas” …us next year.
“Close” the Waddell era as GM of the Thrashers…before the Thrasher sink further into the abyss of the standing, and further away from the realm of respectability.
“Close” the Waddell era as GM of the Thrashers…and give John Anderson a fighting chance to prove he can be successful at this level if given a competent general manager who can ice a competitive team, as was the case in Chicago with Kevin Cheveldayoff.
“Close” the Waddell era as GM of the Thrashers…and do so right now. Or Bruce Levenson and the rest of the Spirit Boys will be “close” to proving to the hockey community, once and for all, that they truly lack the cerebral, intestinal and testicular fortitude that is required to do the right thing as owners of an NHL franchise.
“Close” the Waddell era as GM of the Thrashers…or all we will hear from the general manager for the coming years is just how “close” this team is…again, and again, and again.
Thank You Sir! May I Have Another?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you would have told me Friday afternoon that the Atlanta Thrashers would out-shoot the Bruins 33-25 AND that we would put three goals past Tim Thomas…who came into the game with a .940 SV% and a 1.90 GAA…AND that the Thrashers would be successful on 2 of their 4 power play chances…I would have told you that we were gonna have a great night down at Blueland.
I would have been incorrect.
After the first couple minutes into the game, I gazed up at the scoreboard and made note that the Thrashers were out-shooting the Boston Bruins 4-0. “Pretty good way to start against the conference’s best team”, I thought to myself. “Certainly this is a good sign and can only lead to good things”.
I was incorrect.
By the time Boston had taken their fourth shot of the game at the 8:41 mark of the first period…they owned a 3-0 lead and Ondrej Pavelec had been chased from the net. Three minutes and fifteen second later it was 4-0 and the Un-good-O-meter was spinning off its axes.
Boston had 4 goals on only 5 shots on the Thrashers’ net.
Eleven of the eighteen Boston skaters earned points on those first four goals and thirteen Bruins gained at least a point on the night overall. Phil Kessel led the charge for the visitors with a pair of assists and a goal. Mark Stuart notch a pair of goals and Mark Savard…remember him?…chipped in with a pair of assists as did Matt Hunwick and David Krejci.
Opie however would finish the night in Atlanta goal as Moose was lifted after surrendering three more in the third…4 on 20 shots on goal total. After Milan Lucic’s shot…or pass…deflected in off of Boris Valabik and made the score 6-2, Hedberg’s goalie stick was ceremoniously sacrificed across the iron altar of frustration.
Pavs finished with 2 saves on 5 SOG.
I looked back up at the scoreboard just as the final horn sounded…bringing a merciful end to the mauling. On it I found that Atlanta finished the game with 33 shots on goal, finishing with 3 goals and Boston had netted their 7 on but 25 shots. Most nights an Atlanta goalie would consider facing only 25 SOG as a picnic. Friday night both keepers faced that amount combined and…sigh.
And after the 7-3 spanking at the hands of the Eastern Conference’s best team the Thrashers can now look forward to…another match-up with the same team. Tonight it will be Boston’s turn to host the party.
Let’s just hope that tonight the Thrashers are not again on the wrong end of the paddle.
Boris Off Schneid Island? Not So Fast!
One game removed from his first ever NHL point, it had seemed as though Boris Valabik had notched his first ever NHL goal. However, the box score on NHL.com as well as Yahoo Sports both show Kovalchuk with the goal…possibly glancing off his stick.
If that is the case, Boris remains on the island with Garnet Exelby. Once back from his injury, rookie Zach Bogosian can again join the two in looking for that first goal on the year.
And Finally…
Myself…along with The Divine Mrs. R, the two tax exemptions along with their female companions…had the pleasure of meeting and sitting with Volgrad1985 and the lovely Mrs. Volgrad1985. It certainly made the evening far more enjoyable then it could have been, considering the outcome.
“Close But”…Again
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Once again the Thrashers played well…came close, kept coming back, but….
Yup, “close, but”… a phrase that can pretty much sum up the first third of the season so far. This time it was a 3-2 defeat in overtime to the New York Rangers…moving the Thrashers to 1-4 in overtime games this year.
After a scoreless first period, the Rangers dominated to open the second. Johan Hedberg turned away the first seven shots taken on him in the initial two and a half minutes after the first intermission…but at 2:37, Colton Orr beat a stick-less Moose on the eighth one.
However, not five minutes later, Atlanta served their guest a nice plate of Oysters and Crabbs. Nathan Oystrick found the Rangers’ defense at low tide and put a long through-pass to Joey Crabb for a breakaway. The rookie made the most of his chance as he, “went upstairs where they keep the ‘Senate seat for sale’ sign”, as Dan Kamal would put it…for his first ever NHL goal.
“Senate seat for sale sign”…classic!
1-1 after two…and then I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with Lew318.
Atlanta found themselves starting the third period ON THE…pause for non-existent power play sponsor… POWER PLAY! However it was the Rangers that capitalized on the situation by notching a shorty with five seconds remaining on Chris Drury’s slashing penalty… taken with 36 seconds left in the previous period. Drury, Moose and Ilya Kovalchuk all made their way into…and through… the goal along with the puck at 1:20 of the third.
But again…Atlanta answered soon after when Boris Valabik found Kovy on the back door for the game-tying goal just a minute twenty-nine later. The assist was Boris’ first ever NHL point and the play was so pretty that the lamp remained lit for five minutes!
From that point on, both Hedberg and Ranger goalie Stephen Valiquette shut down their attackers. Most notably for New York’s net-minder…a fast glove-save off the stick of Jason Williams with a buck and a half left in regulation. Hedberg finished the night stopping 30 of 33 and Valiquette 27 of 29.
Close game…exciting game…well played game…then there was overtime.
Well, all eighteen freakin’ seconds of it, that is.
All you need to know about the extra-time portion of last night’s festivities is that the Rangers took the face off…circled around the back of their net…came up through the middle…then over to the left as Markus Naslund crossed the blueline…he flipped the puck in toward the goal…Scotty Gomez slipped it in past a sprawling Moose.
“Close, but”…again.
Now the Thrashers get to tangle with the Boston Bruins who own the Eastern Conference’s best record of 19-5-4, (.750 points %). They also just had their five-game win streak snapped by Washington Wednesday night…so they should just be in a dandy mood for their home-and-home series with us this weekend.
Coming To Blueland? Don’t Forget The Toys For Tots
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Thrashers and Hawks have teamed up with Kia Motors and the United States Marine Corps to help children in need have very merry and wonderful holiday season.
Starting today and continuing through the 21st, fans will be given the opportunity to do our part by donating new and unwrapped gifts for children at any metro Kia dealerships and at Philips Arena. Fans that donate will receive a voucher good for two tickets to Hawks or Thrashers games, (limit one voucher per person).
Toys will be collected at the Marta, CNN, Centennial Olympic Park Drive and First Horizon Entrances for the following Thrashers and Hawks games:
Thrashers:
Friday Dec. 12 vs. Boston Bruins
Thursday Dec. 18 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Saturday Dec. 20 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Hawks:
Saturday Dec 13 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Monday Dec. 15 vs. Charlotte Bobcats
Wednesday Dec. 17 vs. Boston Celtics
Please give great consideration for those less fortunate as you enter Blueland gang…and that goes for you Bruins, Pens and Bolts fans, too!
Also, please remember to keep a handful of change and dollar bills with you as you enter the stores for those ringing the bell for The Salvation Army…yet another wonderful organization. Those in need are with us year-round.
If you know of another worthy cause, please feel free to share them with us.
Thrashers Make A Great Road Trip
Monday a few of our Atlanta Thrashers made a special holiday visit to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, Hughes Spalding and Scottish Rite. Several players along with Thrash delivered Thrashers teddy bears, other gifts, signed autographs and brought many smiles to these beautiful kids!
Great job guys! I know that these children had a wonderful time and will always remember you for the time given them.
Statistically Speaking
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In “Chapters from my Autobiography”, published in the North American Review, No. DCXVIII, July 5, 1907, Mark Twain wrote, “Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force: ‘There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.’”
And with that in mind…let’s delve into some statisticalerization regarding our Atlanta Thrashers, shall we?
Best Of The Worst?
Over the course of the next nine games, the Thrashers will be playing five games against four teams that were in the post-season last spring. The Rangers are in town Wednesday and then there are two versus Boston this weekend, one here…one there. Next week they will travel to Ottawa again on Tuesday before returning home to play the Penguins on the 18th.
After that, Atlanta draws four straight against non-qualifiers for last season’s playoffs…Tampa Bay, Toronto, the Islanders and Carolina.
So, just how does Atlanta stack up so far this season against both playoff and non-playoff participants from last year? Well, they are 1-12-1 against last spring’s post-season qualifiers…8-2-2 against their fellow non-qualifiers.
At least we are consistently winning against the teams we should be beating.
A Little Help From His Friends
So far after 26 games, Ilya Kovalchuk leads the Thrashers with 26 points, (9 goals, 17 assists). This puts him on a pace for…don’t even need my calculator for this one…82 points. That total would be down slightly from last season’s 87 points.
Now, the team as a whole has seen it’s scoring increase from last season when they managed but 2.52 goals per game, (tied for 22nd in the league with Vancouver), to 2.92 goals per game this year, (11th best in the league).
So, why the overall offense increases as Kovy’s numbers lag a skosh?
Simple…it’s because he’s not having to shoulder the entire burden. Last year Ilya’s 87 points led the team…but then there was a dramatic drop-off. Before 86-ing the team, Marian Hossa had netted 26 goals and 30 assist for 56 points in 60 games…on a pace for 77 had he remained. Then came Mark Recchi’s 48 points, Eric Perrin’s 45 and Slava Kozlov’s 41. The leading scorer among blueliners was Tobias Enstrom who netted 38 total points.
This season, Kozzy’s on a pace to earn 73 points, Bryan Little 69, and Todd White 66. And this year Ron Hainsey leads the way among defenders with 5 goals and 16 points which, if continued over 82 games, would bring in 50 points.
They seem to be spreading things around a little better.
What Would It Take?
The Thrashers’ overall record of 9-14-3 for 21 points means they have a .404 winning percentage, (based on points won versus points available). If you want to put that into the perspective of what it might take to land a playoff spot this coming spring…stop laughing…well, let’s look at it this way.
Last season, Ottawa and Boston entered the post-season as the 7th and 8th seeds in the East with 94 points. (Yes, I know Nashville was the 8-seed in the West with 91…but I’m using the model in the east since that is the conference Atlanta plays in). Anyway, in order to get to 94 points, the Thrashers would have to earn 73 of the remaining 112 available to them over the last 56 games. That would be a points winning percentage of .652.
Stop laughing!
To date, the teams that are playing at or above a .653 points winning % are San Jose, (.852 pnts. %)…Boston, (.778 pnts. %)…Detroit, (.769 pnts. %)…Montreal, (.673 pnts. %).
So, if the Thrashers can play… from this points on… at the same level of the Sharks, Red Wings, Bruins, and/or Habs…then they can make the playoffs.
Seriously…stop laughing!
“Have To” Trade Kovy?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A few days back, Mark Bradley posted a piece in which he advocated the trading away of Thrashers’ star Ilya Kovalchuk. This opinion is shared by others…including John Kincade of 680 The Fan who just last summer also voiced his belief that trading away Kovy sooner rather than later was the thing to do.
The “Trade Kovy Away Now For the Good of the Team” movement points out that the Atlanta Thrashers…specifically general manager Don Waddell…will not be able to re-sign the Russian phenom anyway…so do the deal now before he forces the team to do so next year in order to get at least something in return…i.e. “Hossa-ing” us. Those who support this move will also cite that he wants to play for a legitimate contender, that he isn’t happy with the direction of the team, so trade him now to get the most in return.
To be honest with you…even though I still disagree whole-heartedly with Bradley, Kincade and others who advocate this course of action… I recognize the fact that there is a certain amount of logic that supports their side of this issue. However, even if I were to allow myself to consider a trade of such monumental measure, there is absolutely no way I can support the notion…even the thought… of the current Thrashers general manager being the person to orchestrate the transaction on behalf of the Atlanta Thrashers.
See…as we all know, Waddell has been behind every last one of the trades and deals that the Thrashers have been involved with and…well, just exactly where has that gotten us?
9-14-3 so far this season after a 34-40-8 season last year. This after being swept in the one and only playoff appearance the team has ever played in two seasons ago. That’s where it’s gotten us.
Let us review, shall we?
Last February, Waddell was unable to convince Marian Hossa that Atlanta was an organ-I-zation in which he could conceivably challenge for a Stanley Cup over the course of the next three or four years… so he was forced to deal him away. Along with the prolific scorer went the hard-working Pascal Dupuis to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Thrashers received in return Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen from the Penguins along with prospect Angelo Esposito and the 29th pick in last June’s entry draft. With the pick they chose centerman Daultan Leveille.
Since that time, Hossa has played in 38 regular season games for the Pens and Detroit Red Wings scoring 18 goals, 21 assists with a +10 rating. He played in 20 post-season games last spring providing Pittsburgh with 12 goals and 26 points and was a +8. Pascal Dupuis remains in Pittsburgh and has 5 goals and 12 assists in 39 regular season games and has an even +/- rating since the trade. Dupuis also chipped in with 2 goals and 5 assists during the playoffs.
That’s 23 goals, 33 helpers and a +10 between the two in the regular season alone.
Meanwhile…back at the Blueland Ranch…Army has netted the Thrashers 8 goals and 12 assists in 43 games to go along with his -4 rating. Christensen has 3 goals and 9 assists and is a -15 in 31 games.
That’s 11 goals, 21 assists and a -19 combined between the two.
One could consider the Dupuis for Armstrong aspect of the deal a wash. But then that leaves us with Hossa departing…and taking with him his 18 goals, 38 points and +10 rating…and in his wake are Christensen’s 3 goals, 9 assists and -15.
If one considers just those four players…it looks like Waddell got schooled.
We can only hope that Esposito and Leveille eventually evolve into world-class NHL players. Even if they do, Blueland will not see the benefits of the players until next season at the earliest for Espo…more likely two years…even longer for Leveille.
That’s a while to wait for an “if” and a “hope”. Especially in this the Thrashers ninth season of play and still waiting for it’s first post-season victory.
Two season’s ago…Don Waddell made another “had to” type deal near the trade deadline. In February of 2007 the Thrashers were sliding out of contention for their first-ever playoff appearance. Waddell felt the heat to do something in order to secure a post-season slot…so he pulled the trigger on the infamous Zhitnik for Coburn deal.
Many felt that he “had to” do it at that time…“had to” even if only to save his job.
So far here we’ve discussed the individual stats of those involved in the Hossa deal last winter…but a few posts back I provided the overall team records of the organ-I-zations that were involved in that deal as well as the Coburn/Zhitnik transaction.
Folks, neither of those big deals has worked out very well for the Atlanta Thrashers.
And now the Thrashers’ are facing the possibility of another “have to” situation. Two years ago they traded away a promising defender because they “had to” make the playoffs. Last year they “had to” trade away one of the most high-profile scorers the team has ever had because he refused to re-sign. Now it’s the possibility of “having to” trading away Ilya Kovalchuk for the exact same reason Waddell “had to” trade away Hossa. That we are even approaching this point yet again and “have to” even give such a notion serious discussion is…to say the least…un-good.
So I ask you…exactly what is it in the history of Don Waddell’s dealings that makes anyone believe that he is capable of bringing in the highest yield in exchange for Ilya Kovalchuk?
My God, think about it…we could almost ice an All-Star line up with the players that have passed through here. Coburn, Hossa, Savard, Heatley…and what do we have to show in return?
Again, 9-14-3 so far this season after a 34-40-8 season last year. This after being swept in the one and only playoff appearance the team has ever played in two seasons ago. That’s what.
Thus, I simply cannot join the “Trade Ilya Away Now For the Good of the Team” movement… not at this time at least. Not as long as the same person that has done this to us in the first place is in the same position to do it to us again.
Weekend Update
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hi everybody…just a few quick items from Blueland and around the NHL.
The Atlanta Thrashers record of 8-14-3 after 25 games puts them on a pace to net about 62 points. To put that in some perspective, since the lockout only three teams have finish below 62 point. In 2006-07 the Flyers finished with 56 points…in 2005-06 Pittsburgh finished with 58 and St. Louis with 57. Last season the Lightning and Kings finished with the lowest point total…71.
62 points would also be the lowest total since the 2001-02 season, the Thrashers third year of play in the NHL, when they finished 19-47-11-5 for 54 points. The following year Atlanta earned 74 points.
How’s life on the other side of the tracks? Well, after the 3-2 victory over Columbus Thursday night, the San Jose Sharks are 22-3-1 for 45 points. That would put them on pace for 142 points. Joe Thornton’s eighth goal of the season at 7:41 of the third proved to be the difference against the CBJs.
Sean Avery gets a six-game suspension for his “sloppy” remarks. Adam Proteau of The Hockey News asks, if Avery doesn’t care; why should we?
If the Stars were considering waiving Avery and sending him down to their AHL affiliate as a means to unload his $3.875 million salary…the owner of the Manitoba Moose has a message for them.
Jim Kelley if SI.com explains that Peter Laviolette recently learned that winning the Stanley Cup doesn’t necessarily “bullet-proof your resume”.
What do Yanic Perreault, Bryan Smolinski, Jocelyn Thibault, Glen Murray, Kevyn Adams, Martin Lapointe and Dan Cloutier all have in common? Well, they are all NHL veteran players that are still looking for a team…the “Limbo Club”, as Pierre LaBrun of ESPN.com calls them.
And finally, I would like to take this time to introduce Ms. Emily Litella with an editorial reply to some of the discussion that has been going on around here lately.
Thank you, Rawhide…now, what’s all this hullabaloo I keep hearing from everyone about giving Don Waddell a “pink slip”? This makes no sense to me whatsoever! I mean, Don is of the “male persuasion” and, as such, doesn’t take to wearing slips at all…pink or otherwise!
If your thinking about a Christmas present for this nice young man, then may I suggest something more appropriate? Something more along the lines of the nice electric train set that his good friend Bruce Levinson is giving to him this Christmas. It even has painted-on arrows pointed to the front so Don can make sure the train is…moving in the right direction.
Now last year, Bruce got him a dartboard to hang on his office wall. Every time Don throws a dart at it and misses the target by three feet…hitting the wall…he still cries out, “Dang-it! But I was CLOSE”!
These are far better gifts then a “pink slip”. Even for a lady, which he certainly is not, any type of undergarment does not make for a very good present at all! Well, maybe except for an uncle of mine. See, my Aunt Hazel once walked in on him and….
Huh…?
Wha…?
What’s that you say, Rawhide? Not one of those pink slips?
People are talking about a termination notice?
Ohhh…. I see.
Well… that’s completely different, isn’t it?
NEVER MIND!!
Thank you Emily. OK everyone…have a pleasant weekend!
OH fer Canada
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Oh well… at least we don’t have to lament over another close, one-goal loss, eh?
Early on Wednesday evening, the Ottawa Senators gave the Thrashers a healthy dose of Heatley, Spezza and Alfredsson…out-shooting Atlanta 19-8 in the first period on their way to a 3-1 lead by the first intermission. Daniel Alfredsson had a goal and an assist, Jason Spezza added a goal and the former Thrasher Dany Heatley chipped in with a goal and two assists…all in the first period.
In the second period the Thrashers had plenty of opportunities to get back into the game. Ottawa spent 4 minutes and 8 second straight killing off penalties…1:52 of which was of the 5 on 3 variety…but kill them off they did, giving the Thrasher absolutely nuthin’! They then rubbed a little salt in the wound by scoring with a buck-six remaining before the second break.
Oh…and it was a power play goal.
Atlanta finished OH-fer-six on the power play…Ottawa was successful on two of their three man advantages.
In the end, it was a 5-1 defeat and the Thrashers ended their two-game trip north of the border OH-fer-Canada, unable to add to their 19 points in the standings and being outscored 10-5.
OH-fer…cryin’ out loud!
The lone bright spot for the boys of Blueland came at the 2:53 mark of the game when Eric Boulton sailed off of Schneid Island…notching his first of the year. Joey Crabb’s assist on Bolts’ goal was his first ever NHL point.
Oh, And Speaking Of Dany Heatley
As you will remember, in August of 2005 Heater asked to traded away from the Atlanta Thrashers organ-I-zation and Don Waddell accommodated his request. He sent Dany to the Senators in exchange for Marian Hossa and Greg deVries.
Since that time, Atlanta is 126-115-30…a .520 points %. They have qualified for post-season once, going 0-4.
Ottawa is 152-87-30…a .621 points %. They have qualified for the playoffs in each season Heatley has played there, going 18-14 and winning the Eastern Conference championship in 2007.
I know…I know…comparing the two organ-I-zations is like apples and oranges. But I thought it was still worth noting.
Oh, And Speaking Of Marian Hossa
OK…now let’s take the above exercise a step further. As noted, since the Heatley trade Atlanta has played to a record of 126-115-30. However, when Marion Hossa was on the Thrashers roster the record was 113-90-23…a .551 points %. Last season Hossa was not convinced that the Thrashers organ-I-zation was…ahem…moving in the right direction, refused to re-sign and forced Don Waddell to trade him away at the deadline. Since Waddell traded Hossa away with Pascal Dupuis, Atlanta has skated to a record of 13-25-7…that’s a .367 points %.
A .367 points % stretched out over a full season is good enough for a whopping 60 points.
Oh, And Speaking Of Don Waddell
Did you notice that Don’s name was consistent when discussing the Heatley and Hossa deals? Well, that’s because he has been involved with not only those trades but also every other deal the Thrashers have ever made… including the infamous Zhitnik for Coburn trade in February 2007…seeing that he’s the only general manager the team has ever had.
Oh…and while we’re at it, since the Zhitnik/Coburn deal, Atlanta’s record has been 54-69-12, a .444 points % and Zhitnik has made his way back across the Atlantic. Philadelphia, meawhile, is 72-52-17, a .571 points %, they won 13 of the 18 playoff games they were in last spring and Coburn has made his way into an NHL commercial in which his toughness was the main focus.
Keep all that in mind on March 4, 2009…exactly three months from today…when Don Waddell will again be in charge of making “deals” that will shape the Thrashers future.
Oh…insert expletive of choice here.
Sit Down And Shut Up, Sean
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last summer we debated the pros and cons regarding having Sean Avery on the Atlanta Thrashers. As you may recall, I was dead set against the idea of bringing him here…if the Thrashers organ-I-zation even had such a notion.
Well, now you know why.
Yesterday Avery was given a big time-out and told by the NHL to just sit down and shut up. The league suspended him indefinitely for the remarks he made regarding his ex-girlfriend who is now dating Dion Phaneuf of the Calgary Flames…this after making certain comments about Flames star Jerome Iginla last month.
Quite frankly, I think the league had to step in a take action, not only for the classless statements made by this classless jerk, but also to thwart the possible in-ice altercation that could have come about during the Stars/Flames games last night. However, there is a part of me that wouldn’t have minded seeing NHL wait until today to suspend him…letting Avery to take to the ice in Calgary and allowing him to be knocked senseless…or, more senseless…by Iginla, Phaneuf or any other member of the Flames.
Regardless of what the league’s motives were in taking the action, I have to say that the comments alone…made to drag a former lover through the mud publicly…are enough for the league to slap this self-serving egomaniac down. His rude, immature, crass remarks were not just unprofessional but incendiary as well. The NHL and the Dallas Stars have every right to expect that their players refrain from acting in a manner that reflects poorly on them.
John Tortorella called Avery a “selfish ass” last night during the first intermission of TSN broadcast of the Thrashers/Canadiens game. He went on to say that his actions embarrassed himself, his organization and his teammates.
Brett Hull…long a supporter and advocate of Avery…even expressed his disappointment saying, “This goes beyond the game on the ice, and that’s what bothers me”.
Said Stars owner Tom Hicks, “I completely support the league’s decision to suspend Sean Avery. Had the league not have suspended him, the Dallas Stars would have”.
Dave Tippett, coach of the last-place Dallas Stars, “I think everyone in our room believes there is an integrity that has to go into the game…a respect for the game and a respect for your opponents, and Sean crossed that line”.
I’ll add to that the fact that there has to be a respect for your teammates. The ones who stand up for you, the ones who fight alongside of you and whom you hurt the most when you do stupid, idiotic, self-serving, immature, unprofessional things.
Clearly, I do not subscribe to the “Whatev…it wasn’t so bad” argument some might take in defense of Avery. Today’s society, IMHO, has unfortunately defined decency down to a level where it seems like any such behavior is acceptable coming from a pro athlete or celebrity…as long as it is entertaining or amusing to some.
Now, I ask you…given all that our Atlanta Thrashers are dealing with at this time, would you really want this cancer in our locker room as well right now?
Even more so now than ever…I wouldn’t.
Now, About Last Night’s Game
I’m really…really…REALLY trying to take the good out of last night’s 5-4 loss in Montreal.
I’m trying to be happy with the way they got themselves off the deck in the third to erase a 3-0 lead, tying it with 3 goals in a span of 59 seconds. That final period was some of the most entertaining hockey I’ve seen the Thrashers play in quite a while.
I was really happy to see Jason Williams scoring a goal after being held without one for eight games…collected but a pair of assists in that span.
I loved that fact that the Kovy, Reasoner, Thorburn line connected for a goal. It tied the game a three just seven seconds after the team had gotten it to within one. It was a wonderful display of crisp, quick passing to set up the tally by Thorny.
Oh, and that Ron Hainsey character…with two goals just 52 seconds apart. He now has 5 goals and 16 points on the season. Not bad for the “worst UFA signing of 2008”, eh?
Yes, lots of things can be taken for the third period of last night’s game. But…
Once again the comeback fell just short…once again the effort was undone by a defensive lapse, this time it was miscommunication between Havelid and Armstrong at the blueline leading to Montreal’s go-ahead goal…once again the Thrashers could not put three solid periods together…once again they put themselves in a position where they had to mount a comeback attempt.
sigh
Anyway…at least the Thrashers have the opportunity to get right back at it in Ottawa tonight and build on what they did in the final 20 minutes of Tuesday night’s game.
Laviolette Out In Carolina
Looks like another Southeast Division team has swung the ax and whacked their head coach. Peter Laviolette is out and the Canes have again placed Paul Maurice behind the Carolina bench.
The Voice Of Kamal
While driving in today I heard on Hockey This Morning, (XM channel 204), that the radio voice of the Atlanta Thrashers Dan Kamal will be the subject of tomorrows Voices program on The NHL Network.
Undoing The Un-Good
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last summer during the town hall meeting with season ticket holders, John Anderson indicated that playing time would be determined by who was playing hard and producing on the ice. Work hard, play hard…more ice time would be awarded. The opposite, of course, applies as well.
Well, true to his word, he has made some adjustments in regards to the forward lines and special teams. I’m quite sure he is trusting that these adjustments will take place in attitudes as well.
Most notably, Ilya Kovalchuk, will play this week in Montreal and Ottawa on a lower line along with Marty Reasoner and Chris Thorburn. Kovy’s play seems to be off of late and, at times, he appears to be lost and/or unmotivated. Reasoner has played most of the season as the third line center and hasn’t done a bad job there, IMHO…and I like coach’s decision to put Thorny opposite of Kovalchuk.
As for your top three forwards…it’ll be made up of the line that has been the most consistent and productive so far. White, Kozlov and Little will remain together and simply move from the second to first line. Again, hard work and results will be rewarded.
Jason Williams…who has been somewhat of a disappointment thus far…will center the new second line with Christensen and Armstrong. The fourth line will be constructed from Slater centering Crabb, Perrin or Boulton.
But the changes don’t stop there. According to Mike Knobler…Reasoner, XLB, Perrin and Oystrick practiced the penalty kill together, (Hainsey out) and the other PK line consisted of Enstrom, Havelid, Crabb and Slates. The top power play unit, it seems, will be made up of the White line with Kovy and Hainsey on the point.
So, why do we have an overhaul of the current cast of characters? Well, simply put, John Anderson is efforting to undo several un-good aspects of this team. Let’s look at the numbers, shall we?
Atlanta’s penalty kill is a league-worst 73.8% effective. Un-good!
In 19 of the 23 games so far they have let up at least one power play goal. Un-good!
The Thrashers 27.3 S/G is 27th in the league. Un-good!
Their 33.3 SA/G is 28th in the league. Un-good!
The 3.56 GA/G is better only than Dallas’ 3.65. Un-Good!
Since winning five straight, they’ve gone a miserable 1-5-1 in their past seven. Un-good!
After beginning November 5-1-0, they finished 6-6-1 for the month. Un-good!
And the most un-goodest of all…Atlanta is sitting at the bottom of the NHL standings with 19 points.
But what Anderson is attempting to undo here goes beyond simple statistics. As he pointed out Sunday, the Thrashers have a bad habit of “not competing”. It’s one thing when a team gets beat…it’s quite another when the desire to compete is not on display 100% of the time. That’s when players get moved down in the lineup…off the lineup all together…then off the team.
To Anderson’s point about “not competing”…
Of the five regulation loses in the past seven games, two have been by one goal, another two were within a goal until empty-netters padded the margin. The Washington loss was by a pair of goals.
Outside of two games in which they were blown out, the Thrashers have had it within their reach to come away with points in just about each game. The difference has been thiiiiis much in many of the losses. And thiiiiis much is normally the difference created by that extra bit of hustle and effort. That extra hustle and effort…or lack thereof consistently… is apparently what John Anderson is unhappy about.
Something else to digest…Last year after 23 games, the Thrashers were 11-12-0 for 22 points…this season they’re 8-12-3 for 19 points. The difference? The overtime losses. Last year had won all five played in the first 23 games played, this year they are 1-3.
Again…all of the one-goal games and the overtime losses simply add to the un-good element because it meant the team was unable to come out on top more often. Unable to because they were unwilling…or unable…to give that extra effort required to finish the job. In order to win most of these games players must give thiiiiiis much more effort…for an entire 60 minutes… more if need be.
And what if Anderson cannot gain a measure of satisfaction from the current squad even after these drastic line changes? Well, as he said after Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the Blues, “We’re going to look at the whole situation, look at what we have, what we have in the minors and figure out what steps have to be taken”.
That would mean the very real possibility of seeing the likes of Colin Stuart, Brett Sterling, Jordan LaVallee …or even Joe Motzko who leads the Wolves with 10 goals and 16 points in 22 games played…playing for the big squad before too long.
Question is, whom would they replace in the lineup? I guess that will be determined by who receives Anderson’s message through the lineup changes, adjusts their attitudes in regards to work ethic and does their part in undoing the un-good aspects surrounding this team right now.
And who doesn’t.
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