Thrashers look ‘nervous' with playoff spot on the line

By Chris Vivlamore

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

With a playoff position within the Thrashers’ reach -- the Bruins slapped away their hand. Hard.

Boston took a three-point lead over the Thrashers in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a 4-0 victory Tuesday at Philips Arena. The Thrashers, who had their four-game win streak snapped, had a chance to take the final spot away from the Bruins. Instead, with nine games remaining in the regular season, they have more ground to make up.

The Thrashers (32-30-11, 75 points) haven’t had a five-game win streak since March 2007. Boston now stands at 33-27-12 (78 points).

“In the two years that I’ve been here it’s probably one of the most meaningful games that we’ve played,” Thrashers coach John Anderson said. “I just felt we were a little nervous and didn’t do little things like we did the past four or five games. I have to give them credit. Maybe they made us play like that, but I know we can play better.”

Asked if the team’s nerves were related to the magnitude of the game, Anderson said, “Possibly, possibly.”

Bruins rookie goaltender Tuukka Rask stopped all 27 shots the Thrashers took at him, plus a second-period penalty shot by Colby Armstrong. Rask is the NHL leader in goals-against average (2.02) and save percentage (.930) after his fourth shutout of the season and second against the Thrashers.

The Thrashers’ fortunes turned in the second period. They fell behind 2-0 but Armstrong had a chance to make it a one-goal game when he was hooked on a breakaway with 3:05 left in the period. He skated in wide left on Rask, who managed to get part of his glove on Armstrong’s shot.

The Bruins put the game out of reach with 3.5 seconds left in the second when Miroslav Satan tipped in a shot from Zdeno Chara after a faceoff win to make the score 3-0.

“If we go into the third period 2-1, it’s a different hockey game,” Anderson said of the final three minutes.

The Bruins opened the scoring with David Krejci’s first-period goal. It marked the first time in the past five games that the Thrashers allowed the first goal of the game. Krejci took control of the puck behind the net and passed to Michael Ryder, who skated in front and tried to stuff a shot past Thrashers goaltender Johan Hedberg. The puck came loose, and Krejci was there to knock it in at the 9:25 mark.

Milan Lucic gave the Bruins a two-goal lead with his tally at the 7:59 mark of the second.

“I think they played the game they wanted to play more than we did,” Thrashers defenseman Ron Hainsey said. “We turned it over way too much. They only had one goal off the turnover, but they could have had more. We spent so much time in our end.”

Hedberg stopped 29 of the 33 shots he faced.

“They played a very, very good game,” Hedberg said. “They beat us in every part of the game. It’s not like we didn’t try and didn’t want it. They are strong. They forecheck hard when they have a chance, and when they don’t, they sit back and we’ve got to beat five guys. We just couldn’t penetrate.

Steve Begin added a goal 1:46 into the third period for Boston’s final margin.

The Thrashers fell to 0-3-1 against the Bruins this season. They are four points behind the Flyers and the Canadiens, who are in the sixth and seventh spots in the conference with 79 points.

“Obviously this was a huge game," Hedberg said. "It could have taken us up into a playoff spot. We didn’t get the result we wanted.

"If we come out and win the next one, we’re back in it. We can’t get too down. Obviously we’re disappointed, but we have to keep our focus and excitement and try to bring it our next game.”