AJC > Sports Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2009 > January > 10 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USHopes For Two-Game Win Streak Catapulted
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday night the Atlanta Thrashers scored four goals and allowed their opposition only 29 shots in what was considered their finest game of the year so far. Saturday afternoon they again netted four goals and allowed their opponents but 29 SOG, however it was in one of the worst losses of the season…an 8-4 smacking from the paws of the Florida Panthers.
Fresh off his 29-save shutout performance…his and his team’s first of the season…Kari Lehtonen followed it up with a very disappointing outing in which 7 of 27shots got past him.
Going back to Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh, Kari had gone four straight periods without allowing a goal. That all came to an end at the 9:50 mark of the first when Michael Frolik converted a penalty shot. Leht’s scoreless streak had gone 94 minutes and 9 seconds and he had stopped 53 consecutive shots on goal in that time. Lehtonen went on to give up an additional pair of goals before the first intermission…they came in the final 1:36 of the period.
The Thrashers seemed to have righted the ship in the second as Kari stopped all 8 SOG and his O-fense scored twice to tie the score at three. First, Todd White capitalized on an Atlanta power play… White finished the game with a goal, 2 assists. Then Erik Christensen finished off a great 2-1 rush with a nifty move reminiscent of his game-winning shootout goal against Vancouver. White assisted on Crusher’s goal by flipping a pass to him off the left boards, leaving Erik all alone with only Tomas Vokoun to beat.
But the comeback effort stalled in the third when the Cats put 3 shots past Kari on only 4 shots in the opening 7:05 of the period. After Ville Peltonen converted on a 3 on 2 break to make the score 8-3, Kari had let 4 goals on but 8 shots get past him…he was then given the rest of the afternoon off. Moose then saved one of Florida’s final two shots.
So, what was the more accurate depiction of this year’s Thrashers…Thursday’s 4-0 shutout win or Saturday’s 8-4 loss?
Improved PK
Although the Thrashers were whacked in Florida…they held the Panthers scoreless on 5 man advantage situations. In fact, heading back to Sidney Crosby’s power play goal in the second period of Tuesday’s game, Atlanta has successfully killed off 15 consecutive penalties.
This almost came to an end Saturday when Florida’s first goal in the third period was scored just one second after Tobias Enstrom’s holding-the-stick penalty had expired.
Regardless, this is a promising improvement of a stat that has been butt-ugly all season.
Matinee Madness
Saturday was the sixth game in which the Thrashers played an afternoon matinee. After winning the first two…they have dropped the last four by a combined score of 18-8.
Last Sunday, the Thrashers lost 4-1 to the Lightning in front of an announced crowd of…cough, cough…10,750 fans at Philips Arena. This afternoon, there was an announced crowd of 14,323 in Sunrise, Florida.
Next matinee special…a 3:00 start on Sunday February 8 when the Atlantic Division-leading Philadelphia Flyers pay us a visit.
Cat’s Climbing
With the win Saturday, the Florida Panthers are now 20-16-6 and their 46 points place them only one point behind the Carolina Hurricanes for second place in the Southeast Division and the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Carolina was pummeled 5-1 by the Boston Bruins Saturday afternoon.
Thrashers Pick Up Center
Saturday the Atlanta Thrashers picked up centerman Rich Peverley via the waiver wires. In 27 games for the Nashville Predators Peverley has 2 goals, 9 points with a -3 rating and 15 PIM. The 26-year old native of Guelph, Ontario has played in 73 total NHL games with 7 career goals, 20 points and has an EVEN +/- rating.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By ranallo10 (in AT)
January 10, 2009 4:19 PM | Link to this
You suck dude. No warning AT ALL.
Now you’re going to force me to copy paste my previous posts.
Jerk.
By Get The Puck Out
January 10, 2009 4:26 PM | Link to this
Looks like we need a goalie as bad as a good center. FIRE WADDELL PLEASE!!
By B. Thenet
January 10, 2009 4:38 PM | Link to this
Thank God we have Alex Kangas in the system at goal.
What a complete and total stinker Lehtonen put on today. He got abused on his glove hand side all day.
By Brendan
January 10, 2009 4:43 PM | Link to this
Don Waddell does not wonder why this team can’t, and won’t, play like they did against New Jersey. He knows why. And the ownership knows, too. It’s all quite calculated. This season is just another rung in the SALES LADDER to, cha-ching, cash-in on this franchise. And Waddell is their “willing accomplice,” collecting a paycheck until the team is sold.
If that isn’t the case … then there’s just … so … so … so much explaining to do. I guess it’s possible that Waddell just doesn’t know that his moves won’t work. If Waddell is really Forrest Gump, then the ownership is retaining him BECAUSE he’s a USEFUL IDIOT in their “plan.” And well, that’s just sad. Very, very sad. Especially since the ownership is willing to appear incompetent as the alternative to having their longrange plans DISCOVERED and EXPOSED.
By Russian
January 10, 2009 4:44 PM | Link to this
I want to know what happend in Looker room after second period. They played very well 40 minutes,but 3-d period was F*** BAD. Does somebody punch Kari in face and he stopped played???? Or somebody smacked Schiender and he forgot that he veteran or not First year player???? Kari had to be take off from net when he allowed goal 4 and 5. No questions to ask. Don, friking Idiot still our GM, has to trade Shiender, Williams, Trouburn and Kari immidiately!!! Please, what is F***, we take Center from Nashville.
By Hotrod
January 10, 2009 4:53 PM | Link to this
Defense broke down at the worst posible times.
Great 2nd period.
But dang, the bad thrashers showed up in the 3rd.
Schneider, you know better than that.
By asdf
January 10, 2009 4:57 PM | Link to this
Go back to Russia with that a* writing
By glovesave29
January 10, 2009 5:52 PM | Link to this
Well, WE got Peverley today, and all the Devils did was sign Brendan Shanahan.
Like I said last week - lowest rung UFA’s and waiver wire cast offs. This is embarrassing.
By Rawhide
January 10, 2009 6:01 PM | Link to this
One thing I really didn’t say in my post was just how bad I thought Kari looked today…and I agree 100% with what some have said on the previous blog about DE’s “out-of-rhythm” and “no-morning-skate” excuses.
Kari got beat…what was it…four maybe five times today high on the glove side? The two he allowed at the end of the first were terrible…and I’ll mention again the third perid where 3 of the first 4 got past him????
Can anyone remmber when he put three consecutive quality starts together?
By Sage of Bluesland
January 10, 2009 6:03 PM | Link to this
What we need now is one of Sara’s spreadsheet’s to show us what we are seeing is an illusion—that the Thrashers are weally, weally a good team!
Put that with the tripe from the Nasty Nest group of lambs.
STOP SUBSIDIZING THIS UTTER INCOMPETENCE. THIS ORGANIZATION IS NOT INTERESTED IN WINNING. STOP GIVING THEM YOUR HARD-EARNED DOLLAR.
By R. Stroz
January 10, 2009 6:13 PM | Link to this
Kari was probably still hung over from his evening in South Beach.
By Rich Peverley
January 10, 2009 6:26 PM | Link to this
I will lead you to the Promised Land. Jump on my back and enjoy the ride, folks.
By THRASHYOU
January 10, 2009 6:50 PM | Link to this
I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed what number Peverly wears??? its 37 would anyone else have a problem with him wearing that in ATL other than me?? just wondering what everyone else thinks.
By glovesave29
January 10, 2009 6:59 PM | Link to this
There is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY they will give him Snyder’s number.
By sisu
January 10, 2009 7:14 PM | Link to this
The most disturbing thing today??? Rich Peverley is going to wear #37? WTF! Why not 15 instead…
By Rawhide
January 10, 2009 7:21 PM | Link to this
I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed what number Peverly wears??? its 37 would anyone else have a problem with him wearing that in ATL other than me?? just wondering what everyone else thinks.
That must NOT happen.
By Sage of Bluesland
January 10, 2009 7:29 PM | Link to this
I guess a player’s jersey number qualifies as the most pressing issue in Thrashersland?
No wonder we’re where we’re at…
By sisu
January 10, 2009 7:32 PM | Link to this
Sage of Bluesland what is your problem??? Why all the hate on other fans? Who are you? Better yet what are you? Yes the team sucks this year but all of your personal attacks are uncalled for. Now one knows who you are and being 8 years old behind a keyboard is not something to be proud of. Seriously, all of us are mad at this season, no one is happy but to attack people directly, what gives???
The team has let all of us down, no doubt about that. The silver lining is that there is a realistic shot at Tavares or perhaps trading our pick for a true established #1 center. If the Thrashers DO NOT pick #1 maybe a trade would be better? Who knows…
Either way I am a fan of this team and will continue to root for them. It is not my fault that the owners suck! Would some of you be happier that there would be no NHL in Atlanta? I would not…
By glovesave29
January 10, 2009 7:39 PM | Link to this
I beleive the term sisu used was “most disturbing thing today”…not the “most pressing issue”. Big difference.
Man Sage, you are just mad at the world.
And yes, it is important to remember Dan Snyder…and to be considerate of his parents who have big enough hearts to forgive Dany Heatley and do so much good in the community in their late son’s name, God forbid you ever lose a child. 37 is a number than NO ONE IN THIS ORGANIZATION SHOULD EVER WEAR AGAIN. I would imagine that every other person on this blog (minus Sage) agrees.
By LAC
January 10, 2009 7:41 PM | Link to this
Boy… Bet #17 is thrilled that we got… What’s his name off WAIVERS !!!!!!!!!
This is another LOSER move by The Career LOSER Dumb don waddell… I’d felt better is Spezza was the player claimed or traded for…
Loved waddell’s comments,He’s a guy we like… Boy that is scary, well Nashville did not like him and these waiver claims never do one DAMN thing to help the club… This circus is just sick to watch !
By Brendan
January 10, 2009 7:56 PM | Link to this
No one will wear #37. I’m a bit surprised the #37 hasn’t been retired by the Thrashers. If it hasn’t been, it should be. And soon. Why wait? No one will ever wear this number again, anyway.
By Alan
January 10, 2009 8:17 PM | Link to this
LAC - Nashville waived him with the intent to send him to the AHL. They were making room for another player to return from injury.
We just happened to be there to pick up their sloppy seconds.
Brendan - Your guess is as good as mine, as to why it hasn’t been officially retired.
By R. Stroz
January 10, 2009 8:23 PM | Link to this
The interesting coincidence with the number 37 issue is that the Thrashers next game is against Ottawa.
Bad timing.
By Lew318
January 10, 2009 8:29 PM | Link to this
WHAT A TERRIBLE TEAM EFFORT IN THE THIRD PERIOD OF TODAY’S GAME AGAINST FLA.
JUST WHEN YOU THINK IT CAN’T GET WORSE THIS TEAM FINDS A WAY TO PROVE YOU WRONG!!!
How can the players accept a paycheck for their effort? God for the fans, the season ticket holders it’s absolutely terrible.
I wish I could find something positive to say but I can’t. The team is so terrible it defies the imagination. I guess Waddell & Levinson would have the intestinal fortitude to hold a Town Hall meeting for the season Ticket holders. And, Peverly is a typical Waddell Pick-up!!
By R. Stroz
January 10, 2009 8:39 PM | Link to this
Excuse my cynical nature, however, I wonder if the Peverley pickup is some perverse and twisted DW maneuver to deflect the negative attention from a pathetic season to a past tragedy.
By Sage of Bluesland
January 10, 2009 9:39 PM | Link to this
“…I wonder if the Peverley pickup is some perverse and twisted DW maneuver to deflect the negative attention from a pathetic season to a past tragedy.”
That is, Stroz, a very interesting and original theory. What at first would seem ludicrous, a tiny part of it sounds thought-credible—and it grows like a snowball rolling downhill.
Given what I have observed of the sheep which inhabit that figurative joke known as Blueland, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.
If this number-garbage takes flight in the coming days, I’ll know the objective was achieved.
When will there be ACCOUNTABILITY in this organization??? When will the fans finally wake up and cut the funds until a real plan is determined by ownership/management?
This is completely unacceptable on so many levels it’s not even funny…and then to hear the sheep and their delusion…It’s almost too much to take…
By Tom
January 10, 2009 9:43 PM | Link to this
Does the phrase
“Grasping at straws”
come to mind?
The failure of management to create an environment where top players would consider staying or coming is the foundation of our problems.
Until things change the only way we can get a top player to come to the Thrashers is to draft them or trade for them. Free agency will never be an option as long as the present regime is in power.
By LAC
January 10, 2009 10:08 PM | Link to this
Alan, Yeah Steve Sullivan returned after 24 month’s out with a bad back.
I, like others, just look at this as more. like you said, sloppy seconds.
No offense to this kid, but what could he ever do to improve the MESS this team is ? Answer not much.
It just kills me to see the possibility of hockey leaving, I cannot understand for a second why these IDIOT owners or is it CLOWN owners or BABY owners, whatever, will not react to the horrible season we are having, but hiding IS their style for sure… Ottawa lost tonight 2-0, do you think their OWNER is going to take that much longer… NO, but here it is losing as usual and all due to the WORST GM in pro sports… Just makes one ill to watch this crap !
By brett
January 10, 2009 11:12 PM | Link to this
How do you think Peverly feels? He is placed on waivers with the realization that he is gong back to the AHL…or another team picks him up….AND what could be worse than clearing waivers? Wait…….here it comes……The Thrashers claim you? I bet he wished he would’ve cleared waivers. Sorry Peverly…but welcome to the worst run team in profesional sports.
By Barry
January 10, 2009 11:22 PM | Link to this
Amazing. Amazing Waddell still has a job managing this team. Amazing that he has not been let go after continuing to not understand how to build a competitive team. This waiver claim is just some added depth at C and hoping something comes of it. I mean what does this franchise really have to lose except the Tavares sweepstakes. Amazing Kari continues to worsen…not improve. Amazing he stands there and lets Panthers blast 30-50 foot slap and wrist shots by him THAT HE CAN SEE CLEARLY. Wow. Someone forgot to have their coffee this morning, because Kari looked asleep out there. Amazing that this team played awesome against the Devils only to come back to today’s game completely falling apart and on their faces in the 3rd period. This is truely amazing aren’t they? (sarcasm) Eventually we hope the owners are going to see we are moving in the right direction…fans moving out of the arena unwilling to pay money to watch this team they have built. This franchise is cursed with bad ownership and bad management. How else can we explain why every other team in the league seems to get better while we just continue to snowball down the hill.
By Brendan
January 11, 2009 12:01 AM | Link to this
Brett, I rather enjoyed your post. Hey, it reminded me of when Dan Boyle talked about being strongarmed by the Tampa Lightning into waiving his no trade clause. Boyle cited, specifically, a fear of being claimed by Atlanta, with six-years left on his contract. Translation: “Trapped, with no chance of escape.”
Ya know something? Many, many people feel like they’d love to get their chance to actually RUN an NHL franchise. Whether as an owner or a General Manager. Stay with me. But imagine that you got your chance, as a GM, and you failed MISERABLY. And by Year Four, or Five at the latest, you realize that it’s not going to happen for you. And you realize that you’re doing more HARM than GOOD by continuing to run the team. You take a long, hard look at yourself in the mirror and have an epiphany that, “You’re the Jonah of the ship.” Yeah, that’s an Immodium moment.
Don’t you (A) tell your wife/spouse/significant other that, first thing in the morning, you’re going to tell the owners you’re stepping down, (B) you hold a press conference to announce that you’d like to spend more time with the family and that, for personal reasons, you will no longer serve as General Manager, (C) thank the owners for the opportunity they gave you, and (D) express remorse and disappointment over the results of your Administration.
Answer: “No!! You don’t!! You milk that paycheck until the Golden Goose stops laying golden eggs.” Just kidding. Yeah, you’d do all these things (A-D). And more. That is, if you CARED about the team and wanted it to succeed.
By Kari's Glove Hand
January 11, 2009 1:03 AM | Link to this
I love the waiver pickup, we need all the goals we can get.
By Sharon
January 11, 2009 5:12 AM | Link to this
My first thought after reading that the Thrashers had picked up Rich Peverly was…. who the hell is Rich Peverly? Oh, that’s right, just another Waddellicacy from the bottom-of-the-barrel buffet. So many cheap choices, but they all give me the sh*ts.
I can’t imagine that they’d allow Peverly to wear #37. Maybe the team is approaching it like Philly does with Pelle Lindbergh - no player can wear the #, but it’ll never be officially retired (though the reasons may be different for the two teams).
As for Waddell, he’s not about to give up this great gig. He knows that he’ll never be a GM again in this league, so he might as well ride it out here. What fun, we all get to go down the slippery slope with him. Hey, is that the edge of the cliff I see?
On a lighter note, I’m enjoying the blog even more. There’s been a lot of really good information and conversation lately.
Lastly, Fire Waddell.
By Scotty
January 11, 2009 8:43 AM | Link to this
FIRE WADDELL
The Panthers built a SNOWMAN on us in south Florida!!!
How bad does this have to get before Waddell gets canned? The ASG are a bunch of IDIOTS!!
FIRE WADDELL
By IIya
January 11, 2009 8:59 AM | Link to this
F* Hotlanta. For 2c I go back Russia plant potato.
By T-Bone
January 11, 2009 9:11 AM | Link to this
Remember last year at this time we were stoked about the ASG coming to town, and still holding out hope Hossa would resign and we’d be a buyer at the deadline and sneak into the playoffs? Now speaking honestly, I knew Hossa would never resign, and that Waddell would fumble the whole deadline dealing and that the ASG weekend was in fact the last hurrah for hockey in Atlanta. It was a bitter-sweet realization and it has all come to pass.
By HookyBob
January 11, 2009 11:27 AM | Link to this
Back in November Nikita was noting how slack the Thrashers line changes were. The 1st goal yesterday was directly related to a line change,…obviously a poor one. I’m sure there have been other, less apparent, ones too. Seems like there are some other most basic fundementals that they are not doing very well. Unfortunately, it is mostly defensive related and the puck ends up in our net.
I’m sorta missing Hartley,…at least his teams had better fundementals and played with more grit. Maybe he could come back and run some of the practices? My bets are that he’ll be the next coach in Ottawa.
I don’t usually like the 2nd period, yesterday was an exception. Really liked the way Big Boris is using his size to make the front of our net less hospitable. Maybe, once Bogo gets back, we can sit Schneider. Some, me included, thought Schneider would be a great mentor for Bogo (and Boris),…right now that is a scary thought.
In some ways the win over the Devils may have been a setback. Say what? A loss in NJ coupled with yesterday’s game would have meant a 4 game losing streak (starting with the Tampa egg). With a streak like,…each additional loss increases the likelihood that DW is out. Now a loss Wednesday is only a two game losing streak.
The only thing that picking Peaverly (how many smallish 3rd line centers do we have now) tells me is that Don is still looking for gems at the fleamarket. I hope he got one this time,..not counting on it though.
By Nikita
January 11, 2009 11:55 AM | Link to this
Yep, line changes have sucked for two years now. Though, oddly, the checkers to 1st change is working GREAT. It seems to be a matter of teamwork — half the time the last guy off is left trying to stop a two on one or some such as his teammates are already sucking their water bottles, or alternatively we have too many people on the ice because some lazy forward is sauntering back to the bench.
The team’s fundamentals really frustrate me. Line changes, conditioning, passing, backchecking, forechecking — pretty much everything needs work. Seriously, there’s really no excuse for losing any goals due to the kind of stuff you learn in junior hockey. But every night the Thrash give up a goal or two due to a pure lack of preparation. Which is in most cases enough to cost the team all its points.
By Tony C.
January 12, 2009 4:19 PM | Link to this
I think what you’re trying to say is:
FIRE WADDELL