Thrashers drop sixth straight

By Chris Vivlamore

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The sound of ringing goal posts may still be echoing in Philips Arena.

The Thrashers hit five posts, as part of a 41-shot effort,  but dropped 3-2 shootout decision to Phoenix Sunday. It was the sixth straight loss for the Thrashers, but at least it was a point in the standings. That’s something they haven’t had in the previous five games.

“One point is better than zero, but we needed two,” Thrashers defenseman Ron Hainsey said.

The Thrashers (28-29-11, 67 points) remain in 11th place in the Eastern Conference. With just 14 games remaining, Atlanta is five points out of the eighth and final playoff spot.

Adrian Aucoin scored in the fourth round of the shootout to give the Coyotes the victory. After Rich Peverley scored in the third round for the Thrashers, Radim Vrbata answered to send the tiebreaker to an extra round.

Thrashers goaltender Ondrej Pavelec fell to 0-4 in shootouts this season, stopping 6-of-11 attempts.

Coyotes’ goaltender Jason LaBarbera stopped 39 of the 41 shots he faced. He also was aided by the iron surrounding the net. Each near miss produced the unmistakable sound of rubber on iron.

“My best friend was out in full force tonight,” LaBarbera told reporters.

The bad luck typified the week for the Thrashers. They have been outscored 22-8 in the  losing streak – with just six goals in the five games played over the past eight days.

“I have now,” Thrashers coach John Anderson said when asked if he had ever been in a game with five shots off the goal posts. “Obviously we need the two [points].  I don’t think the game should have been that close, quite honestly, but we couldn’t put one in the net. It’s been a problem the last few games. …

“It would be nice for us to get a break once in a while, but we haven’t gotten it. We haven’t stopped playing because we aren’t getting the breaks. We are still moving forward, playing hard and doing everything we can to try to get points.”

The Thrashers did score two power-play goals. It was the first time they’ve had two goals with the man-advantage since Dec. 17 – a span of 35 games.

Maxim Afinogenov and Nik Antropov  scored third-period, power-play goals – with the primary assist for each other. Each goal tied the game after the Coyotes had taken a lead.

Matthew Lombardi scored 5:14 into the second period on a tipped shot. The Thrashers tied the game just 34 seconds into the final period. Antropov had the puck in the center of the Coyotes zone and slipped a nifty pass to his left which Afinogenov buried in the back of the net for his 21st goal of the season.

The Coyotes answered back when Lee Stempniak scored with four seconds remaining in a power play, which came after a hooking call on Bryan Little. The goal, at the 10:39 mark, was the 10th straight game the Thrashers have allowed a power-play goal.

“We hit five posts and they had two lucky goals,” Pavelec said.

The Thrashers tied the game when Afinogenov sneaked a cross-ice pass under the stick of Coyote defenseman Zbynek Michalek and right to Antropov. He snapped a shot past LaBarbera for his 18th goal of the season with 6:22 left to play.

It was a near-perfect reunion for Afinogenov and Antropov, who played much of the season on the Thrashers’ top line.

“It worked out, but we came up short as a team,” Antropov said. “We played a really good game and we are going to build on that. That’s the most important thing. The last couple of games we came out and were three goals down, two goals down in the first period. Tonight we played really solid the whole 65 minutes. We are going to build on that for sure.”

In the end, the Thrashers let a valuable point get away as they struggle to score with the playoffs on the line.

“It’s the same thing at the end of the week, seven goals in six games and that’s not enough,” Hainsey said. “Tonight was our best effort with traffic at the net and getting pucks to the net for those forwards down there, at least in the last six games. It really was. They just did not go in.”