Thrashers power play slips to seventh in NHL

By Chris Vivlamore

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

BOSTON -- It’s not all that complicated. For the team's power play to be effective, the Thrashers need to take shots from the point and then pounce on the rebounds. Doing just that made Atlanta's power play No. 1 in the NHL not so long ago.

Things have changed in two weeks.

The Thrashers have dropped to seventh in the league with the man-advantage after going 2-for-24 over their past eight games.

“Simple wins,” Thrashers coach Craig Ramsay said. “Simple wins the game and certainly simple wins on the power play.”

The Thrashers have a 21.8 percent success rate (29-for-133) on the man-advantage. Tampa Bay currently leads the NHL at 24.6 percent. The Thrashers’ recent slide includes an 0-for-5 performance in Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to St. Louis.

It will change, according to Ramsay. It’s the up-and-down nature of the special team unit.

“Power plays fluctuate,” Ramsay said. “We were really good on the power play and we’ll be really good again. We just have to realize where we are and that generally, we get to the point and shoot it. If we do that enough, then other things do open up.”

The Thrashers are far better with the man-advantage on the road then at home. They convert at a 24.6 percent rate away from home, good for third in the league. However, at Philips Arena, they have a 19.4 percent success rate, down to 19th in the league.

Ramsay said the reason for the recent woes has been a departure from the basics.

“The power play just didn’t get the job done,” he said after Tuesday’s game. “I think we were trying to get to cute instead of just shooting. When we shoot, we are pretty good. ... We tried to force a few plays that weren’t there.”

Tobias Enstrom scored on a point shot in Monday’s 6-3 win over Toronto. The only other power-play goal over the past eight games was scored by Evander Kane last Thursday against Carolina.

Two of the Thrashers’ power-play point men, Dustin Byfuglien and Enstrom, are tied for eighth in the NHL with 11 power-play assists. Byfuglien is tied for ninth in power-play points. The Thrashers’ two leading goal scorers, Andrew Ladd and Byfuglien, each have 12 goals, four on the man-advantage.

It’s not a coincidence.

“If we just win our battles and move the puck around, we’ll create opportunities,” Ramsay said.

Tough stretch

The Thrashers wrap up a stretch of nine games in 14 days in Boston on Thursday. The team’s schedule has been front-loaded. They will play their first 41 games in 85 days. They play their final 41 games in 100 days.