Thrashers win another on the road

By Chris Vivlamore

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It was almost too easy for Ilya Kovalchuk. Yes, the assists were that good.

The Thrashers' captain was set up perfectly for two first-period goals en route to a 4-2 victory over Buffalo on Saturday. Kovalchuk now has seven goals in the Thrashers’  five games. More important, the Thrashers are 4-1, the past three wins coming on the road.

“I think we have the best team ever in the organization,” Kovalchuk said. “Everybody is on the same page, and everybody is working hard to win.”

The Thrashers opened the scoring when Rich Peverley sent a pass down low to Nik Antropov on a power play. Antropov slid a pass out front to Kovalchuk, who snapped a wrist shot past Sabres goalie Patrick Lalime with 6:47 gone in the period. Lalime never had a chance.

Just three minutes later, Antropov passed down low to Bryan Little. This time it was Little who slid a perfect setup out front to Kovalchuk, who buried a slap shot past Lalime with 9:48 gone in the period. Lalime never had a chance.

“He doesn’t miss those very often,” Thrashers coach John Anderson said. “That’s the guy you don’t want to have 10 feet in front of your net because the goalie is putting his hand over his face so he doesn’t get hit with [the puck].”

Kovalchuk was a little more diplomatic.

“Those were unbelievable passes. Those are easy goals to score,” he said.

Johan Hedberg, making his first start of the season, stopped 40 shots for the victory. The first blemish was a long shot from the left by Buffalo’s Clarke McArthur in the second period that pulled the Sabres to 2-1. However, the Thrashers answered 57 seconds later with Todd White’s power-play goal. The Sabres again pulled to within a goal, at 3-2, with Drew Stafford's third-period power-play goal with 3:32 remaining. However, the Thrashers answered 17 seconds later. Max Afinogenov made a successful return to Buffalo with a goal on a great individual effort. Afinogenov, who spent nine seasons with the Sabres, was booed by fans every time he touched the puck. His clinching goal silenced the HSBC Arena crowd.

“It did surprise me,” Afinogenov said of his welcome. “I still feel like they are great fans. I spent 10 years playing for them. I hope they still like me anyway.”

The Thrashers noticed the treatment of Afinogenov.

“He quieted the boo birds down real quick,” Anderson said. “Guys on the bench were pretty excited for him because they felt bad he was getting booed.”

Hedberg said he felt sharp in his season debut. McArthur’s goal was a “knuckler” that got away from him at the last minute.

“I did feel sharp right away,” Hedberg said. “I felt great, and I was really happy with the way the team played tonight."

There was no slow start for the Thrashers in the second of back-to-back games. The Thrashers outshot the Sabres 16-13 in the first period. At one point, the Thrashers took 12 shots to the Sabres’ one. In the final tally, the Sabres held a 42-27 shots-on-goal advantage. The Thrashers have been at a deficit in the category every game this season.

A big swing in the game came midway through the second period when the Thrashers killed off a 5-3 Sabres power play. Zach Bogosian was called for hooking, and Ron Hainsey was called for roughing. However with Pavel Kubina, Christoph Schubert and White on the ice for the majority of the power play, the Sabres managed only two decent shots at Hedberg.

“That was huge,” Hedberg said.

The Thrashers have one more road game, Tuesday in Montreal, before finally returning home on Oct. 22, 18 days after their season opener at Philips Arena.

The Thrashers are in second place in the Southeast Division with eight points, two points behind Washington. The Capitals have three games in hand on the Thrashers.

“I always expect to win,” Anderson said of his team's start. “... I’m pleasantly surprised but I always believe that every game we go into we can win.”