Leadership plays role in Thrashers' win streak

Enough was enough.

The Thrashers had been badly outplayed during the second period of their Nov. 17 game against Florida. Mistakes, the kind the team had been prone to make during an inconsistent start to the season, reared their ugly head again. Some things had to be said -- and they were said during a vocal and critical players’ intermission meeting.

Those words were, in part, the germination of the Thrashers’ current six-game win streak. The Thrashers outshot the Panthers 18-3 that night, but could not score in the final period of a 2-1 loss. They have not been defeated since.

“It is one of the biggest steps any successful team will make,” Thrashers coach Craig Ramsay said. “They decide to take the coaches' concepts and to use them and demand of themselves and their teammates that everybody participate.”

The Thrashers (13-9-3, 29 points) will play for a franchise-record seventh consecutive win Thursday at Pittsburgh. They have climbed to the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Andrew Ladd was named captain the day after the last loss. It was a position that had been vacant since Ilya Kovalchuk was traded in February. Dustin Byfuglien and Tobias Enstrom were named alternate captains on the same day.

“We felt it was an important step at the time, especially coming off a loss to Florida,” Ramsay said of naming new player leadership. “But we had talked about it and perhaps just kept putting it off a little bit, and that seemed like a good time. While I don’t look that far ahead, it does look smart. Certainly it was just luck on my part."

The three have backed up the trust that team leadership has placed in them. They have combined for seven goals and 17 assists during the six-game streak.

Players insisted that the second-period intermission was not out of the ordinary. Comments frequently are offered between periods -- about the game, a situation or a particular play.

“That happens all the time at different levels,” defenseman Ron Hainsey said. “Guys have to be able to talk to each other about what happens on the ice. It’s not a personal thing if guys are going to say something about this play or that play. There are times when the players are going to correct things. There are times when the coaches are going to correct things.”

Ramsay and his staff were waiting for the players to take control of the locker room. Coaches could show only so much video of bad turnovers, neutral-zone errors, undisciplined penalties or poor positioning. At some point, accountability begins with the players.

“In the room, leadership is part of this process, and it’s absolutely essential for a team if they want to move forward and be held accountable to each other,” goaltender Chris Mason said. “I think, for me personally, I feel terrible if I make mistakes, and every guy is the same. You feel terrible. You feel like you are letting your teammates down.