Kovalchuk off to fast start

By Chris Vivlamore

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It’s not often that Kovalchuk doesn’t get a shot on goal but that was the case in the Thrashers’ 4-2 win at New Jersey on Friday. The Thrashers captain was shut out.

That was not the case , however, in the Thrashers’ 4-2 win at Buffalo on Saturday. Kovalchuk took five shots and scored twice.

Kovalchuk has seven goals in the first five games and trails only Washington's Alexander Ovechkin for the NHL lead. Ovechkin has nine goals but has played in three more games.

Kovalchuk’s fast start is in stark contrast to last season. It took him 20 games, until Nov. 25, to reach the seven-goal mark.

Both of Kovalchuk’s goals in Buffalo were set up when passes found him untended in front of the net.

“Sometimes Kovy makes it pretty easy for me to find him,” said linemate Bryan Little, who set up the second of Kovalchuk’s goals Saturday. “He’s so good at finding open space. ... I don’t know why teams leave him alone there. I knew it as soon as he got it that it was going to go in.”

The Thrashers play the final stop of their five-game road trip Tuesday in Montreal. They return home to play Washington on Thursday. It will be the first game at Philips Arena since the season opener on Oct. 3.

Talks continue

Thrashers general manager Don Waddell said Sunday that contract negotiations continue with Kovalchuk. He expects to meet with Kovalchuk’s agent in the upcoming weeks for more talks. Waddell said he remains optimistic about re-signing the franchise player.

Special teams

There is now some "kill"  in the Thrashers’ penalty kill unit.

The team is currently eighth in the NHL in penalty kills with an 85 percent success rate. It’s a far cry from last season when the Thrashers finished 29th out of 30 teams with a 76 percent rate.

The Thrashers killed four of five man-down situations in Buffalo Saturday, including a 5-on-3 disadvantage for a full two minutes.

“Penalty kill has been our Achilles’ heal, certainly last year and maybe even the year before,” Thrashers’ coach John Anderson said following the game. “We’ve spent a lot of time on it and it’s been one of our bright spots this year.”

Slava meets Canada

One light moment from the Thrashers’ off-day event in Elmira, Ontario, Sunday came following the team’s practice at the Dan Snyder Memorial Arena. Slava Kozlov, one of two remaining Thrashers to have played with Snyder in Atlanta, was asked about the practice.

“It was awesome,” Kozlov said of the event attended by 1,500. “It’s the first time I practiced in front of so many people. ... It looks like hockey is very popular in Canada.”

The Thrashers spent the day with a public practice and autograph session at the arena in the hometown of Snyder, who died six years ago following an automobile accident in a car driven by teammate Dany Heatley.

Coaching change in Chicago

The Chicago Wolves, the Thrashers' AHL affiliate, fired head coach Don Granato and assistant coach Jason Christie Monday.

Wolves General Manager Wendell Young and Senior Advisor/Director of Hockey Operations Gene Ubriaco will run the team in the interim. No timetable was set for finding replacements.

The Wolves are 1-5 this season.