Thrashers skewering of Sabres ends with great cliMax
The Thrasher won Saturday 4-2. They won Friday 4-2 in New Jersey. They lost 4-2 in Ottawa the game before that and won 4-2 in St. Louis the time before that.
Anyone sensing a trend here?
Another trend with the Thrashers…beating the Buffalo Sabres.
Picking up where they left off last season, when the Thrasher went up against the Sabres four times and came away with two points all four times, Atlanta traveled to western New York and came away with a win. However, unlike last year, this time they didn’t even do Buffalo the courtesy of allowing them the consolation point that comes with losing to us in overtime.
Like the Thrashers, Buffalo was playing on the tail end of back-to-back games…the Thrashers winning in New Jersey 4-2 Friday night while the Sabres won at home 6-3 against the Islanders. It was the first regulation loss of the year for the Sabres and Atlanta improved it’s record to 4-1-0…3-1-0 on the road trip with one more game left.
Kaptain Kovalchuk scored goals number six and seven on the year…both coming in the first period, one on the power play. Todd White also scored on the power play in the second…his initial goal of the season. Johan Hedberg made is first start this year, stopping 40 of the 42 Sabres shots…19 of 20 in the third period alone.
Oh, and Moose collected an assist as well…very nice.
Max thrilled the Buffalo crowd with his first goal as a Thrasher (AP/Don Heupel)
But the play of the night came with 3:17 left in the game when Maxim Afinogenov made his return to western New York a very memorable. Just 17 seconds after Drew Stafford’s power play goal pulled the Sabres to within a goal and made it appear as though a nail-biter type of finish was in the offing, Max took a pass from Kozlov on the left side then proceeded to undress defenseman Taylor Myers on his way towards Patrick Lalime.
The finish was as good as the move…much to the delight of the home crowd.
I don’t think Afinogenov could have picked a better setting in which to score his first ever goal in a Thrashers uniform, eh?
Nik Antropov had a pair of assists, as did Slava Kozlov. For the Slavanator it was his first points on the season. For Nik they were points numbers three and four.
Mark Popovic played on defense while Anssi Salmela sat. Pops finished with no points and a +1 rating during his 14:02 TOI. Atlanta is undefeated in all three games he’s played in…just sayin’.
The penalty kill unit was again a big part in Saturday’s win. They were successful four times out of five in Buffalo…this after shutting down all six of the Devils man-advantages the night before. The biggest kill of the night came in the second when Atlanta successfully held Buffalo scoreless on a full two-minute 5 on 3. For the season now, Atlanta’s PK is an outstanding 85.0% effective, which is 8th best in the NHL.
Yes…we are talking about the Thrashers penalty kill.
The biggest difference in the penalty kill unit this season and that of season’s past is how aggressive they play while down a man. They pursue the puck and keep those skates a-movin’. By getting to the puck more often, they are able to clear the puck from the zone more times and get fresher legs on the ice. A fairly simple explanation, I know…but it is making a big difference.
On the opposite end of the special teams play is the very effective power play of the Thrashers. After their 2 for 5 performance in Buffalo, it is has been successful an impressive 37.5% of the time this season…which is the best PP% in the NHL.
The puck seemed to be hunting Moose all night long (AP Photo/Don Heupel)
Not to be overlooked also… the effort put in by the Moose. It’s not like the Sabres didn’t come to play this night as they launched 42 shots on Atlanta’s backup keeper. As stated above, almost half of those shots came in the final twenty minutes and Hedberg only allowed the power play goal during that final period.
The win now gives the Thrashers 8 points after 5 games played which equals their best start in their history. They started the 2003-04 campaign with three wins and a pair of ties for eight points as well. The sixth game of that season six years ago ended in a 3-2 overtime loss in Tampa and was followed by a 4-2 win against Nashville… giving them 11 points after seven games.
Game six this season will come Tuesday in Montreal…game seven against the Capitals will be Thursday when the Thrashers are actually allowed to play another home game. A pair of wins there will set a new high for points after seven games played by Atlanta.
Great Time At TJ’s…As Per Usual
There was a tremendous turnout at TJ’s Saturday night as about 150-ish loud, raucous Thrashers fans packed into TJ’s to enjoy the game. The Thrashers Fan Club came out in force and the staff there provided their usual fantastic service. The DJ Tim had there did a great job of making the place sound and feel a lot like a home game at Philips Arena.
Thrash made a showing as well, but he just didn’t seem to appreciate it when I offered him one of my Buffalo chicken wings… I wonder why.
The entire staff of The Blueland Chronicle was a no-show…and for that they will each be admonished at the next Blogger Summit. However, Daculafan of FanThrashtic was there at my table…along with Spud Webb, Paminski, Mr. Paminski as well as a very cool fan…I believe his name was Jeff. A few lurkers also were kind enough to introduce themselves…always a pleasure to meet the good people out there.
Tim has invited us all out again on November 7 when the Thrashers are on Lonnnn-Gisland…a game that will again not be aired locally…as well as on Thanksgiving Eve when the team travels to Detroit. Also, TJ’s will be the gathering point this Saturday for those of us making our way down to Philips on the Party Bus to see the San Jose Sharks.
And Finally…
I want to wish Tony a very happy 29th birthday. Hey Tony, your lovely wife also wanted me to let you know that by having me give you this birthday shout out…it counts as her gift to you.
So…enjoy it!
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235 comments Add your comment
Hockey Biltong
October 20th, 2009
12:31 am
Mrs DWTWO – thanks. We should catch up when you return.
LAC
October 20th, 2009
2:28 am
WBF, you hit it right, even when “they” do say something positive about
Atlanta, they Always have to temper it with some kind of negative, to put us down… Really sick, Just look at the train WRECKS in Montreal & Toronto, when will the FIRE Brian Burke signs start to appear ?
How can Bob Gainey keep his job ? But those teams are just about to turn the corner soon as hnic IDIOT p.j.stock would say…
Ron Mexico
October 20th, 2009
2:46 am
In all the early success, I kinda feel somewhat sorry for Jim Slater in all of this. He’s a nice guy and a hard worker, but with Kane’s emergence and our newfound plethora of depth, he is the clear odd man out. Does anybody think he’ll be kept simply for depth, or could he potentially become waiver wire fodder?
World Be Free
October 20th, 2009
5:33 am
LAC-toss Darcy Regier into the mix of the “how does this guy keep his job” mix. Liked PJ as a player, but he’s fallen in with the rest of these HNIC clowns. Tonight, we have a chance to show Montreal how far we have come.
The best way to shut these idiots up is play great hockey-period.
DWTOO
October 20th, 2009
7:30 am
New Wolves coach is Gene Ubriaco, or should we say returning coach. Remember my first Knights game – Ubriaco got into a fight with the Utah coach. They were throwing punches over the glass. This followed a major scrum on the ice. While the coaches were fighting one of the Knights was tossing the Utah players gloves into the stands.
Sara
October 20th, 2009
7:51 am
Brendan – proactive is certainly always “good” when it comes to contracts. It’s just a no-brainer. But by the same token, think about how many teams in the NHL sign players to big contracts based on one season of high performance. Cheechoo pops to mind right off. Little has had one full year for the Thrashers, a solid one to be sure, but one year nonetheless. Is that really a good sample of what he can bring? Remember, there’s no question he will get tendered an offer as an RFA, the question is for how much and that’s based on performance. The more data both sides have to make that decision, the better the chances the contract amount will be “appropriate.” Pevs has played less than a full season here, spending a good bit of it with very talented linemates. Can he produce without Ilya on his wing? That’d be the question I’d be asking myself as a GM. 5 games in, it certainly looks like he can.
There’s a balancing act here that’s in some ways delicate. Waddell gets called stupid for not locking guys up sooner but keep in mind there is a large area of stupid in the other direction as well.
As for Ilya – I am in utter shock at the people on here who are fans of this team that dare to compare this to the Hossa situation. Given we all sat through that two years ago, there is ZERO question this is completely different. One, Hossa was never as forthcoming on this topic as Kovy has been for over a year. Two, Hossa had clearly partially checked out his last year here. Anyone think the Kaptain has checked out already? It’s plain that the whole contract extension issue is *not* bothering Kovy and if he shrugs it off and goes out and works his tail off every night, the rest of the team is going to follow his lead and they aren’t going to worry about it either.
So far everything is moving in the direction it needs to for Kovy to be comfortable re-signing in Atlanta. The team is 4-1, including a 3-1 road record. Pavs is playing pretty well, the special teams are clicking, the team is working hard. We have a number of young players that will obviously be here for a while, Antropov on a long-term deal, and Pevs getting re-upped soon. As in, Don and the organization are showing they are committed to keeping good players here. Nothing is guaranteed, but unless the team falls apart and everything changes from where it stands right now, the odds of a Kovalchuk re-signing are currently very much in our favor.
ranallo10 (in AT)
October 20th, 2009
8:44 am
Forgive me please, but I will temper my hopes until word comes that Kovalchuk (and Peverley, Little, or Armstrong for that matter) have signed another contract with the Thrashers. I’m taking the stance of “been there done that” with regards to the whole negotiations with potential impact players (Nikulin, Hossa, Zherdev, Campbell) and at this point I don’t see why I should get excited or depressed over the ongoing process.
Kovalchuk is doing his part by saying the right things in the media, Waddell seems to feel he’s done his part by acquiring talent to surround Kovalchuk, and Anderson has definitely done his part by taking the ingredients provided to him and making it work (in a few games the PK is better, there is offensive balance across three lines, but the defense still needs work). Now the rest of the team has to play their part by continuing to play well and win games. Hopefully that will be enough to get the signature we’re all hoping for.
Toby
October 20th, 2009
8:47 am
Game day!!! Let’s keep this up
Peverleys Agent
October 20th, 2009
8:51 am
Sara my dear, my client has played less than 15 games with Kovalchuk on his wing. He’s done the majority of his damage with Kozlov, Armstrong and now Kane playing on his flank. He has certainly proven that he can excel without the benefit of a superstar scoring goals off of his slick passes.
Tony C.
October 20th, 2009
9:00 am
per Ben Wright-We should be getting official Peverly extension announcement soon.:
http://twitter.com/BenThrashers
Rawhide
October 20th, 2009
9:16 am
The best way to shut these idiots up is play great hockey-period.
WBF – I’ll add to that one thing…and the fans need to show up and pack Philips Arena.
Not just on opening night…
Not just a Saturday night after a long road trip…
But all the time.
RS
October 20th, 2009
9:42 am
Dmitry Chesnokov is a Russian journalist out of Washington D.C and if you don’t follow him on twitter, you should. He is THE source for Russian NHLers. Instead of speculating on rumors, he picks up the phone and asks them himself. He has several quotes from Ilya this morning…
http://twitter.com/dchesnokov
Smoothie
October 20th, 2009
10:12 am
Can’t really blame Kovalchuk expressing doubt over the state of the NHLPA and its ability to effectively represent the interests of the players in the wake of the firing of Kelly. If it means that much to the players to have the privilege of representing their countries in the Olympics, I can’t hold that against them. I don’t think Kovy will base his decision with respect to his future in Atlanta solely on the 2014 Sochi Olympics. He will make it based on the performance of the Atlanta Thrashers this season. Afterall, do you really think Don Waddell is going to deny Kovy the chance to play for Russia in 2014 after inking him to a new 6 year deal? We can certainly afford to “loan” him out to Team Russia for a few weeks and take whatever financial penalty the NHL tries to levy…it will be chump change compared to what they will be paying Ilya if he stays.
Waffleboy
October 20th, 2009
10:57 am
Ilya will be on NHL Live @ about 1 pm according to Ben Wright. Glad I have the day off!
Spud Webb
October 20th, 2009
11:07 am
Great time and a great game, thanks for the seat at the big boys table Rawhide!!!! Midfield you have to remember, Buffalo doesn’t miss max, trust me on that. He ran his course there and all of us sabres fans are glad he’s gone. We don’t wish him any ill will, but we didn’t tender him a contract. In fact nobody did until 2 weeks into camp. Great game by Max, but lets not go bananas here. He’ll have a decent season, but he is WHO WE THOUGHT HE IS!!! ahahaha, stealing that from Dennis Green!!!
Netminder
October 20th, 2009
12:11 pm
The Atlanta Thrashers have locked up a big part of their offense by signing Rich Peverley to a two-year deal worth $2.6 million.
The 27-year old Peverley has been phenomenal for the Thrashers since being picked up off waivers from the Nashville Predators last season. In 44 total games with the Thrashers he has 17 goals and 25 assists. He is currently second in team scoring with four goals and three assists in five games.
In 117 career games, the Guelph, Ontario native has 24 goals and 38 assists.
The Thrashers undoubtedly hope that this will help in the re-signing of star sniper Ilya Kovalchuk who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=295472
BlueSpark
October 20th, 2009
12:16 pm
The Peverly deal is done – 2yrs @ 2.6M, I think
World Be Free
October 20th, 2009
12:18 pm
Bill-management has stepped up, now it’s time for the fans to do the same.
Midfield
October 20th, 2009
12:25 pm
Spud, not that it’s the hill to die on, but, from the audio of the game – particularly in the aftermath of the 4th Atlanta goal – I would say that quite a few in attendance wished Max a lot of ill.
Smoothie
October 20th, 2009
12:31 pm
Congrats to Mr. Peverley, a well-deserved pay increase. Now go out there and get us a hat-trick tonite against the Frogs!
Sara
October 20th, 2009
12:33 pm
That Peverley contract is a steal. Nicely done.
Rawhide
October 20th, 2009
12:50 pm
Smoothie – Obvioulsy the major factor in this deal getting done…the main reason why The Peever decided to sign such a deal with the Thrashers…the real credit deserved for this wonderful signing…can be linked diresctly to Wednesday night Sept. 23 when during the preseason game versus Nashville myself, you, Christ-TEN, jwizzle,RStroz, Daculafan, Tony C and The Blueland Chronicle guys all started the “PEVERLEY…PEVERLEY…PEVERLEY…” from section 111 as Rich was preparing to take that faceoff in front of us.
Just sayin’…
Toby
October 20th, 2009
1:14 pm
If anyone heard Ilya, let us know what he said…my feed crapped out just as they were introducing him.
Waffleboy
October 20th, 2009
1:18 pm
Ilya said more of the same. He’s gonna play hockey, let his agent talk to Don. He heard about the Peverly deal from Fischler and gave a nice shout-out to Dany Heatley.
BlueSpark
October 20th, 2009
1:27 pm
@Toby: what Waffleboy said. Nothing too interesting. Soft questions, really, other than the standard contract question that got the standard response. He also called Pavs “a great goalie” when asked about the NJ game. But the question was something like “Wasn’t Pavelec great in that game?” instead of the more open “What did you think of Pavelec’s performance?” I wish more people knew how to conduct interviews.
Tony C.
October 20th, 2009
1:31 pm
Didn’t catch all of the #17 interview on NHL Live!, but he (Kovalchuk) seemed to imply that he was very pleased and that he was going to “leave the detail to those guys [DW&Grossman], we have to play great hockey and that’s what I concentrate on [sic]”
He also had positive reaction to the Peverly announcement & had a lot nice things to say about Peverly as well as some interesting remarks about coach Anderson (”He was an ubelieveable player, and he helps me with where to shoot and how not to open up to much [sic]“).
Cautiously optimistic about seeing him locked up sooner than later.
Smoothie
October 20th, 2009
1:32 pm
Ya damn right Rawhide! Pevs was feeling the “Pever-lasting” love from the Rowdiest bunch of hooligans this side of the Nasty Nest! How could he not want to stay in Atlanta…even gave us the home-team discount!
Yaaa boy! Things are lookin’ up in Blueland! Now let’s go slap those frogs off of their lilly pads!
NASCAR Dave
October 20th, 2009
1:33 pm
Glad PEVERLEY got re-upped, but we still overpaid for him… Same Old DONNIE Style!!!
Paminski
October 20th, 2009
1:37 pm
It’s an eerie feeling to call up NHL.com and see that three of the top stories have to do with the Thrashers/Kovalchuk. Then call up TSN.com and see Peverley front and center. I could get used to this!
Smoothie
October 20th, 2009
1:43 pm
Dave, do us all a favor and stick to Nascar. Overpaid? How do ya figure?
Hardly in the same ballpark as Hainsey and Armstrong.
ranallo10 (in AT)
October 20th, 2009
1:44 pm
Someone nudge the record player, I think it might be skipping again.
Waffleboy
October 20th, 2009
1:44 pm
NASCAR Dave- you can’t be serious! 2.6 mil over two years is nothing the cap can’t handle. Take a look around the leagure and find another guy putting up those numbers getting paid 1.3 mil that’s not an RFA. This deal is a steal, especially if it shows Kovy that ASG is serious about keeping talent here.
Rawhide
October 20th, 2009
1:47 pm
Ya damn right Rawhide! Pevs was feeling the “Pever-lasting” love from the Rowdiest bunch of hooligans this side of the Nasty Nest! How could he not want to stay in Atlanta…even gave us the home-team discount!
Smoothinator – “Rowdiest bunch of hooligans this side of the Nasty Nest”???
I like that…yes indeed, I like that very much!
World Be Free
October 20th, 2009
1:53 pm
I think the money is right on for Pevs, especially since he has earned more than he’s been paid since he’s been in ATL.
Nor sure what Waddell can do to make some people happy. Look forward folks, not back. “Looking back is a bad thing” and I am quoting John Wayne on that one (True Grit).
Smoothie
October 20th, 2009
1:58 pm
Folks, be sure to check out Thrashers TV on the team website. There are interviews posted with Pevs and DWad on the new deal as well as a great promo for the upcoming home “stand” vs the Craps and the Sherks…it features Kaner, Kovy and the Dispenser himself! Also a good interview by Kamal by Kaner. Who is running this operation? They are doing a good job…couldn’t possibly be the ASG and Don (Fraud)ell could it??
Bill, feel free to insert the rolling eyes smiley for me in the above sentence. Thanks your blog holiness.
Waffleboy
October 20th, 2009
1:58 pm
For the record NASCAR Dave, here’s a list of forwards making $1.3 million. Tell me who is that much better than Peverly: David Moss and Jarkko Ruutu…
I’m waiting Dave.
Ron Mexico
October 20th, 2009
2:02 pm
I was hoping for 3-4 years for the Pevs signing, but nonethless this is a great day for Thrasher fans!! We should all get together and send Nashville a nice fruit basket or something as a token of gratitude for this steal of a gift!
Waffleboy
October 20th, 2009
2:04 pm
When I think of Peverley, I think of several other guys that Waddell let walk away even though they seemed perfect fits in ATL, notable Donald Audette, Andrew Brunette and Marc Savard. Waddell got these guys for nothing so it didn’t bother him to let them go for nothing, even though he might have been able to keep them in the fold by overpaying. Obviously the Savard deal would have been difficult to get done with the ownership situation, but you can’t argue that he’s worth the money he’s getting paid. Brunette is stil contributing at a high level and Waddell is kicking himself for not keeping this guy and having a great veteran leader who helped build the franchise.
NASCAR Dave
October 20th, 2009
2:05 pm
We gave him a raise. He deserved a raise. We just overpaid on said raise.
This KOVY talk is hilarious. Reminds me of the HOSSA chatter. What will all of you be saying when Christmas rolls around and he’s still not signed???
Remember, “We DO NOT negotiate contracts DURING the season” – Don Waddell
pond scum
October 20th, 2009
2:09 pm
That’s great news for Peverley,the Preds right now are kicking themselves for letting him walk away for nothing.
I think alot of the Canadian bias/hate is being amplified because other than the Sens,the rest of their teams are off to slow starts. And jealousy is the most sincere form of flattery,and we are very flattered LOL!
I feel now that we’ve got a few games in and are gaining our legs and built some confidence on each line,we are about to take off on a good streak and really stack up some hay for later in the season. We are still under the radar and that’s fine by me. The PK units and goal tending is gonna keep being the difference for us all season. The SOG stats bother some folks,but the “quality scoring chances” are what we need to keep in our favor.
As for the game tonite, I feel our guys win and win big and surprise alot of folks with our entire arsenal firing on all cylinders tonight. Alot more naysayers will go down and jump on the bandwagon.
Waffleboy
October 20th, 2009
2:09 pm
So, Dave, he went from $500,000 to $1.3 mil after putting up 42 points in 44 games and he is overpaid? I truly enjoy how you justify your comments with no facts. Just piling on Waddell. You need to get yourself into group counseling or something, this obsession is unhealthy.
pond scum
October 20th, 2009
2:17 pm
Nascar Dave- are you with us or against us? Quit worrying about the past, EVERYONE is entitled to change.
C’mon man, overpaid? Nearly a point per game average…. you realize how much the Rags or Leafs would’ve overpaid him?
It’s time US fans take the optimism approach,cause EVERYTHING is looking good and on the up swing. Relax and enjoy it.
Trixie (Rawhide's Secretary)
October 20th, 2009
2:19 pm
Mr. Smoothie – To do the “eyes rolling”… simply type the word “roll” in between two colons.
i.e. … :put the word “roll” in here: (without quote marks).
Same is true for “razz”
and “smile” 
and “twisted” 
and “oops” 
and “mad” 
and “shock” 
and “lol” 
and “eek” 
and “grin” 
and “evil”
and “lol”
and “cool”
and “wink”
and “mrgreen”
and “sad”
and “cry”
Smoothie
October 20th, 2009
2:24 pm
We have 30 games, including tonite, before our arduous 7 game roadie over the Holidays. The opponent 30 games from now will be these same Habitants, but only this time at home. Here is my prediction (call me a Waddell apologist if you want or a simply a dreamer) for those 30 games:
On 12/21/09 after we dispense with the Habs at home on that Monday night will be 22-11-2 and a point total of 46 points, halfway to 92.
We have 17 of those 30 games at home before that ridiculous 2 week road trip to the West Coast and back. To get to 22-11-2 we need to go 18-10-2 over the next 30….very doable with the number of home games on the docket. Tighten up the D and the shots against and we’ll be the shizz.
Why? Cuz we got Rick Pevs b!tch!
Bob
October 20th, 2009
2:25 pm
Great job signing Peverly. Does anyone else notice a shift in direction of the club since Dudley arrived? Good decisions being made, the club seems to have it’s act together. I’m actually excited to watch Thrasher hockey again, this is a good thing!
Sara
October 20th, 2009
2:28 pm
I love Pevs and I know, especially with hockey players, money isn’t everything .. but watching him in that interview with Darren – if my annual salary just went from six figures to seven figures – I’d look a whole heckuva lot happier than Pevs does. Maybe he just rolled out of bed.
pond scum – Dave and Sage are against Don Waddell and anything associated with him – makes you wonder if he TP’ed their house in middle school or something. They would love nothing more than to see this team finish in last place and watch Ilya Kovalchuk skate away just so they could say “told ya so.” LAC, Stroz, Bob – 3 very vocal regular posters who have never been fans of Don Waddell and freely admit so. And all 3 have shown support, encourage, pleasure thus far with the direction of the team. Not saying any of those guys are about to anoint Waddell the greatest GM ever or anything – but they’ll give credit where credit is due and you can tell with all 3 they would rather be proved wrong about Waddell (or at least grudgingly admit he’s quit being a total dunderhead) and have the team be very successful than vice versa.
Sara
October 20th, 2009
2:29 pm
Or in the case of Bob above give zero credit to Waddell and all of it to Dudley.
Smoothie
October 20th, 2009
2:29 pm
Thank you kindly Trixie!!
Buzilla in CT
October 20th, 2009
2:34 pm
;twisted;
Rawhide
October 20th, 2009
2:34 pm
Of course, if you want to just “moon” somebody… a simple ( | ) will do.