Archive for December, 2010

Nik Antropov did not travel to Pittsburgh for Tuesday’s game against the Penguins as he battles soreness from a hit taken last week. The Thrashers forward missed Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay. He did not practice Monday but skated alone a half hour before teammates took the ice. He shot pucks at goaltender Chris Mason before finishing his workout.

“He’s sore,” Thrashers coach Craig Ramsay said. “We just want to make sure it’s OK. It’s a delicate balance between hoping a guy can play and making sure he’s OK in the long term. We’ll give him some rest.”

Antropov crashed into the next last week against Toronto. He played the following day against St. Louis. He said he was feeling better but did not take pre-game warmups Sunday.

“He would go if he could,” Ramsay said. “The problem was he just wasn’t sure. If you are not sure, you better not be shorthanded because we’ve got guys who can play. We are not worried about filling out our lineup. It’s important that the player gives us …

Continue reading Antropov misses trip to Pittsburgh »

Here is my game story from the Thrashers loss to the Lightning Sunday night for those who would like to comment.

The Lightning have the Thrashers’ number – and it’s a big one.

Tampa Bay defeated Atlanta 3-2 in overtime on Sunday night at Philips Arena for its nine consecutive win, including all four meetings this season. Vincent Lecavalier scored his second goal of the game, on a power play, at the 1:13 mark of the extra period for the win.

The Lightning now own the NHL’s longest active consecutive win streak by one team over another. The last Thrashers’ win came Oct. 3, 2009, in the opening game of last season. That broke a three-way tie for league dominance; San Jose has beaten Philadelphia eight straight times and Boston has done the same to Edmonton.

The Thrashers (19-13-6, 44 points) lost for the third straight time. Since a 10-2 streak, the Thrashers have lost five of seven games (2-2-3).

The Lightning (21-10-5, 47 points) kept the lead in the Southeast Division with …

Continue reading Bad penalty leads to Thrashers ninth straight loss to Lightning »

Zach Bogosian will be back in the Thrashers lineup Sunday night against Tampa Bay.

Nik Antropov may not be.

Both players missed Thursday’s game in Boston. Bogosian was rested with several nagging injuries. Antropov was still feeling the effects of crashing into the net last week in Toronto.

Antropov took part in Sunday’s morning skate and reported that he felt better. He traded turns with Tim Stapleton on the line combination with Andrew Ladd and Rich Peverley.

Thrashers coach Craig Ramsay said both would take part in pre-game warm-ups and Stapleton would play if Antropov was unavailable.

Antropov was a game-time decision against St. Louis the day following suffering the injury in Toronto. He played in that game, but was a late scratch Thursday in Boston.

“That was the weird part,” Antropov said. “I played against the Blues after that hit in Toronto and I felt all right. Then the next day it flared up. I skated during the warm-up (Thursday) and let’s say I wasn’t 100 …

Continue reading Bogosian back in lineup, Antropov a game-time decision »

A match penalty did not equal a suspension for Boston’s Milan Lucic for the late punch thrown at Thrashers defenseman Freddy Meyer during Thursday’s game.

With 4:06 left in the 4-1 Boston win, Meyer checked Lucic high as he entered the offensive zone. Lucic and teammate Andrew Ference immediately went after Meyer and eventually all 10 skaters were involved in fights. Four Thrashers received 39 minutes and four Bruins received 57 minutes in penalties. Lucic received a match penalty and a game misconduct.

Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli issued a statement Sunday saying Lucic was not suspended by the NHL for his actions but fined a total of $3,500. Chiarelli said Lucic was fined $2,500 for the punch and $1,000 for an obscene gesture directed at the Thrashers’ bench. Lucic traveled with the Bruins for Monday’s game at Florida.

According to Rule 21.1 of the NHL official rules, a match penalty “shall be imposed on any player who deliberately attempts to injure or who …

Continue reading No suspension for Lucic after late punch at Meyer »

Next for Thrashers

Who: vs. Lightning

When: 7 p.m. Sunday

TV; radio: FSSO; 680 AM, 93.7 FM

* The Thrashers have lost two straight games. The Lightning have earned points in their past seven games, going 5-0-2.

* The Lightning have won eight straight against the Thrashers, including all three meetings this season.

* The Thrashers (43 points) are third in the Southeast Division, trailing the Lightning and Capitals (both with 45 points). The Lightning have two games in hand on the Thrashers and Capitals. The Lightning are second in the Eastern Conference, the Thrashers are sixth.

* Dustin Byfuglien has a two-game goal streak for the Thrashers. He has seven points (three goals, four assists) in the past seven games. The Thrashers have played 37 games this season and Byfuglien has been held without a point in just 12.

* Steven Stamkos has seven points (five goals, two assists) and is a plus-2 in three games against the Thrashers this season. He has 21 points in 15 career games, his …

Continue reading Thrashers-Lightning preview »

Here is my game story, with quotes, from Thursday’s loss to the Bruins for those who would like to comment.

I will be off for the next two days. I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours. We’ll pick it back up Sunday against the Lightning.

BOSTON – Stake Tim Thomas to a lead and often that’s enough. Surrender a short-handed goal and you are just asking for trouble.

The Thrashers gave up a goal while on a power play just three minutes into Thursday night’s game against Boston. The Bruins’ goaltender made it stand up in a fisticuffs-filled 4-1 victory over the Thrashers at TD Garden.

The Thrashers (19-13-5, 43 points) lost for the second straight time and are 2-2-2 in the past six games. They remained in third place in the Southeast Division standings behind Washington and Tampa Bay.

Thomas came into the game leading the NHL with a 1.70 goals-against average and .948 save percentage, and padded those numbers for the Bruins (18-11-4, 40 points).

Fourteen …

Continue reading Thrashers fall to Bruins in fight-filled affair »

Today’s quote comes from Ben Eager on the importance of beating Eastern Conference teams such as the Bruins:

“They have a good team and a deep lineup,” Eager said. “I’m sure they are going to be excited to get a win before the Christmas break. This is a good team and you would think they are going to be in the playoffs. If you do make the playoffs we could end up facing them at some point. We want to be a good team ourselves and to do that we have to beat the other good times.”

Continue reading Eager: Important to beat Eastern Conference opponents »

It will be a battle of the two best statistical goaltenders in the league when the Bruins and Tim Thomas host the Thrashers and Ondrej Pavelec Thursday.

Thomas leads the NHL in save percentage (.948) and goals-against average (1.70). Pavelec is second in save percentage (.943) and goals-against average (1.82).

“The challenge for me is to beat the Boston Bruins, not Tim Thomas,” Pavelec said. “I don’t look at who is in the other net. It’s a big game for us. We need the two points.”

The Thrashers did not face Thomas in Atlanta on Nov. 28 in a 4-1 win. They scored three first-period goals against Tuukka Rask en route to the victory.

“They have two top-notch goaltenders over there,” Thrashers coach Craig Ramsay said. “I’ve seen them both play brilliantly. Certainly we’ve seen our guy, Pavs, steal us some games and steal us periods when you need it, make that big save at the right time. It’s going to be interesting tonight. Whoever they put in there tonight, you are going to have …

Continue reading Goaltender matchup features top two in NHL statisitics »

BOSTON – Thrashers defenseman Zach Bogosian will be out of the lineup against Boston Thursday due to several nagging injuries, including the effects of a hit taken Tuesday against St. Louis.

“I’ve been playing with a couple little injuries that they want me to heal up,” Bogosian said. “There are a couple of them right now. When we come back [from holiday break] we are going to have four games in six days, so [coach Craig Ramsay] just told me to heal up. That’s what we are doing.”

In place of Bogosian, Freddy Meyer will be in the lineup for the first time in 11 games and second time in the past 29 games.

“Freddy Meyer gets around the ice very well,” Ramsay said. “He hasn’t been able to play very much but he’s a great kid. He works as hard as anybody off the ice.

Bogo has been banged up and I felt it was a good opportunity to give him three days rest before we have to play again.”

The Thrashers made one other lineup change against the Bruins. Ben Eager, who has missed six of the …

Continue reading Updated: Bogosian rests “nagging” injuries »

CineSport’s Noah Coslov and the AJC’s Chris Vivlamore discuss games against the Bruins and Lightning, and what should be at the top of the team’s holiday gift list.

Continue reading Video: Big games coming up with Bruins, Lightning »