With nothing to play for, Thrashers playing their best

A funny thing happened on the Thrashers’ way to the draft lottery.

They suddenly started playing better. February was their first winning month since 2007. The second game in March brought a 2-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens and one of their best 60-minute efforts all season. Sunday is the one-month anniversary of the last time the Thrashers lost consecutive games.

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Mikki K. Harris/mkharris@ajc.com

The Thrashers have played their best when they’ve had the least to play for: February was their first winning month since 2007.

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No, they’re not the Detroit Red Wings, the San Jose Sharks or the Boston Bruins, but they don’t look much like what the standings still say they are — the second-worst team in the NHL.

For some reason, the Thrashers have played their best when they’ve had the least to play for, after a 5-8 January drove a stake through their previously barely alive playoff hopes.

One theory: They’ve been able to stay loose when other teams in the league have started to get tight. Players said they saw that tightness Friday in the Canadiens, who ranked fifth in the Eastern Conference but by Saturday were just two points ahead of 10th-place Carolina. Eight teams make the playoffs.

Another theory: An older team might go through the motions, but the Thrashers are too young to get blase simply because they’re not in contention for the postseason. Zach Bogosian and Nathan Oystrick are rookies. Boris Valabik and Colin Stuart had played a combined 25 NHL games before this season. Bryan Little and Tobias Enstrom are in their second NHL season.

“We’re just trying to have good habits,” Bogosian said. “You can’t just give up and say the season’s done. You’re playing for your job. It is your job. I’m just going to keep playing my hardest.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s Game 7 [of a playoff series] or a regular-season game. Come out and do your job. Play hard every night.”

Even Ilya Kovalchuk, who has played more games for the Thrashers than any other player, won’t turn 26 until April. And he has been playing harder than ever lately. Kovalchuk has 14 goals and 24 points in the past dozen games.

You win a lot of games with numbers like that. Plus, it makes it easier to fill a captain’s leadership role.

“I see his enthusiasm’s picked up,” Thrashers coach John Anderson said. “He’s not afraid to yell down to the guys if they’re not competing. Ilya isn’t without warts, either. He makes some mistakes out there. But [when] he’s out there working as hard as he can, he can say whatever he wants.”

Kovalchuk said he and his teammates are just doing their jobs.

“It’s business, first of all,” Kovalchuk said. “You have to be professional. We’ve got a lot of fans who support us. We want to see a lot of fans back next year, because I really believe we’re in the right direction now.

“We want to build some momentum for next year. We’re out of the playoffs, but there are still 17 games left, and we’re going to try to win as many games as we can.”