Thrashers' defense an issue in race for playoff spot

By Chris Vivlamore

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Thrashers are allowing shots -- lots of them. The Thrashers are allowing goals -- plenty of them as well.

If they are to get back in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, their defense will have to get better. Just look at the numbers:

The Thrashers have allowed 187 goals this season, 26th among NHL teams. The four teams that have allowed more -- Toronto (204), Edmonton (202), Columbus (194) and Carolina (189) -- all have played more games than the Thrashers.

The Thrashers are 28th in the NHL in goals-against average (3.16 per game) and 29th in the NHL in shots-against average (33.2 per game).

“We try not to have those goals scored against us,” Thrashers coach John Anderson said. “We’ve got to play better defensively. I think we have played better defensively [lately]. ... We are trying to stop the bleeding, believe me.”

The Thrashers are tied, with Calgary, for most one-goal games played with 34 (13-12-9, .382 winning percentage). Their 12 one-goal losses are tops in the league. With a more consistent effort on defense, the Thrashers would not be sitting outside the playoff picture.

But here they sit, tied for 10th in the conference (entering Thursday’s games) with 59 points -- four points out of the eighth spot.

The Thrashers are coming off a glaring example of when defensive lapses cost them points. They blew a two-goal, third-period lead to Colorado on Wednesday, losing 4-3 in overtime.

Don’t point solely at the six defensemen, says Anderson.

“Defense is a five-man job,” he said. “When you don’t have the puck, you’ve got to be defensive. Are we coming back far enough in our own zone? Are we helping out the D? A simple thing like a forward not getting the puck out and it comes back in our zone. Is that the defense’s fault that the forward didn’t get the puck out? To me, collectively, we’ve got to be better defensively.”

There are three main issues at work, according to Anderson and several players.

*The Thrashers need to be more physical, especially in their own zone.

“We always say lead with your sticks and finish with your bodies,” Anderson said. “We have to have better sticks and go through the puck instead of letting it go by us.”

*The Thrashers need to be consistent with their forecheck, keeping the puck out of their defensive zone.

“There is a very small margin for error, and the key is to limit the opportunities in your zone,” defenseman Ron Hainsey said. “[Wednesday] we spent so much time in our zone the last 15 minutes. If you spend 13 of 15 minutes in your own zone, eventually bad stuff happens.”

Or as Anderson puts it: “It’s a very good team that can score from its own zone.”

*The Thrashers play an offensive system. When a player gets too aggressive, it can lead to mistakes.

“I don’t think we have any system problems,” Thrashers goaltender Johan Hedberg said. “That’s kind of hockey ABCs; everybody knows how that should be played. It could be a bouncing puck; it could be a lost battle; it could be one guy being a little aggressive when he should be patient. It’s an extremely fast sport, and things will happen.”

Etc.

• The Thrashers recalled defenseman Arturs Kulda from AHL Chicago on Thursday. Kulda joined the team in Minnesota, but could not practice because his equipment had not arrived. Kulda, 21, had 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in 42 games for Chicago. He led the AHL with a plus-minus rating of plus-35.
• The roster move was necessitated by an upper-body injury suffered by defenseman Mark Popovic on Wednesday. Anderson said Popovic is “questionable” for Friday’s game against the Wild. He did not practice Thursday.
• Defenseman Boris Valabik underwent surgery Thursday to repair the torn ACL in his left knee. Valabik, out for the rest of the season, suffered the injury last week and was placed on injured reserve.