AJC > Sports Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2009 > January
January 2009
Who’s Up - Who’s Down
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Thrashers have 50 games behind them so far this season with game number 51 in Carolina tonight. As we all know, their record of 17-28-5 is worth 39 points in the season…which is a .390 Points Winning percentage, (PW%). Continuing at that pace would land the Thrashers at about 64 points.
To place this into some sort of perspective, last season Tampa Bay and Los Angeles finished with the lowest PW%, .433. Atlanta was then next on that list at .463. Currently, the Bolts are 17-23-10 for 44 points for a .440 PW% and the Kings are 20-20-7 for 47 points…a .500 PW%. Doing the math, that means Tampa Bay is currently playing at a level which is .007 PW% better than last year, (.440-.433=+.007) and the Kings are a +.067 in regards to last season’s PW%, (.500-.433=+.067).
Side note here for Bruce Levenson…this would indicate the Kings are showing movement in the right direction.
Continuing, our Atlanta Thrashers go into tonight’s game against the Hurricanes at a -.073 PW%, (.390-.463=-.073).
So…who’s showing the most improvement this season over last? Well, not surprisingly, it’s the Boston Bruins at a +.203…followed by San Jose at a +.160 and Chicago, a +.101.
How about the opposite side of the page…the Islanders are .138 PW% off last season’s mark, (which is quite the accomplishment seeing that it was only .482 PW%last year). Ottawa has fallen from a playoff-qualifying .573 PW% last season to .436 now, (-.137), but they were falling like a stone heading into the playoffs last spring as well. Third worst on the list is Anaheim at a -.102.
The Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings have improved +.018 from last season. But given that they had a .701 PW% then, it’s not as thought they had a lot of room above them to begin with, so the +.018 is even more impressive to me given that fact.
Here is the complete list from top to bottom:
+.203 - Boston
+.160 - San Jose
+.101 - Chicago
+.094 - Calgary
+.080 - Washington
+.067 - L.A. Kings
+.066 - New Jersey
+.056 - Philadelphia
+.053 - Columbus
+.045 - Florida
+.029 - N.Y. Rangers
+.024 - Phoenix
+.018 - Detroit
+.015 - Edmonton
+.012 - Buffalo
+.007 - Tampa Bay
-.009 - Montreal
-.017 - Vancouver
-.031 - Carolina
-.035 - St. Louis
-.048 - Dallas
-.057 - Toronto
-.067 - Minnesota
-.073 - Atlanta
-.087 - Nashville
-.092 - Pittsburgh
-.099 - Colorado
-.102 - Anaheim
-.137 - Ottawa
-.138 - N.Y. Islanders
A few other thoughts regarding this list:
Eight of the sixteen teams that have improved on last season’s record did not qualify for post-season last spring, including four of the top ten.
The Kings are showing the sixth-best improvement, but are doing so with the league’s lowest payroll.
The Blackhawks are third on that list after having made a coaching change early on in the season.
Three of last year’s five lottery pick teams have shown a regression in their PW% from last year, including Atlanta.
San Jose, (+.160) and Florida, (+.045), are doing so with men behind the bench that are in their first year as an NHL head coach. Washington, (+.080), has a head coach in his first full season in that role.
The Duck, (-.102), have the third-highest cap hit.
Phoenix, (+.024), has the fourth lowest cap hit.
Wait…No! We “Own” The Islanders
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Holy Crap! We lost to… who? No, no, no…this can’t be…this is all wrong!
See…the Thrashers are supposed to BEAT the Islanders! They are the team…the one and only team in the league…that the Thrashers own. You know, the way the Rangers “own” the Thrashers this season…and the way the Bruins “own” the Thrashers this season…and the way the Penguins “own” the Thrashers this season…and the way the Flyers have “owned” the Thrashers since the Eisenhower administration.
Yeah…you get the picture.
The Islanders came into the game sporting a rather humble 13-29-5 record…worse than YOURRRrrrr Atlanta THRAAAaaa-shers! They were 2-7-1 in their previous 10 games and had won only twice in their last 12. Their 2-1 win against Anaheim last Wednesday snapped an eight-game losing streak. Atlanta had beaten them in the three previous meetings 4-3, 5-1 and 4-2.
Yes, the Thrashers get four “gimmies” for the season and this was the last of the “breezers”!
Only, the New York Islanders didn’t get the memo.
The Isles entered Thursday’s match scoring goals at a clip of 2.40 per game, (tied for last with Ottawa)…they dropped four on us before the first intermission.
Prior to their game in Atlanta, they averaged 29.1 shots on goal per game…they took 30 in the first 40 minutes, 20 in the first period alone.
Kari Lehtonen started the game. He faced 15 shots in only 13 minutes and 17 seconds, giving up four goals. The way Dan Kamal described the first period action, New York was swarming about the Atlanta net at-will and they were forechecking without fear of any repercussions or reprisals.
The Atlanta Thrashers looked like an All Star defensive unit the first 20 minutes of the game. Oh, not the “talent level” of an All Star blueline…they looked and performed the way All Stars ”play” in the game itself. No checking, no hitting, no challenging, and no intensity.
I swear…if this had been a Canadian based team, or an original sixer, or any team from the northeast, or the Great Lakes region, or…or…well, anywhere… the coach and general manager as well as 14 players may have been shown the door before the second period began!
The last 40 minutes…well, they sucked less. Actually, the Thrashers played quite well. Atlanta out-shot the visitors 29-13 the rest of way after the first intermission, including 15-3 in the third. They had stopped the bleeding after the fourth goal in the first, played to a scoreless draw in the second, then mounted another comeback attempt in the third.
Zach “The Bazooka” Bogosian blasted one off the iron just 26 seconds into the final period…showing that there was actually breath in the lungs of this team. Six minutes later, The Peever put one in the goal…just prior to sliding through it. (For the game, Peverley had a goal and 2 assists). Then, at the 8:36 mark, Marty Reasoner’s nifty wrap-around job brought the score to 4-3.
Halfway through the period, Atlanta had taken 11 shots on goal and New York had just as many shots as I had dates with Debbie Hesslefielder in High School…ZERO! And the Atlanta defense was turning away the Islanders advances nearly as effectively as the way she did mine as well.
The Islanders did not record their first SOG in the third until 7:21 left in it. Unfortunately, it resulted in Kyle Okposo’s second tally of the game.
But…just after the TV camera showed two cute kids wearing face paint with FormerIslesFan and the lovely Lilibeter right behind them… with just under a minute left we all saluted Kaptain Kovy as he scored his 21st…10th in the last 13 games…to pull Le Thrash to within a goal once again.
So…it wasn’t over yet, was it? I mean, after all…these were the New York Islanders. A team that has spun the Suck-O-Meter off its axes more times then…then…well, more times then these Thrashers have this season. And after all…we “own” these Islanders this year…right?
Um…apparently not. Not anymore at least.
About the only thing they Thrashers “own” right now is a butt-load of ping-pong balls in this summer’s draft.
Big D Shuts Down Thrashers O-Fense
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Thrashers came off the All Star break and ran smack dab into a brick wall with the number 35 on it. Marty Turco denied the Thrashers 25 times in Tuesday’s 2-0 win against Atlanta. For Turco, who improved to 20-16-7 on the year, it was his second shutout on the season and thirty-fifth of his career.
Much like their last game in Philadelphia this past Wednesday, Atlanta played flat for the first two periods but showed some life in the last twenty minutes, where they took 13 of their total 25 shots on goal. Unlike the Philly game however, this time Atlanta was not able to even dent the scoreboard and make a game of it.
Even in the loss, I thought Kari Lehtonen played very well. The first goal scored on him was caused by his rebound, but it took an unfortunate bounce off the chest of Jere Lehtinen. The second Dallas goal came only 28 seconds into the second period when the Stars sipped the puck through a flat-footed Thrashers defense and Steve Ott was able poke the puck home into a wide open net off a pass from Trevor Daley.
But for the next 39:32 Kari held Dallas right there…stopping the next 22 shots that he faced. In the second, he robbed Mike Ribeiro moving from right to left in order to knock away his point-blank attempt. In the third, he moved left to right to deny Loui Eriksson as well.
After a sluggish 5-9-4 start to the season, Dallas is now 21-18-7 and only a couple points below the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.
Meanwhile, despite playing better of late, the Thrashers now find themselves five points behind Tampa Bay in the basement of the Southeast Division and tied with Ottawa for the next to last spot in the Eastern Conference. The New York Islanders, who are that one team below Atlanta and the Senators, pay Blueland a visit Thursday night.
Life After-Sean Not So Bad
For what it’s worth…with their win against Atlanta, the Dallas Stars improved to a record of 13-7-3 in games played without the services of Sean Avery. In the 23 games Avery played in a Stars uniform, Dallas was a very sloppy 8-11-4.
Policy 1, Common Sense 0
At least that what Michael Farber thinks in regards to the one-game suspension of two Red Wing players for being no-shows at last weekend’s All Sat Game in Montreal.
No Soup For You!
The Hockey News’ Ken Campbell writes, “The free lunch for NBC is over. That’s the message the NHL will give to the network when it begins negotiating a new national television contract to replace the one that expires after this season”.
Da Commish Speaks
Ross McKeon of Yahoo Sports writes that Commissioner Gary Bettman believes on-ice fighting in the NHL is a part of the game that should not be eliminated.
22 Is Not Enough
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After sixty minutes, twenty-two goals and ninety-six shots on goal…things still were not settled in Montreal Sunday night in the 57th NHL All Star Game. But that’s when it really got fun to watch as the five-minute overtime period actually had the resemblance of an actual hockey game.
There was actually a minor penalty called…Komisarek’s hooking penalty…and an open-ice check in front of the West’s goal. OK, maybe it was more coincidental contact between opposing players…but it was two players colliding with one winding up on the ice…I call it a check, by God!
Bruins keeper Tim Thomas had the best performance of the six goalies as he stopped 19 of the 22 shots he faced…included a wonderful save to rob Jarome Iginla in the OT session.
Atlanta’s representative in Montreal, Ilya Kovalchuk, finished with no points and a -2 with 2 SOG. I was kinda hoping to see Kovy play at least one shift with Marc Savard at center with Dany Heatley on the right…you know, just for old time’s sake.
After five minutes of extra play, the two teams had combined for 102 shots in the 65 total minutes played and things remained knotted at 11. Then the East won in a shootout as Alex Kovalev and Alex Ovechkin scored while Thomas stopped both Rich Nash and Shane Doan…who had won the shootout elimination contest just the night before.
Hometown hero Alex Kovalev was selected as the games MVP. He finished with a pair of goals, a shootout goal, an assist, was a +1 and led all East All Star skaters with 7 SOG.
The 22 goals scored were the 2nd most for an NHL All Star Game. In 2001, the North American squad out-gunned the World team 14-12 in Denver. There were 98 shots on goal taken in that one.
105.4 mph = $24,000
Not only did Boston’s Zdeno Chara win The Hardest Shot competition Saturday night with a record-breaking 105.4 mph slapper, but his efforts netted $24,000 for the charity of his choice as well. All those competing in this portion of the skills competition were asked to choke up one grand each. Their teams as well as the league and NHLPA matched it with the understanding that the pot would go to the winner’s charity of choice.
Datsyuk And Lidstrom Get Their ASG Break Extended
Two Detroit Red Wings will get their All Star Game break extended by a few days. Under NHL rules…since Pavel Datsyuk and Niklas Lidstrom were named to the All Star team but chose to sit out to nurse injuries, they will be force to miss one game.
Sid Crosby, who was also an All Star that didn’t play because of injury, will not be made to sit out a game since he participated in off-ice activities. I believe he was instructing young players and fans in a class titled, ”Crotch Punches Made Simple”.
The NHLPA Declines To Reopen CBA
The NHL Players’ Association executive board decided to turn down a chance to re-open the collective bargaining agreement between the league and it’s players. This ensures that there will be no work stoppage through the 2010-11 season. The board had until May to make this decision, but chose to do so last Friday.
Happy, happy, joy, joy!
Signs Of Life
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At the All Star break, the Atlanta Thrashers find themselves with a record of 17-26-5 for 39 points. That lands them in last place in the Southeast Division, 3 points behind Tampa Bay who have one game in hand, and tied with Ottawa, who have four games in hand, for 14th in the Eastern Conference. Their current points winning percentage of .406 is the NHL’s second worst.
The raw statistical numbers tells a lot in regards to why they find themselves in this position. The 3.56 GA/A is dead last in the league, the 74.2% “effective” penalty kill is better only than Toronto’s 73.2% and they are allowing 32.3 SA/G, which is 27th in the league.
Those are some ugly defensive numbers indeed.
The offensive production paints a slightly better story. The Thrashers are scoring goals at a rate of 2.96 per game…that’s 10th best league-wide and 6th best in the east. Currently, they have a power play that scores goals 20.0% of the time, which that is good enough for the #12 spot in the NHL and 5th in the east. This helps offset the humble 27.8 S/G stat that ranks but 26th in the NHL, tied with Phoenix and Edmonton.
But any way you add it up, we get to 17 wins in 48 games for 39 points. So, we’re destined for a lottery pick position this spring…right?
Um, I dunno.
Let’s look at the statistics during the ten games that have been played in CY2009, shall we?
For the record, Atlanta is 5-5-0 in this month of January. In two of those losses, Florida and Philadelphia, the Thrashers were tied going into or during the third period. Another two of those loses, Tampa Bay and Ottawa, they were within one heading into the third.
Yes, yes…I know…they are still losses. But if they continue at just that pace…say go 17-17-0 the rest of the way… they would finish with 73 points. OK, that’s not gonna win ya anything…but when you consider that the Thrashers have been on pace for something like 62-63 points as recently as 3 weeks ago, that’s improvement.
Also, if they were to simply accomplish that small feat, it would mean that they went from only 29 points in 38 games played during the 2008 part of this season…to 44 points in the 44 games that remained in ’09. Again…nothing to write home about, but it is measurable improvement.
See, to me…given that the playoffs have long been removed from the picture…success for this season is defined by how this team finishes as opposed to how it started.
Since New Years, the Thrashers have scored 34 goals, (3.40 G/G not considering the extra overtime minutes), they have taken 305 shots on goal, (30.5 S/G), and have scored fewer than three goals only once…the 3-2 loss to Ottawa. They have scored four or more goals five times, six if you include the gimmick shootout goal against Vancouver.
Ilya Kovalchuk has had a pretty good 2009 so far. He’s been named captain of his team and has 8 goals & 4 assists to go with a +3 rating in the last ten games. But to me, his play of late goes far beyond simple numbers. He seems pumped…energized…you know, the Kovy we have come to know and love. The team has responded in kind.
One thing is for sure… Kovalchuk has gotten a boost from new linemate Rich Peverley. After gaining no points in his debut versus Ottawa, the Peever has notched 2 goals…including the overtime game-winner against Toronto…and has dispensed half a dozen assists in the next four. He is also a +6 as a Thrasher.
Also, the lower lines have given the team a boost with their physical play of late. This was especially evident in the second period of the Toronto game…sparking Atlanta to rally from 3-0 down after one period.
The only thing I can really nit-pick about the O-fence right now is that the power play has continued to struggle…a very un-good 11.2% in the ten games played in 2009.
Defensively… their penalty kill has been 77.8% effective since the beginning of the year. Still not great…but better than the overall number. Also, they have only allowed 30.9 shots on goal per game in the past ten games. Yes…when you are a Thrashers fan, you can use the word “only” when discussing a 30.9 SA/G stat.
Zach Bogosian’s return from injury has been a boost to the blueline. He’s a +6 since finishing his rehab in Chicago and has netted his first two goals of his NHL career as well as his first pair of assists.
Mathieu Schneider is a +2 for the calendar year so far…including a +7 over his last three games. I know, I know…I rubbed my eyes too when I saw that.
Ron Hainsey is a +2 in CY2009. This is very good news after his -10 December. He seems to be playing more like he was toward the start of the season.
I’ll also mention Peverley in the defensive portion of our discussion. He is playing the best two-way game in a Thrashers uniform since…since…since I don’t now when. Defensively, he plays a very responsible game. Couple that with his offensive contribution and I say we got ourselves a winner off the waiver wire!
In Kari Lehtonen’s last five starts, he has a .932 SV% and his GAA has dipped to 3.19…down from 3.44 when he returned from his back injury last month. His 29-save shutout in New Jersey was a beaut…as was his 9 for 9 performance in relief of Moose against the Leafs that helped the winning cause.
Consistency is still the key for Kari…however, he’s currently riding a 5-game streak in which he’s given up 3 or fewer goals. Three goal outings for keepers aren’t really anything to shout about…but when your O-fense is kicking in over three per game, that’s at least giving your skaters a chance to win.
The 33 goals that have been scored since New Years is still a troubling figure, though
This Thrashers team still has a ways to go to before arriving at respectability in the standings, but so far in this new year of 2009, there seems to be some signs of life from this group.
Puck Daddy’s Blog Takes On A Southern Drawl, Ya’ll
Here is a recent post by Puck Daddy regarding the likelihood of someone other than the eventual division winner gaining a playoff birth from the Southeast Division. I think he’s got a point regarding Florida’s chances.
Regarding the Thrashers…whom he predicts will fall short of a post-season bid, (DUH5)…here is a portion of what he has to say about our home team:
“There will be a level of intrigue approaching the deadline, as the Thrashers dangle some players for picks. Or maybe Don Waddell will attempt some Hail-Mary, reverse-Hossa trade to appease Ilya Kovalchuk before, hopefully for Thrash fans, he’s canned this summer”.
Flyers = Streak-Killers Again
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Back on the 16th of November, the Atlanta Thrashers went into Philadelphia riding a 5-game win streak. The Flyers got out to a 3-1 led halfway through the game…the Thrashers mounted a third period comeback to tie the score at three…but a minute forty after leveling the game, Joffrey Lupul pulled the rug out from under the visiting Thrashers.
Streak over.
Wednesday night, the Thrashers returned to Philly…coasting in this time on a three-game win streak, the only such string of success since the last time the two teams met. The Flyers jumped out to a 3-0 lead after Randy Jones’ sharp-angle goal from the right wing a buck forty-four into the second…but again, the Thrasher mounted a third period comeback.
First, Eric Perrin’s unassisted goal… then the AK-47 line pulled the team to within one on Kovy’s goal assisted by The Peever and Army…finally, Chris Thorburn’s second goal in as many games tied it with nine minutes and eleven second left.
But, just like the last time, it all turned out to be a cruel, hideous trick…a deception of the darkest, most sinister kind…as we had no sooner sat back down on our sofa when Mike Knuble shoved back a rebound to un-knot the score only 1:32 after Thorny’s heroics.
Coach John Anderson then said, “%&$#@%”!
I could not agree more.
Atlanta has fallen to the Flyers 13 consecutive times now. The last time the Thrashers even gained an overtime consolation point from their tormenters was October 26, 2006 when they fell 3-2 in a shootout. You may remember that one as “the ‘ol goalie-switch-a-roo game” in which coach Bob Hartley tried to inject some stratigification into the skills competition by replacing Hedberg, who had played the entire 65 minutes, in the net with Kari Lehtonen.
It didn’t work.
The last time Atlanta actually beat the Flyers? Well, you’ll have go all the way back to Nov. 18, 2005 when Michael Garnett earned is first ever NHL win in a 6-5 overtime thriller. Scoring goals that night for the Thrashers…Kovy with a pair, Bobby Holik, Peter Bondra, Patrik Stefan, (to tie the game with 7 seconds left in regulation) and Greg De Vries in OT.
What were you doing on Dec. 21, 2003? Well, chances are if you’re a Thrashers fan, you where watching them beat Philly 4-1 on that Sunday night. It was the last time Atlanta beat the Flyers in regulation…over five years ago. The Thrashers road the Metro to that win as Ronald Petrovicky netted a pair. Kovy and Kozlov also scored as Marc Savard had two assists and Randy Robitaille had a helper as well. The winning goalie was Byron Dafoe.
Yeah…it’s been a while.
What Are The Odds?
Last Wednesday the Illinois Lottery started up a promotion with the Chicago Blackhawks. See, each game, a single fan would be chosen at random from the crowd in attendance and if…IF…the Blackhawks scored a goal that night at exactly the mid-point of the game, the 10:00 mark of the second period…not one second after or before…then that lucky cuss would win one million buck-a-roos!
Well…Monday night, five days after the promotion started, the Blackhawks hosted the Minnesota Wild. Min-EE-SOO-tah won the game 4-1 as Niklas Backstrom stopped 40 of 41 shots the Hawks took on him.
The one that got through? Yup, you guessed it…right on the 10:00 mark of the second period. Martin Havlat’s tally made a millionaire out of season ticket holder Cary Stolarczyk.
To me, the odds of that happening are 1:3600 in a regulation game seeing how thats the amount of seconds there are in a 60-minute game, 1:3900 for an overtime game. Not a very scientific manner to calculate such odds, I know…but you get the picture.
Darren Rovell of CNBC puts the odds of such an occurrence this way.
Either way you figure it…it’s not something you would guess could happen just days after the inception of such a promotion.
The question that I have is this: What would have the longer odds… the same thing happening again to make another fan a millionaire…or the Atlanta Thrashers beating the Philadelphia Flyers again before it would happen?
I Don’t Care…Start Kari
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The last time Kari Lehtonen faced the Philadelphia Flyers was three night’s before Halloween…and the results were as frightening as anyone could imagine. Philly dropped a seven-spot on the Kari while Antero Niittymaki was shutting out the Thrashers.
If I recall correctly, the 28th of October was the single greatest sales night for NHL’s Center Ice package as tens of thousands of hockey fans throughout the land reached for their phones to purchase the ability to watch any game other than that one, which was being nationally broadcasts on Versus.
I don’t care…start Kari against the Flyers.
What’s that? Lifetime against Philadelphia, Lehtonen is 0-7-0 with a 3.80 GAA and .883 SV%, you tell me.
I don’t care…start him Wednesday night in Philly.
It’s the back end of the back-to-back games, you say?
I don’t care…he can rest during the All Star break. Put him between the pipes.
You remind me that Kari Lehtonen has even intimated in the past that Niittymaki has something on him. Whether it’s at the NHL level or at the youth level, he said that his fellow Finnish countryman “owns” him.
Hmmm…Has anyone actually seen the Kari voodoo doll Antero has hidden in his glove?
Anyway, I don’t care…start Kari to-freakin’-night!
Yup…I know all of the excuses why Moose should start against the feared Flyers. The last game…his overall record against them and Niittymaki…back-to-back games…blah, blah, frickin’ blah!
I bloody well do not care…start him!
Heck…Moose is only 1-6-1 vs. Philly with a 3.69 GAA and .871 SV%. So what are you really gaining?
Kari’s the hot goalie…he should start.
Since entering into last Friday’s game during the great come-from-behind win against the Leafs, Kari has stopped 74 of 78 shots. That, boys and girls, is a .949 SV%. Two of the four goals that he has allowed came via power plays…one a 5 on 3 type. And you don’t put someone on the end of the bench when they are doing that for you.
Start him.
In Tuesday’s 4-2 win over a very good Montreal team, Kari turned away 34 of 36 shots…including all 18 that the Canadiens got through to him during the third period.
Start him.
This is Lehtonen’s year to show once and for all the #1 gig here in Atlanta is his and his alone…or not…and the first half did not exactly go his way. He only has the rest of the second half to show he can handle it full-time. Sometimes that will mean he has to pull both games on consecutive nights…it’s a big-boy job after all and he was brought here to be a big-boy player. This is his year to officially “grow up” and take the job and make it his. I think he finally started to do this last Friday night…he has continued to do so over the past two games…don’t rob him of the opportunity to continue in his maturation process.
And, as I’ve stated before…he can’t beat his “Niittymaki jinx” sitting on the bench.
Start him.
Besides…like I said last week, the aliens didn’t bring a Moose with them.
Start Kari….against the Flyers…Wednesday night.
Meanwhile…On The Scoring End Of The Ice
I was listening to the post-game show while driving home and the guys replayed a seven-second bite from Dan Kamal during last Saturday’s radio broadcast from Nashville. Kamal asked…and this may be paraphrasing slightly…“Can it be that the return of Zach Bogosian and the acquisition of Peverley has really meant this much”?
Well, it sure is a bit coincidental, isn’t it?
In the four games that Bogey has played in after returning from his conditioning assignment… and Waddell’s plucking of The Pevs Dispenser from the waver wire… the Thrashers are 3-1-0 and have outscored the opposition 17-10.
Obviously there is more to it…but their contributions cannot be diminished.
As for The Peever… in his first four games in a Thrashers uniform, he’s got a pair of goals, (one an overtime game-winner), five assists and is a +6.
So, all those saying, “Sure, Peverley has looked good, but it’s only three games”…are you now saying, “OK, but it’s only FOUR games”. If so, I can understand that. But what’s the limit you’re going to put on the “But it’s only been, (fill in number here), games” comment?
Five?…Seven?…Ten?
Apparently Zach Bogosian liked his one-goal and one-assist game in Nashville so much…he decided to duplicate it again versus Montreal. Initially it was Thorburn getting credit for Atlanta’s fourth goal, but I guess replay showed that it was Bogey’s after all.
In the four games since his return, he’s a +5 with his first two career goals and first two career assists.
Not to be overlooked…kinda poetic justice that some lower-line guys have gotten into the scoring party lately, isn’t it? Especially seeing that the energy and zip that they brought in the Toronto game seemed to be the spark the team needed. Tuesday it was Chris Thorburn and Erik Christensen netting goals while Slater, Reasoner, and Thorburn chipped in assist…Boulton with a pair of helpers.
And Finally
I had a wonderful pre-game chat with riceowls8891. I think he’s one of those who are moving from the cautiously skeptical of Peverley to hopefully optimistic. Either way, thanks so much for coming over and sharing your kind words and thoughtful insight.
Also, I met Steve and his little tax-exemption Max…who plays in goal for one of the teams over at the Duluth Ice Forum. In about 15 years, I look forward to writing about Max after winning a game for the Thrashers!
In Celebration Of Dreams
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Across the nation today we celebrate the life, meaning and significance of the Rev. Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr., born Jan. 15, 1929 and taken from us on April 4, 1968.
I’m quite certain that you will be able to see and/or listen to replays of his “I have a dream” speech in several places. If you have never before experienced it in it’s entirety, do yourself a favor and do so today. Here is a text form of it as well.
Tomorrow, our nation will rise together in honor of a Barack Obama, who has ascended to the most powerful office in the world due in part to not only his personal drive, ambition, deeds and determination…but also upon the shoulders of Dr. King.
The dream of being able to witness first-hand the swearing-in of a person of color to the office of POTUS is something that countless millions thought they would never live to see.
Anyone who has frequented this forum or knows me personally will find it as no great surprise that the man that will transcend into the office of President of the United States at noon Tuesday is not the man that I cast a vote for last November 4th. However tomorrow… that does not matter. I will join in celebration of the pageantry and dignity that is the peaceful passing of the Presidential baton from one U.S. citizen to another. And I will stand with him and offer up my prayers for him while he assumes the office as I have done for President Bush, Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Reagan before him.
For one brief, fleeting moment we can be just Americans…free of the hyphenated qualifiers and political party partisanship that serve only to separate and divide us…and rejoice in who we are, where we’ve come and the hope of what we still have the ability to become…together.
And So, In The Spirit Of Dreams…
Getting back to the Atlanta Thrashers… this past weekend we saw quite possibly the most inspired and exciting play from our team in years. True, it is but two games out of 82 and none of what we experienced in those games guarantees future results in the same fashion.
However, let’s take this time to discuss just what it would take in order for this team to do the unthinkable…making the playoffs. It’s a near impossibility, I will admit…and I highly doubt it is going to be achieved this season. But if we see four, five…six more games like the last two over the course of the next couple weeks… it becomes less impossible.
I’ve often used the benchmark of 94 points as a playoff target. But as we look at the standing today, the Pittsburgh Penguins currently occupy the 8th and final playoff spot in the east. Their 50 points earned in 47 games played puts them on a pace for 87 for the season. However, the Florida Panthers, who are in 9th place in the east, have 49 points in only 44 games played…a pace that would net them 91 points. To me, that puts them in the driver’s seat for that final playoff spot and not the Pens.
So, using 91 points as the new benchmark, what would it take for the Thrashers to reach that mountaintop?
Well…that would mean playing to a level far above that which they have achieved this season…um, the past couple seasons…um…OK, ever!
The Thrashers need 54 points over the next 36 games to get to 91 points. That’s playing at a clip of 27-9-0 or 26-8-2 from here on out. 54 points in 36 games is a points winning percentage of .750.
To put a .750 PW% in perspective…so far this year, San Jose has a .807 PW%, Boston has a .778 PW% and Detroit has a .756 PW%. So, all Atlanta needs to do is be as good as the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings.
Impossible? No.
Probable? Eh…doubtful.
Now, the question is…would you rather see this team make a run of such improbable proportion and just come up short…say, finish something like 40-36-6 for 86 points but provide three months of exciting, inspired, ever-improving hockey for us…or would you rather see them falter down the stretch, playing like they have for the vast majority of the first half of the season and “earn” more ping-pong balls in the attempt to gain the #1 draft pick?
I’ll tell you right now that given the choice between the two…I pick the former.
I know…there are many out there that are already picking up their cyber-bricks to throw at me for simply stating that I would rather us not “win” the great Tavares Sweepstakes. Certainly if the Thrashers do finish bad enough to draft him, he would be a great player to have. A nice consolation gift, if you will.
But right now, I’m more concerned about another player…Ilya Kovalchuk. I think priority #1 for this organ-I-zation is to sign the captain long-term and keep his talents right here in Atlanta. And I do not think that it helps our chances if the team is coming off two consecutive terrible season’s and the “hope” for this team comes in the form of a 19-year old “promise” and the prospect of being competitive 2 or 3 years down the road…maybe.
Ilya will turn 26 on April 15 and his prime playing days are now…not 2 or 3 years down the road and he needs to be…desires to be…with a team that is ascending to prominence now. He has seen promising teammates come and go through his locker room the entirety of his career. Every time a Savard or Hossa comes…then goes…it becomes more and more difficult to swallow the line of, “But if we just get this player or that player…the team will be so much better”.
Look at the Tampa Bay Lightning…they won the Steven Stamkos Sweepstakes last spring. There record now is…what…14-21-10 and the rookie has 5 goals and 12 assists to go with a -9 in 43 games. The coach that was blessed with having Stamkos, Barry Melrose, didn’t even make it to Thanksgiving before getting the ax. The Bolts have scored 112 goals so far this season…only Minnesota, L.A., Nashville and Ottawa have scored fewer.
Drafting #1 does not always equal success anytime soon.
Kovy needs to see what we need to see…improvement and winning right now. Yes, even with this current configuration. Besides, have you seen the look on his face the past few games as he’s been paired up with new Thrashers’ phenom Rich Peverley as well and Colby Armstrong? Maybe the success of the past few games won’t last the rest of the season. But maybe…just maybe…it can.
How many of us thought a week ago the signing Peverley was anything more than collecting another team’s cast-off?
Regardless…I firmly believe that if this Thrashers team “drives” toward the top of the draft order…even if it does luck out and wins the Tavares Sweepstakes…the hopes of retaining the services of Ilya Kovalchuk are diminished…not advanced. And what this team does over the course of the next 36 games will have a greater impact on Kovy’s future here than anything that might happen on draft night this summer.
And re-signing Ilya Kovalchuk > drafting John Tavares.
The Aliens Remain Among Us
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The extra terrestrial beings that highjacked the Atlanta Thrashers players during the first intermission of Friday night’s game did not seem to be in a hurry to leave, did they? They obviously have found the competition level on this planet far below that of the ice hockey played on theirs.
Fresh off their spectacular victory Friday night in Philips Arena…coming back from a 3-0 deficit…the Thrashers packed their banjos and traveled to Nashville the following night and continued doing the things that make a team successful. High pressure in the opponent’s zone, good back-checking, crisp passing, and a pant-load of hustle.
In much the same way as the Thrashers of old were stolen away in the night Friday and alien beings took their forms, these new Thrashers traveled to the Music City and abducted the home team’s identity. Atlanta became the “predators” in this game as they attacked Nashville all night and left hardly a shred of meat on the bony-remains of the mutated carrion that was left on the ice.
Since that first intermission close encounter in the Thrashers locker room …they have outscored their opponents 11-2 over the course of the last five periods of play plus 3:51 of overtime Friday night. By the time Jordin Tootoo scored for Nashville at the 4:49 mark of the second period, the Thrashers had rattled off 9 consecutive goals in a span of 68 minutes and 40 seconds.
Now…after a game in which your team nets seven goals by seven different players, it’s tough to point to one as “the” goal of the night. But the one that really sticks out in my mind is the third one scored by Atlanta. It all began when Colby Armstrong de-railed the “Tootoo” train at the blueline…and was followed by Rich Peverley dispensing a great break away pass to Kovalchuk that put him in one-on-one with Dan Ellis.
It was no contest…and it was also the last play of the night for Ellis who then departed with but one save on four shots in 10:48 TOI. Don’t go away mad Dan…
The Kovy-Peverley-Army line accounted for two goals after doing so for three the night before. Folks…it’s time we give this line a name! Please submit your suggestions below and my secretary Trixie will review them once she returns from her weekend ski vacation in the Swiss Alps.
For the first time since the second week of November, the Thrashers won two consecutive games in a row…doing so in back-to-back games. It was the second time this season that Atlanta won two games on consecutive night.
Some outstanding aliens…er, um…players of note:
Kari Lehtonen: 31 saves on 33 shots in Nashville. Since entering the game to begin the second period against Toronto…40 saves on 42 SOG, (.952 SV%). One of those goals was via a 5 on 3 power play.
Ilya Kovalchuk: All he did was score 3 goals to go with 2 helpers and go +5 versus the Leafs and Preds. Starting with being given a big “C” on his jersey last Sunday, one could say he’s had a pretty good week. He was the game’s first star for the second consecutive game.
Rich Peverley: After a three assist night and a +3 Saturday, he has five assists, a game-winning goal and a +5 rating for the weekend. He also has all of our attention now. Rich earned the second star of both games.
Zach Bogosian: It looked like he had scored his first ever NHL goal at 6:48 of the first period in Nashville…instead he had to settle for his first career NHL point as the puck deflected off Colby Armstrong’s stick for his 13th of the season. Not being satisfied with that…he smacked home that first goal at the start of the third. He was also a +4 against the Predators, earning the third star of that game.
Mathieu Schneider: A goal and a +4 for his night’s work Saturday.
Bryan Little: A goal in both games and a third star Friday night.
Eric Perrin: How about that pickpocket job in center ice that he parlayed into the game’s first goal?
Boris Valabik: A +2 Saturday and no penalties versus the Leafs or Predators.
Before hosting the Montreal Canadiens Tuesday back at Philips and playing Wednesday up in Philly, the Thrasher will have a couple of days off. I think our new Thrashers may use that time off to fly out to Roswell, New Mexico and visit a few old friends.
Who Are You And What Have You Done With Our Thrashers?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Someone check with Air Traffic Control…make a call to NORAD…ask them if, sometime around 9:15-ish or so last night, there were any strange and unusual sightings in the sky…any UFOs… above downtown Atlanta.
Specifically… over Philips Arena.
See, I’m quite convinced that sometime between when the Thrashers left the ice after the first period and when they returned for the second, the entire team was a victim of some sort of alien abduction. In there place was left 18 skaters and one sharp as hell goalie.
Oh…those were not our Thrashers. No way…no how!
See, the first 20 minutes of Friday night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs went just about according to plan for this team. They had only allowed 8 shots on goal but found themselves down three-zip by the break. One of the goals was of the power play persuasion…the last two came in the final minute-sixteen.
After twenty minutes of play, the stench that permeated throughout Blueland resembled that of the steamer laid on the ice in south Florida last Saturday when three goals were allowed in the first…two coming in the closing minutes. And I fully expected the outcome to be quite the same as that 8-4 debacle…only, minus the “4” part.
It was completely and totally un-good and it certainly was only going to get un-gooder…right?
Um…no.
Because, you see, that’s when it happened.
Glowing green aliens swooped their space ship in and…obviously by way of a tractor beam…lifted everyone in a blue uniform out of the home locker room, beamed them up to the mother ship and left imposters in their place. This went completely undetected by the announced crowd of 15,619 at Philips because they’re good…real good…at this kinda stuff.
The alien squad made one minor adjustment before taking to the ice. They left Moose on the bench and placed “alien” Kari in the goal instead. Maybe that’s because Moose had let up three goals on but eight shots. Maybe it’s because they had no “alien” Mooses with them on this trip…who knows? But, when they took to the ice, the entire imposter Thrashers commenced to using the Toronto Maple Leafs in some weird alien science experiment as they dissected them for the remainder of the game.
They outshot the Leafs 17-3 in the second period…that is NOT a typo…and then 9-6 in the third. In that time, “alien” Kovalchuk and “alien” Peverley work a magic brand of hockey that was masterful. It must have taken these slimy, green un-worldly creatures thousands of years of working together to be that precise with one another.
By the time the second period was over…the score was 3-2 and I leaned back in my seat and though to myself…”Who are these guys and just what in blue-blazes have they done with my Atlanta Thrashers”? Only, I really didn’t care…’cuz I like the ones I had just got through watchin’!
My only fear was that the experiment was over and done with and the same type of switch-a-roo was going to take place in the locker room during the second intermission…then we would once again see the old Thrashers in the third that stunk the place up in the first. You know… just like in Florida when, after tying the score at three in the second, they go and get whacked 5-1 in the third.
Um…no.
See, obviously, these aliens got a good gander at the Blue Crew ice chicks and decided that they just might want to stick around a bit…see if they can get a number or two. And who can blame ‘em?
So, Thrashers fans were treated to another twenty minutes of electrifying, spectacular ice hockey by whoever it was inside of those blue uniforms!
While “Kovy”, “Peves” and “Little” were notching the goals…it was the lower lines that were providing the muscle last night. They were hitting everything in a Leafs jersey with the same intensity Rosie O’Donnell hits an open all-you-can-eat buffet….hard, fast, continuously and without mercy!
“Alien” Kari was brilliant. Sure…he only had to face nine shots in 40 minutes of regulation time and none in the 3:51 of overtime. Heck…the “real” Kari can see nine shots in 40 seconds sometimes! But, nonetheless, “alien” Kari stopped all of them…and all of them HAD to be stopped in order to get the game into overtime where it was ultimately won.
One of those saves was a real beauty…moving quickly from his left to right to stop a Toronto shot…keeping the Leafs’ lead to only one. It looked a lot like the play that resulted in the third goal that Moose had let up with 20 seconds left in the first
With 4:52 left in the game…the “aliens” that took the forms of Rich Peverley and Ron Hainsey hooked up to feed the “alien” Kovalchuk for a nifty game-tying score. “Peverley” slid the puck back through the goalmouth from behind the line…between the post and a pursuing Vesa Toskala…where “Kovy” snapped the puck into a gaping wide goal.
Then…with 69 seconds left before a shootout…the three hooked up again for the game winner. Only this time it was “Peves” that did the honors after setting up “Kovy” twice before. It completed a three-goal deficit come-from-behind win that hasn’t been seen in these parts in many moons.
The way Peverley was setting up Kovy and dishing out assists…he’s been dubbed the “Pevs Dispenser” by my good friends at The Blueland Chronicle. I thought that was very clever and am quite peeved that I didn’t come up with it first!
Like I said, I really don’t know for a fact if these were alien beings in the bodily form of our Thrashers…but does anyone else have a better explaination for such a complete turnaround?
If I am right in my theory…I really don’t care. These E.T.s can stick around all they want and continue to play…because I like them. I like them a lot!
You think I’m crazy to believe these were alien substitutes? Well, don’t take my word for it…ask some of our blog population that I met down there last night…like Don (not THAT one)…and DWTOO along with the very lovely Mrs. DWTOO…and the Toronto Maple Leaf fan, Sara, who came up to me to shake my hand and tell me, “Congratulations to you and your team on a great win”. Very classy…also, Pucksdeep, (who has been derelict in her regular attendance and participation here but she promised me she would not be a stranger), and her “bf” Alex…and Sher with her daughter Melissa and her “bf” Dean. Oh, and Melissa…get back to your studies!
They were all there… they saw it too. And they had no better explanation for it either.
Back-To-Back Blueland Blues
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Once again the Thrashers caught a team on the back end of a back-to-back set. However, it didn’t help much as they dropped a 3-2 decision to the Ottawa Senators, who played the night before at home against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens capitalized on two power play opportunities Wednesday night…the second coming halfway through the announcement of Mathieu Schneider’s holding penalty.
Catching teams on the tail end of back-to-backers hasn’t been of much help to the Thrashers lately. Last week, Atlanta played in Pittsburgh the night after the Penguins played in New York…and lost 3-1. The Pens used that game to snap a five-game losing skid.
Recently, the Thrashers have dropped Sunday afternoon games to Tampa Bay and Boston after those two teams had played the night prior in Carolina. The Bruins and Bolts both played night games, flew into town, caught a few hours of shut-eye…then awoke, rubbed the sleepy outa their eyes, came into Philips and left with victories…2-1 for Boston, 4-1 for the Lightning.
Sure, there was the 4-3 win against Vancouver on the 2nd…but it took a shootout to procure the two points. Not that I’m complaining, mind you, as points are hard to come by these days for our boys in blue. But even with that win, Atlanta is 1-4-0 in the past five games in which the schedule played in their favor regarding back-to-back games. Their opponents have earned seven of a possible eight points in those games and have outscored the Thrashers 15-8, (15-9 if you count the gimmick shootout point).
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be in town tomorrow night.
Oh BTW… they play in Carolina tonight.
Jason Williams Experiment Over
Wednesday afternoon the Thrasher moved forward Jason Williams to the Columbus Blue Jackets for defenseman Clay Wilson and a 6th-round draft pick. Williams scored seven goals with the Thrashers, but none since Dec. 2 in a 5-4 loss in Montreal. Wilson will report to the Chicago Wolves.
Prior to departing, Williams was on hand for the gave versus Ottawa to shake hands with his former teammates and wish them well, including the man he shared line-time with, team captain Ilya Kovalchuk.
Rich Peverley Experiment Starts
As the Williams experiment ended…the Peverley experiment began. The 6’-0” 185-pound 26-year old had no points on one SOG during his 18:53 TOI. He centered the line between Kovy and Armstrong, which had no points on 6 SOG.
Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot
How does a defender who finished a game with no points, two shots on goal, not the TOI leader in a 3-2 loss end up as the game’s third star? Well, that’s exactly what Nic Havelid did last night.
Drive For Tavares Continues
With the loss to Ottawa, Atlanta is now 14-25-5 on the season for 33 points and currently holds the #2 position in the John Tavares sweepstakes behind the New York Islanders…who have 28 points. Ottawa occupied the position the Thrashers currently hold just 48 hours ago, but their two wins have put them 3 points ahead of …er, behind…the Thrashers in the drive to acquire more ping-pong balls in this spring’s draft lottery.
Atlanta keeps messing up here by playing well against the Islanders, winning all three meetings between the two. However, they have another chance to correct that two weeks from today in the fourth and finial game on the schedule with them.
Blueland’s A Tough Place…For The Thrashers
On November the 14th, the Thrasher beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 at Philips Arena. It was Atlanta’s fifth straight win at the time…you remember that streak don’t you? It’s the one that Don Waddell points to as evidence that he’s iced a “good” team… Anyway, it was also the Thrashers’ fifth home win of the season after only eight home dates. Since that time the Thrashers have played fourteen times on home ice in the comfy confines of Blueland.
They have two wins to show for it.
7:00 Vs. 7:30
There has been quite a bit of chatter recently and over the years regarding the Thrashers’ home start times for weekday day games. Normally they begin at 7:00 and some say that putting it back to 7:30 would boost attendance given traffic and whatnot.
Atlanta hockey fans got a chance to show whether it not the scheduled start makes a big hill of beans as the Senators game was set for a 7:30 start. The reason being that it was being aired nationally on Canadian television…so, did draw more to the game?
Well, the “announced” attendance was 14,163. Honestly, there may have been 9,000 in the building. But, let’s compare that to the only other Wednesday night home game at Philips played this season…Dec. 10 against the Rangers…which had an “announced” attendance of 13,704. That’s a difference of 459.
The last weeknight game played at home was Monday Dec. 22 when Toronto defeated the Thrashers 6-2 and the “announced” attendance was 16,416. This came just after a Thursday night game the week prior against Pittsburgh when the “announced” attendance was 15,124.
Going back into November, the Thrashers played the Islanders and Penguins at home during the week and drew “crowds” of 14,122 and 13,391.
In October…three home games during the week against Minnesota, New Jersey and Philadelphia had “announced” crowds of 11,834, 11,293 and 13,207
That averages out to an “announced” attendance figure of 13,636 for 7:00 weeknight starts. That’s 527 less than the last night’s draw.
eh…
And Finally…
Cannot tell you just how much of a pleasure it was to have met glovesave29 last night. With his first-hand knowledge of the goalkeeping position…I now delare him the official blog resident goalie expert!
Thrashers Getting Some Air Time
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At 9:30 this morning, Don Waddell was the guest on 680 The Fan’s Rude Awakening. Later at noon, coach John Anderson will be featured on NHL Live…which can be heard on XM Channel 204 and Sirius Channel 208. Later in the day newly named Thrashers captain Ilya Kovalchuk will be on 680’s Buck and Kincade show at 4:00.
I’ll update this as the day goes on to give a recap of what was said. As always, please feel free to add what you hear and your thoughts…
On The Rude Awakening…Waddell basically talked about Kovy being named captain and why it wasn’t done earlier in the season. He cited that with so many new faces and a new head coach, the team felt it was best to take the route they did regarding waiting to officially put the C on his jersey.
Don also spoke about just how happy was when he learned of the decision.
Continuing… the subject of getting a #1 center for their captain was also discussed and that it “will be” a to priority to find one for him. I don’t know if that means now, at the trade deadline or this summer. Last summer, according to the GM, the team wanted to address the defense and thus, Hainsey was signed and Bogosian was drafted.
In all honesty, there really wasn’t as deep a pool for quality #1 centers last summers as defenders.
Waddell indicated that he believed the D was better overall and that the goaltending was “solid”…not great, but “solid”. He also said that this season had been frustrating because of this belief and where the team is now…citing the last two games as an example, the 4-0 win in New Jersey followed by what happened in Florida.
He also discussed all of the “close” games the team has been in and how if the team fails to play the full 60 minutes, then they are going to simply be “average”.
Lastly, he stated emphatically that Kovy was not going to be traded and the full effort would be made to re-sign him. He admitted that it would be a “sell job” because Ilya “is going to get his money” wherever he signs but that there has been good discussions that have taken place between himself and Kovy’s agent to further that along.
As for NHL Live…Anderson chatted with Don La Greca and Jim Dowd and the conversation pretty much revolved around his experiences in his first year of coaching.
The coach used the word “disappointing” to describe how things have unfolded so far, but he still seems to have that positive outlook that, given time and patience, things will come around.
The one most frustrating things for Anderson is the high goals against number. He cited too many “unforced errors” that have accounted for it.
The Little, White, Kozlov line was said to be a “wonderful surprise” to him. Indeed, it has been to us all.
Another term he used for this Thrashers team is “fragile”…pointing to this past weekend in Florida, after following the great game in New Jersey, how the team couldn’t recover from the early goals in the third after tying the score in the second. Funny, “fragile” is a term I have heard very consistently in regards to this team over the past year and a half.
As for Tobias Enstrom, Anderson said he wants the defender to “be more selfish” when it comes to moving the puck up the ice. Obviously, the coach wants him to push the play on his own, as he is confident in his puck-handling skills.
When asked what one of the big differences is in coaching in the AHL and the NHL, he spoke about the money that players make in this league and…consequently…the attitudes that have to be dealt with.
Anderson stated that he is “assuming” Kovalchuk will be with the team long-term and that making the star winger comfortable is key to making that happen…making the experience here as “pleasurable for him” as possible.
One thing that I found interesting were his thoughts regarding the red line passing rule that was dropped after the lockout. He stated that he would like to see the old rule return that prohibited the long outlet passes from the back. His point being that it takes away the aspect of working the puck down the ice with passing abilities.
The old Atlanta Flames and the presence that the team still has on the hockey community was also brought up. The coach stated how he wants this team to be “big and tough”…much like the Flames of that time.
According to Anderson, Rich Peverley may also be the center that the team is looking for on Kovy’s line. I’m guessing we’ll probably see that tomorrow against Ottawa. I think that’s expecting a bit much of the kid…but hey, it isn’t like we are spending a pant-load of money to find out.
Lastly, when he was asked about any 3-year of 5-year plan for his Thrashers, he quipped back that he’s looking for a “40-game plan”.
Kovy On 680: John Kincade wanted to know if there were going to be able to turn things around and Kovy pretty much told him that “that’s what we hope to do”. Kovy also indicated how much he appreciated the trust that his teammates placed in him and that he wants everyone to bring the type of intensity needed to be successful.
Also, Kovalchuk stated that he’s not really been one to yell and scream at guys in the locker room.
Thrashers’ Mid-Season Report Card
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Thrashers have 43 games under their belt. And seeing how that’s a couple more than the exact mid-way point of the season, it report card time. Since the first quarter assessment, they have played 24 games and posted a record of 7-14-3 in that span. Where it took 16 games to get the first 7 wins of the season, it took another 26 games, last Thursday in New Jersey, before they were able to win their next 7. That is un-good and foreshadows the ultimate overall team grade.
But before we get into the grades, there is this one thing to note…so far in CY2009 Atlanta is 2-3-0. The two wins have come against teams that currently hold playoff spots, the three losses have come versus those who do not. That is a complete turnaround from the 38 games played before the Big Peach dropped at Underground.
Anyway, let’s break it down…shall we?
OFFENSE
The Good: The Thrashers are scoring goals these days at a clip of 2.84 per game, the 14th best in the NHL. This total is up from the 2.52 G/G at the time of the first quarter report card. The power play continues to impress as well, it’s the tenth-best in the NHL at 21.1% effective. That is up from a 15th place 18.3% after nineteen games.
The Little-White-Russian line has continued to impress as the trio have accounted for 48 of the Thrashers’ 124 goals and they have amassed 113 points together. Bryan Little’s 19 goals lead the team, (get better soon Bryan).
Ilya Kovalchuk’s goal scoring is well off his normal pace, (16 in 43 games), however his assists are way up. Last season Ilya had 35 helpers to go with his 52 goals in 79 games. This year, he has 27 assists in just 43 games to go with his 16 goals. At this pace, he’ll finish with something like 31 goals and 51 assist for 82 points, which would be only 5 points off last year’s total. Imagine if Don Waddell had actually been able to get a top-line center and/or top-line RW for him.
It’s also nice to have a Ron Hainsey stepping up into the O-fense. He has 5 goals and 22 points…which is a pace for 42 points. Last season, the Thrashers defender with the most points was Tobias Enstrom with 38. Thrashers blueliners have accounted for 9 goals and 55 points, a pace for 17 goals and 122 points. Last it was year’s defensives numbers were 13 goals and 91 points.
The shots taken per game stat has dipped slightly from 27.6 to 27.4…only Pittsburgh’s 27.3 S/G is worse. However…in the past 16 games Atlanta has launched an average of 28.4 shots on goal, so we are starting to see some improvement there. Either way, it’s better than last season’s miserable 25.8 S/G.
The Un-Good: Jason Williams still continues to struggle. He has 7 goals and 18 points in 41 games so far. Last season with the Blackhawks, he had accounted for 13 goals and 36 points in 43 games played. Erik Christensen has missed some games due to injury, playing in only 29 games… but still, 3 goals, 12 points and a -8 does not a top-line center make. Especially when the team is looking to re-sign Kovalchuk sometime in the next year. That being said, however, Crusher does have 2 goals and 3 points over the last 5 games played and has an EVEN +/- over that time. Maybe we are starting to see something from the kid?
The Ugly: Eric Perrin has been fighting it this year…3 goals, 6 assists in 40 games played and a -10.
The Summary: If the O-fense can continue to get close to 3 goals per game, they are doing their job. The D-men stepping into the play has played a great part in their success…but, after all, that is the John Anderson system. Now, if only the forwards can fall back and play better in the defensive zone as to return the favor.
The Grade: B, (Up from first quarter’s C+).
DEFENSE
Note: OK, first let me warn you…I’m going to put the SA/G in both the “Good” and “Un-Good” categories. There is a reason, so stick with me here…
The Good: The SA/G number of 32.6 is still waaaaaaaay too high. However, that is down ever so slightly from 32.9 from the first quarter. In fact, over the past 16 games, that stat is actually an almost-not-so-un-good 31.7. Take out the 47 shots Toronto took on us just before New Year and that number falls to 30.6 in the last 15 games. In fact, since Dec. 12, the Thrashers have held the opposition to less than 30 SOG nine times including the last three straight. Again, the overall number is still “un-good”, but the trend of late is…well…”good”.
Nathan Oystrick has been impressive since his call-up when Zach Bogosian suffered a leg injury and Boris Valabik only has 6 PIM in the last 11 games.
The Un-Good: Again, though improving of late, the “overall” 32.6 SOG is still un-good, (27th in the NHL). That stat and ranking remains almost the same as it was on the previous report card. Also, a penalty kill efficiency of only 73.9% is quite nasty… however it would be unfair if I did not mention that Atlanta has successfully killed off the last 15 in a row and now is at least better than Toronto’s. Even still, it’s down from the first quarters rate of 74.7%. The goals-allowed per game is an abysmal 3.65, which is dead last in the league and up from 3.47 just prior to Thanksgiving…however, we’ll chat about that in just a bit.
As a team, Atlanta struggles in the team-defense department. True, defensive play begins with strong defensive players, but the forwards on this team consistently fail to back-check as they should and are often caught out of position.
The Ugly: Mathieu Schneider and that big, fat hairy -17. Sure, Hainsey is a -18, but Ron has played in all 43 games. Schneider has compiled that in only 30 games, including the -3 he pasted on the stat sheet Saturday. His +/- rating as well as his 3 goals and 5 assists put him on a pace that would net about 6 goals and 16 points and finish at about a -32 for the season…should he remain here that long. Compare this to his previous season in Anaheim where he accounted for 12 goals and 39 points along with a +22…and you see where the major disappointment that most Thrashers fans have in him comes from. Sure, the Ducks and the Thrashers are two birds that are flying in totally different directions…but still, that’s a loss of 23 points and a difference of -54 in the +/- stat.
The Summary: Still too much of the same overall, even though there are some encouraging signs in the SA/G and penalty kill department of late.
The Grade: D+, (Unchanged from first quarter).
GOALTENDING
The Good: Just not a helluva lot to chat about here. Let’s see, Moose has lowered his GAA to 3.62 from .404 at the end of the first quarter. And Kari did get the team’s first shutout the other night. Oh, and there was that strong start in Ottawa for Opie sandwiched between the Boston and Pittsburgh disasters. Other than that…
The Un-Good: The blame for the 3.65 GAA cannot entirely be pinned on the keepers…but a great deal of it can. All three goalies have losing records and GAA and SV% that are below their NHL career averages. The butt ugly numbers:
Kari Lehtonen: 5-11-2 with a .900 SV%, 3.41 GAA and 1 SO.
Johan Hedberg: 6-7-3 with a .887 SV%, 3.62 GAA and 0 SO.
Ondrej Pavelec: 3-6-0 with a .884 SV%, 3.55 GAA and 0 SO.
I’ll start with Opie…he’s right where he needs to be now, in Chicago. Like last year, he was called upon to fill in for an injured Lehtonen. Also like last year, he started out strong, winning his first two starts after making 6 saves on 6 shots in relief of Moose in New Jersey last November. But in his last two losses before being thrown back to the Wolves he allowed 8 goals on only 18 shots in 45:25 TOI. Even with the good start in Ottawa between those two steamers, in his last 3 starts he let up 9 goals on 38 shots, (.763 SV%) during 105:25 TOI…a 5.14 GAA.
Oh, and did I mention, he could be going under the knife?
Grade: N/A - Sent back for remedial classes.
Moose, the backup keeper, is 6-7-3…going 3-4-3 in the second quarter of the season. His GAA is the highest of the three, but he has the best win/loss record of the trio and he’s also the only one to have won three consecutives starts this season.
Grade: C
Kari…His record prior to the injury was 2-5-2 with a .904 SV% and 3.44 GAA. Since returning after 21 games out, he is 3-6-0 and his GAA is a virtual unchanged 3.41 and the SV% is now .900. Kari has not won back-to-back starts since his last two of the previous season. While he will show flashes of brilliance at times…see also the 29-save shutout in New Jersey, the solid 26 saves on 28 shots performance against Boston and the 35 saves from 38 Vancouver shots in a shootout win…he always seems to follow them up with stink bombs. I’ll admit, a lot of the grade that I give him stems from “expectations”…but that comes with the territory of being considered the teams “Premier Goalie”. Unfortunately, that is a label he has all but lost in the first half of this season.
Grade: F
Also un-good is the fact that this organ-I-zation fails to employ a true goalkeeper coach. Steve Weeks acts as such, but…as glovesave29 has pointed out…is normally running drills at practice, not working with Kari, Moose and Opie. This may have something to do with what ails us between the pipes, maybe not. Regardless, this is a professional sports franchise and to not bring in the necessary help for these guys is downright negligent by Don Waddell the Spirit Boys.
But then… that’s pretty much par for the course when it comes to these clowns.
The Ugly: Again, Pavs’ starts against Boston and Pittsburgh as well as Kari’s third period in Florida Saturday. You or I could not have done worse in those situations.
The Summary: If the first half of the season is indicative of what is to come, the Kari Lehtonen era in Atlanta is but months…if not weeks…away from being officially over.
Overall Team Grade: D, (Down from C-).
Hopes 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.
Devils Went Down To Georgia…er, Atlanta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As I was posting up my previous piece, taking to task the Thrashers goalies and their disappointing numbers on the season, I was thinking to myself, “You know, you just watch Bill…I’m gonna do this and the very next game Kari’s going to pitch a shutout”.
And as sure as Hell is hot…the Thrashers entered into the den of the Devils and Kari & company drop a big, fat, hairy goose egg on ‘em to the tune of 4-0.
OK, tomorrow I throw under the bus Jason Williams, Erik Christensen and Mathieu Schneider. That should do the trick!
Kari turned away all 29 shots that he faced including 6 that were tossed his way during a four-minute power play at the beginning of the third period. Speaking of killing penalties, the Thrashers were a very impressive seven for seven in that department. That always helps.
It was the first time the Thrashers held its opposition scoreless since the third to last game of last season back on March 31 when they blanked the Tampa Bay Lightning two-zip. Going back to the game in Pittsburgh Tuesday night, Kari and the Thrashers have held their opponents scoreless in four consecutive periods and a total of 84 minutes and 19 seconds.
Kari is indeed the focal point of praise for this win as he looked sharp, focused and quick all night long. But not to be overlooked is the fine team-defense that the Thrashers exhibited as well. New Jersey was not allowed to have a 60-minute “open skate” in the Atlanta zone.
Meanwhile, on the O-fensive side of the ice…following a scoreless first, the Thrashers came out in the second period and jumped all over Devil keeper Scott Clemmenson…who came into the game 15-7-1 with a .922 SV% and 2.25 GAA. By the time the horn sounded for the second intermission, Atlanta had put three past him on ten shots…Colby Armstrong, Ilya Kovalchuk and Jimmy Slater with the honors. Todd White had a pair of assists.
Scott did not return to play in the third.
However, Kevin Weekes did and was greeted with a nifty wrister from Marty Reasoner two minutes into the period. Kari and the D then denied New Jersey the rest of the way.
After the game Coach John Anderson called the win, “The most complete game of the season”. Indeed it was…and might I say it’s really good to see the coach smiling for a change. He’d been looking a tad stressed this week.
Yes, a complete game…and the Thrashers need more of these kinda games the rest of the way, (DUH5). Granted, we probably aren’t going to see four goals and shutouts from here out every night, but the effort displayed in New Jersey is what’s called for. What is really going to determine the “success” of this season now is how the Thrashers play in January, February and March vs. October, November and December.
They’ll try and build on Thursday night’s success Saturday afternoon down in south Florida when they visit the Panthers. Atlanta will once again be attempting to win back-to-back games since the second week of November when they bested Carolina twice in as many games.
If they’re to be successful this time, it’ll take another complete game. The Cats are playing well of late…beating Carolina 4-2 Thursday night. They are 3-0-1 in their previous four games and have scored 19 goals in that stretch.
But at least in Jersey, the Thrashers proved they are capable of such.
Movin’ On Up
The win, combined with losses by the Bolts and Sens, allowed the Thrasher to leapfrog over those two into 12th place in the conference with 33 points.
audible ooos and aaahs from the blogosphere
Next rung on the ladder… Toronto is sitting in the 11th spot with 38 points after their 6-2 loss in Montreal.
High SA/G = High GAA…Really?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Logic would dictate that the more pucks that get fired at the net…the higher the chances are of goals being scored, (DUH4). So, when one looks at the Thrashers league-worst 3.63 GAA, it’s not a far stretch to link it to the abysmal 32.8 SA/G stat.
But…is it really just that simple?
Well, looking at the NHL team stats, we see that there are two teams with higher SA/G than the Thrashers have. The Tampa Bay Lightning give up shots to the tune of 32.9 per game and the Florida Panthers do so at a shocking 34.6 rate. Must have something to do with all that heat and humidity down there, eh? Anyway, so… logic dictates that their high shots against totals must equate to a high goals against stat as well, right?
Not quite.
See, while the Bolts allow the second most shots against per game in the league, they only give up 2.92 goals per game…that is 21st in the NHL. The Panthers? Well, true they give up more shots than anyone else but they allow a mere 2.72 goals per game. That’s the 11th best GAA stat in the league.
So…what gives?
We look no further than the men ‘tween the pipes here. First, the Thrashers’ keepers…
Kari Lehtonen: 4-10-2 with a 3.37 GAA and .902 SV%.
Johan Hedberg: 6-7-3 with a 3.58 GAA and .888 SV%.
Ondrej Pavelec: 3-6-0 with a 3.55 GAA and .884 SV%.
The high goals against number isn’t surprising, especially given how many shots that they face…but what matters here is the saves percentage.
Case in point, let’s now take a look at the men that man the nets down in the Sunshine State… shall we?
Mike Smith… who just recently turned away 27 of 28 Thrashers shots last Sunday in Tampa Bay’s 4-1 win in Atlanta… is currently 9-12-1 with a 2.53 GAA and a .919 SV%. Same losing record as Atlanta’s goalkeeping trio, but the amount of goals allowed is a good three quarters of a point lower than Kari’s and more than one whole point better than Moose and Opie’s. This is caused by his saves percentage being 0.17% better than Kari’s, 0.31% and 0.35% better than Pavelec’s.
Mosey on down the Tamiami Trail to Sunrise, Florida and we find Tomas Vokoun sporting a 9-12-1 record with a 2.80 GAA and .916 SV%. He’s split time with Craig Anderson who is a very impressive 9-4-5 with a low 2.35 GAA and impressive .933 SV%. While Vokoun’s numbers are good, take a look at Anderson’s…the SV% is .031 better than Kari’s and his GAA is 1.02 goals better. In fact, prior to allowing five goals on forty-five shots in Montreal last Sunday, he was sporting a 2.20 GAA.
Hmmmm…so, even though these goalies see lots-o-rubber flying in their faces, as do the Thrashers goalies, they seem to have the ability to turn away a considerable amount more of the shots than do the guys in the Thrashers’ net.
Thus…more shots being saved by the goalie equates to a lower GAA and, therefore, more games that his team has a chance to be victorious in, (DUH5). This is specifically true in the case of the Florida Panthers who are only 19th in the league in scoring, only netting 2.65 per game, but are 18-16-6 on the season and only three points out of a playoff birth.
In Tampa Bay’s case, true their record is only 11-18-10…but they only score goals at a 2.38 per game clip, 28th in the league. However, the solid work by Smith in the Lighting goal has helped them to come out of a game pointless in only 18 of 39 games.
Which brings us back to Atlanta. That all three goalies have a GAA well over three can be linked directly to a pedestrian at best saves percentages. The amount of shots that they face certainly do not help matters at all…but, as we can see, isn’t totally to blame for the high number of goals scored on them. It also contributes greatly to the Gawd-awful, league-worst 72.2% “effective” penalty kill.
When we look back on the amount of one-goal losses…and games in which empty netters accounted for two-goal margin losses…the difference between saving 88 or 90-ish% percent of the shots faced and 91 or 93-ish% of the shots equates to one or two goals here and there.
And so many times this season, that has been the difference between a win and yet another close loss.
Thrashers Perfect Rx For Ailing Pens
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Pittsburgh Penguins had lost five straight games and six of their last seven…being outscored 24-8 and not being ale to score more than two goals in those games. They had just suffered a 4-0 spanking at the hands of the Rangers in New York the night before.
Fortunately for them, they came home to find a most welcome guest, the Thrashers, and beat them 3-1.
The Pens had gone 31 straight power plays with nary a goal going back over the last seven games. They scored two power plays goals against the Thrashers Tuesday night.
Sidney Crosby entered Tuesday’s game against Atlanta having gone four straight without scoring a goal. Over the past seven games, he had scored but one goal and in the past seventeen games he scored only twice. Crosby hadn’t scored a power play goal since November. 13th.
Sidney Crosby scored a power play goal against the Thrashers.
Pittsburgh played nearly the entire game minus one skater after Ruslan Fedotenko left with an injury having played but 35 seconds. They played the last half of the game with only 16 skaters after Pascal Dupuis left the game after playing but 6:53.
It didn’t matter as the Atlanta Thrashers proved to be the perfect prescription to what ailed the Penguins. I’m sure they will be feeling much better in the morning.
The Thrashers of late have proven to be quite the elixir for tired and weary teams as, for the third consecutive game, Atlanta faced a team on the back end of back-to-back sets. Those three teams have skated away with a total of five points. In fact, going back to the 2-1 loss to Boston two Sundays ago, the last four times the Thrashers have face opponents playing their second game in as many nights…Atlanta is 1-3-0, picking up two points while giving away seven.
Much like their last game in which a less-than-average Lightning team drubbed the Thrashers 4-1, a slumping Pittsburgh team scored all the goals that they needed for the night before surrendering a consolation goal late in the third period.
And exactly like Mike Smith of Tampa Bay did Sunday at The House Waddell Built, Marc-Andre Fleury stopped the first 27 shots the Thrashers took on him, before losing the shutout bid on the 28th and final Atlanta shot.
Kari Lehtonen is now 4-10-2 on the season with a .902 SV%. He lowered his GAA to 3.37 by allowing but 3 goals in 59 minutes of work. Kari is now 2-5-0 since returning last month from his back injury, allowing 23 goals in those seven games. Two of his four wins have come by way of the shootout, leaving him with only a pair of regulation wins in sixteen decisions over the course of half a season.
Atlanta is now 13-23-5 at the halfway point of the season. The 31 points put the dead-on to net 62 for the season. If so, that would be 14 points off last season’s pace…which was 21 points off the mark the year before that.
This, my friends, is what Bruce Levenson refers to as “moving in the right direction”!
The New Jersey Devils will be rolling out the red carpet for the Thrashers Thursday night as they will be looking to bounce back from Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to Carolina.
Oh, There You Are Jason
With about four minutes remaining in the game up in Pittsburgh, I watched as a wide open Jason Williams fumbled a pass in front of the Penguin’s net. It was at that point that I realized…Jason Williams was in the Thrashers lineup!
He sure has a way of disappearing into the walls, doesn’t he?
Thus, I propose a new nickname for him…Casper.
Life Post Hossa/Dupuis Trade
Last February, as you’ll recall, the Thrashers traded away Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis to the team they just lost 3-1 to, the Pittsburgh Penguins. In return, they received Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen…future prospect Angelo Esposito and the Pens first round draft pick. They were 29-30-4 in the 63 games played on the day of that trade.
Since that day, the Thrashers have played 60 games and have a record of 18-33-9.
The next trade deadline in now eight weeks away.
Congrats Don
The 13-23-5 record the Thrashers have is a points winning percentage of .378. To put that in perspective, Atlanta’s second year in the league saw them play to a 23-45-2-12 which was good enough for a .370 points winning percentage. Congratulations Don, you have successfully set this team back to an expansion era franchise less than two years removed from it’s one and only playoff appearance.
That HAS to be some sort of record.
More Fun With Numbers
The Thrashers collected seven victories in the first sixteen games of the season. In the last 25…they have managed but six.
Four times this season Kari Lehtonen has been blessed with facing fewer than 30 shots on goal. He is 0-4-0 in those games.
In order to simply get to last season’s disappointing record of 34-40-8, Atlanta will have to go 21-17-3 in the second half of the season.
In order to simply have a “break-even” season…82 points…they will need 51 points in the last 41 games. That’s something like 24-14-3.
In order to qualify for the playoffs…about 94 points…the Thrashers would need to go 30-8-3.
Just sayin’…
And Finally…
Before we leave the subject of the Pittsburgh Penguins…I wish to share with you a most excellent observation that MB posted over on Mike Knobler’s blog. It has to do with the similar draft situations the Thrashers and Pens found themselves in between 1999 and 2003. Similar draft positions, similar positions picked…but look where the two teams are now.
Nicely done, MB.
Putting 10,750 Into Focus
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So…as I am one to do, I’m perusing through some lunchtime reading material earlier today and I trip up on this from Holly Gunning of the Thrashers Prospect Annex. She’s posted a few photos from the Thrashers embarrassing 4-1 loss to the Lightning Sunday afternoon, specifically the “crowd” in attendance.
If you were there, or watching on TV, the sight of this “partial sellout” won’t really come as a surprise…but looking at it from the angles that she took these shots, the pictures do indeed tell the story…the sad, pathetic story.
Although 10,750 was the official announced draw…the fact of the matter is that if you added up the fans in the seats, the players on the ice, coaching staffs, TV and radio broadcasters and crew, media types, those working concessions, security, 50-50 raffle crew and all of the homeless people outside of Philips…you would still be hard pressed to come up with 10,750.
Folks… frickin’ Elmo on Ice draws more than this on a Sunday afternoon.
Take a good look at Holly’s pictures…then reflect back just 24 short months ago…back to a Sunday afternoon in January at Philips Arena when the Thrashers were hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. At the time, Philly entered into that game with a record of 11-32-5 and the Thrashers were…now sit down for this…28-15-8 overall and 13-6-4 on home ice.
My family and I were among the 18,598 in attendance that afternoon. The place was indeed packed. Take a look at the video highlights here with the boxscore and check out the crowd. This is what Blueland looked like, sounded like…felt like. The place was rockin’…shakin’…it was the place to be!
My God, what Waddell and the Spiriteers have done to this franchise in just two years.
Now, the fans in Atlanta are sending a clear and concise message to Bruce Levenson and the Spiriteers. A message that should echo throughout Philips…which should not be too difficult given how empty it is. They are fed up with what they and Waddell have done to this team and they want a serious change made, specifically in the GM office, and they want that change made…NOW!
If not…then it won’t be too much longer before we look back at “10,750” in the same reminiscent fashion as we now look back on 18,598.
Rumor Mill A-Churnin’
I normally don’t “do” rumor mill stuff here…remember, the rumor mill had Hossa in Montreal last February and Ilya in Minnesota for Gaborik last month…so one tends to take things with a certain grain of salt, (DUH5).
But this one has sort of tickled my ear. I found this by way of FrenchCatalogues of The Blueland Chronicle…apparently thefourthperod.com says that there is a possible deal that would send Kari Lehtonen to L.A. for centerman Patrick O’Sullivan. They cite their source as the Edmonton Journal…reporting that Kari has fallen out of favor with the Thrashers.
Many of you have already heard of and discussed this rumor.
Hmmmm…OK, so we would send an injury-prone 4-9-2 keeper with a 3.39 GAA and .903 SV% who is on the verge of officially being declared a No. 2 pick “bust”out to SoCal in return for a 5’-11” 190 pound center with 9 goals, 23 points and a +5 in 37 games played who will turn 24 years of age next month.
Interesting.
Kari is currently under a 1-year $3 million contract and will be an RFA this summer. O’Sullivan is currently making $2.925 million and his contract runs to the end of the 2010-11 season. He’ll be a UFA after that.
Interesting-er.
Now if…IF…such a deal were to go down, that would leave Hedberg and Pavelec as the two goalies in Atlanta. Would we see Opie tossed out there and told, “It’s your gig now kid…go justify yourself”, or would we see Moose given the starting job for now while the kid is eased into it?
Interesting-er-er.
Though it would be tough to part ways with the 2002 second overall pick in return for a 56th pick the following year, the official Rawhide/Ice Man position on this deal is…thumbs up.
But again…I do so with my saltshaker well in hand.
Absolutely Embarrassing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Once again…the Thrashers failed to carry over any momentum from a win into the next game. This time it was the Tampa Bay Lightning that snapped the “streak” with a 4-1 win in Philips Arena. The Lightning used the win in Atlanta to leapfrog over the Thrashers for fourth place in the Southeast Division, thirteenth place in the Eastern Conference and leaving the Thrashers a mere three points north of the bottom of the NHL standings.
Thank goodness for those three wins against the Islanders, huh…otherwise, the Thrashers place in the standing would be really embarrassing, eh?
Tampa Bay came into the game sporting the league’s sixth worst power play, (14.2%), second worst goals per game stat, (2.34 G/G), second worst shots against stat, (33.1 SA/G) and their 2.97 GA/G was tied with Edmonton and Philly for only 22nd in the league. However, they went 2 for 4 on the man advantage against the Thrashers… Martin St. Louis and Steve Eminger did the honors for Tampa Bay… they scored four times, allowed but one, took 35 shots and allowed Atlanta only 28.
Folks, when a 10-18-10 team, particularly one with those stats, comes a-callin’ to your barn…on the tail end of a back-to-backer…having lost three games straight over a span of four nights… and they drop you to the tune of 4-1…it’s nothing short of flat out embarrassing.
Bolts goalie Mike Smith stopped the initial 27 shots he faced, but Erik Christensen’s tap-in with 21.2 seconds remaining in the games spoiled his shutout bid. Smith finished the day’s work with 27 saves on 28 shots for a .964 SV%.
On the other end of the ice, Kari Lehtonen wasn’t exactly having a Sunday stroll in the park as he allowed four goals on 35 shots. In the six games started since returning from his back injury that put him on the shelf for 21 consecutive games, Kari is 2-4 with a 3.31 GAA and .902 SV%.
Once Again, Win Streak Ends At One
Since the now-infamous five-game win streak that Don Waddell points to as proof that he has iced a “good team”… the Thrashers have won six games and netted 15 points over the past twenty-fours games. In fact, remove that five-game win streak of two months ago and the Thrashers haven’t won back-to-back games all year and are 8-22-5 in the other 35 games played.
That’s not good, Don. And trying to pawn off the team you are responsible for as such is…embarrassing.
10,750
That was the announced attendance at Sunday’s game. Yeah, that’s what they said…10,750.
Unless about 4,000 were all milling about in the concourse area all game…there is no way 10K-plus fans were in the building. The Spirit Clowns and Don Waddell should be nothing short of…embarrassed…at the sight of so many empty seats on a Sunday afternoon.
Several weeks ago, Don Waddell was asked if he was concerned about the attendance figures. He cited that the team normally struggles in this department early on but…once the football season ends and the lovely fall weather gives way to winter…folks tend to come out and watch the team he constructs at a much higher rate.
Well, the Falcons wonderful season came to an end Saturday, Tech and UGA played their bowl games last week and…last I checked…it’s been winter for a couple of weeks now. So now what’s the excuse?
Hey Donnie…here’s a thought. Maybe…just maybe…it’s the fact that the fans have seen what you have done to this team over the past couple of years and have decided it isn’t worth paying the higher prices that the Spirit Clowns put on tickets this year?
Just sayin’…
Keeping Up With The Bruins
The Thrashers have now surrendered 146 goals in 40 games played so far this season, which keeps them right on pace to see 300 get past Atlanta keepers. As awesome as the Boston Bruins’ offense is this year…they have only been able to produce 143 in 39 games.
“Give-A-Crap Level Was Like At Zero”
Those were the words of Thrashers head coach John Anderson after the 4-1 beat-down at the hands of the “mighty” Tampa Bay Lightning. He went on to add, “I’ve got to question whether anybody cares in that locker room. That’s a joke”.
Only, no one is laughing.
Although I have to agree 100% with the coach’s comments, let’s be honest here. The current general manager for the team has had 8-1/2 seasons with zero playoff wins to show for it…only 251 wins in 696 games…and has set the team back years due to his last two trade-deadline dealings.
If the Spirit Clowns refuse to hold that type of failure accountable, what makes anyone in that locker room fear that they will be?
Little Rib Injury
Bryan Little…and his team-leading 19 goals… left the game late in the second period with contused ribs and did not return. Coach Anderson indicated that he did not know how long Little would be out, but said that ribs are normally something that need weeks, not days, to heal.
Joy…rapture.
A Good Day For Mike Smith
On Sunday, the Associated Press named Falcons head coach Mike Smith NFL Coach of the Year. A few hours later, Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Mike Smith comes within seconds of a shutout in Atlanta during a 4-1 win against the Thrashers.
So, it was a good day in Atlanta for those named Mike Smith.
Happy Ending Despite Swedish Twins’ Domination
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Sedin brothers…Henrik and Daniel…accounted for all three Vancouver goals and each finished the night with three points. Fourteen of the Canucks thirty-eight shots on goal came from players named Sedin, Henrick with eight and Daniel with six.
However, despite the Swedish twins’ domination…the Atlanta Thrashers that came out on top, whipping the Canucks 4-3 in the shootout.
Early on, Vancouver experienced a case of the Crabbs as Joey fired a short-handed laser blast past Jason La-la-la-la-la-LaBarbera, who was acquired last Tuesday from the L.A. Kings after Curtis Sanford went down injured. LaBarbera stopped 34 of the 37 shots he faced including all four the Thrashers managed to get on goal in overtime.
OK, stop right there…you did read that correctly. Atlanta scored a short-handed goal and they took 37 shots on goal. Given that and the fact that they are undefeated so far in 2009… the New Year has definitely gotten off on a positive note.
Ilya Kovalchuk’s thirteenth of the year, and second in as many games, tied the score at two with 7:36 remaining in the second and Slava Kozlov’s sixteenth’s of the season gave Atlanta a 3-2 lead at the 3:46 mark of the third while the Thrashers were on the…wait for it…POWER PLAY!
Kari Lehtonen, making his third start in the four games played this week, turned away 35 of Vancouver’s 38 shots, (.921 SV%), and looked very impressive doing so. One of the three he surrendered was on a 5 on 3 Vancouver power play.
However, the Thrashers needed the skills competition exhibit known as the shootout in order to procure the two points on this night. It took an extra round of shots but Slava Kozlov and Erik Christensen were successful on theirs while Vancouver converted only on their first attempt.
The Thrashers are now 2-0 in shootouts this season.
Make no mistake, this was no pushover the Thrashers beat Friday night. Even with the OTL, Vancouver is still 21-15-4 and their 46 points is good enough to be but 2 points off the pace in the Northwest Division behind Cal-Gary’s 48 and they currently sit in fifth place in the Western Conference.
For Atlanta, it was only the fourth win and ninth point captured from teams that currently hold playoff positions in the NHL. So, it was a good night with a happy ending indeed.
Well Now, That Didn’t Take Long
It only took four seconds for Eric Boulton and Mike Brown to drop the gloves and have a go at one another. The puck had hardly even been dropped when the two decided that they had just had enough of each other.
Special Shout Outs
It was pleasure to have met Mr. J nes Friday night…thanks for introducing yourself and for the kind words.
To the two Alabamastan chicks who sat behind my brother and I that were attending their first ever NHL hockey game…you saw a darned good one. If the team is gonna win whenever you’re in the house, please return again soon.
Oh, and it sure looks like Melissa and her party were having a good time in 104-P.
And to Emma and Lizzie, who held me to my promise to get ‘em some ice cream if they screamed their heads off and helped the Thrashers get a lead…well done young ladies! You certainly did your parts.
2009 Predictions
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta wound up CY2008 with a record of 27-41-12…a points winning percentage of .412. I can’t predict an exact record for CY2009 since I do not know next season’s schedule yet…but I will predict the Thrashers will win a total of 30 games this year. 15 the rest of this season, 15 next fall.
At some point in calendar year 2009 the Thrashers will name a team captain. Seriously, they will.
When asked about the Thrashers going from 43 wins and 97 points two years ago…to 34 wins and 76 points last year…to about 27 wins and 63 points this season, Bruce Levenson will indeed once again use the phrase “I believe we are moving in the right direction”.
Blueland will come closer to “becoming one” than “becoming 18,545”.
The Boston Bruins will win the Stanley Cup Finals. Since Detroit will not win it back-to-back, this will spare Sara’s yard from being TP-ed by RStroz, Brendan and myself.
Atlanta’s Kari Lehtonen experiment will come to an end sometime this year. The #2 overall draft pick in 2002 now has a career record of 78-69-16 with a 2.86 GAA and .912 SV%. So far this season, Kari is 3-8-0 with a 3.30 GAA and .902 SV%. He’s missed almost twice as many games due to a back injury than he’s started so far this year. If he was to use this season to prove that he’s still worthy of the “goalie of the future” tag for the Thrashers…he now has only half a season to prove it.
We will indeed witness Nikita sporting a toga at Blueland. Maybe about the time the Thrashers win game number XX…sometime in mid-February.
The Chicago Wolves will once again win the AHL championship this spring. New head coach, same GM…just like the Thrashers. Go figure…
The Thrashers will finish low enough in the standings to own a lottery pick, (DUH5), and they will actually win the lottery to pick first in the draft. However, Don Waddell will pass up the opportunity to draft John Tavares, instead opting for Sven Sfadittlehoffen…the little-known 18-year old Swedish goalkeeper who has a 17-39-14 record with a 4.56 GAA and .841 SV% in Sweden’s Semi-Juniors. He’ll be eligible to play in the NHL after his 4-year stint in the Swedish Military. Waddell will refer to Sven as…the diamond in the rough that has gone under the conventional radar.
Bryan Little will end the season with more points than Ilya Kovalchuk. Ron Hainsey will end the year with more points than Jason Williams. Nathan Oystrick will end the season with more points than Erik Christensen.
We will enjoy watching all of these former Thrashers in the playoffs this spring… Marian Hossa, Pascal Dupuis, Braydon Coburn, Glen Metropolit, Marc Savard, Shane Hnidy, Eric Belanger, Andrew Brunette, Frantisek Kaberle and Bobby Holik. But not Dany Heatley. Ken Klee’s Coyotes will just miss out on the fun.
Despite seven losing seasons in nine years, not making the playoffs for the eighth season out of nine, icing a team that finished worse than the season prior for the second straight year, and tying the franchise record for playoff victories after a season… ZERO…Don Waddell will not be relieved of his general manager duties at the end of the season. Why? Well, see the Bruce Levenson prediction made earlier and you’ll get a glimpse of the type of mentality we are dealing with here.
The Blue Crew uniforms will become even skimpier. Five_Hole and Alan will attend more games. How the two are related…shrugs…I dunno.
Ilya Kovalchuk will be an Atlanta Thrasher on Dec. 31, 2009. After that…well, you’ll have to check in a year from now for that prediction.
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