Pavelec, Armstrong help provide point for Thrashers
Just gotta be honest with ya, the Thrashers can thank their lucky stars they got out of Montreal with a point…those stars, of course, being Ondrej Pavelec and Colby Armstrong on this night.
For most of the game they just seemed out of sync, not the same type of energy and drive they possessed in the previous five. This is especially true on the power play where they were able to produce one whole shot on goal during 6 power play tries…thank you Evander Kane.
Making one of his 34 saves, Opie denies Montreal's Mike Cammalleri in the second period (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Ryan Remiorz)
But, sometimes a team has to find a way to be successful when they are not at their best and the Thrashers worked their way through it to bring home a point via a 2-1 shootout loss to Montreal. That point brings the total to 7 earned on this early season 5-game road trip.
Seven points out of ten…I will take that any day.
Pavelec played very well in goal again for Atlanta, stopping 27 of the 28 shots faced in regulation…yes, you read that correctly, the Thrashers held a team to under 30 SOG during 60 minutes of action for the first time all season. However, Opie saved his best for the five minute overtime period in which he kicked out all seven that he faced. Many in dramatic fashion.
Of the 35 total shots Pavelec faced, 15 came while the Thrashers were killing off penalties.
Atlanta was not able to get off a single shot of their own during overtime…the last 2:35 of which having to be played a man down after Slava Kozlov introduced Scott Gomez into the boards rather harshly. Gomez sat for two minutes in the box for taking exception to the penalty. Slava, on the other hand, took a seat in the locker room earlier than planned as his actions earned a game misconduct.
Make no doubt, Pavs was the reason the Thrashers were afforded a chance to still steal away the extra point in the shootout as he came up big in Atlanta’s goal. Unfortunately, after stopping Mike Cammalleri on Montreal’s initial shootout attempt, he was unsuccessful against Gomez and Brian Gionta. Ilya Kovalchuk and Rich Peverley failed on their chances for Atlanta.
Is Pavelec playing Kari right out of town?
- Yes! Get what you can for him (49%, 65 Votes)
- No. It's still too early to tell (34%, 45 Votes)
- Kari who? (17%, 28 Votes)
Total Voters: 133
Loading ...Pavelec is now 3-1-1 with a .929 SV% and 2.37 GAA. As one of the announcers on the TSN feed put it, “Kari Lehtonen better get a ticket [on a plane]…because he’s heading out of town if Pavelec keeps up this play”…They then began to speculate as to what the Thrashers could still get in return for Kari.
Yes, it’s starting to come to that already.
The Canadiens took a 1-0 lead in the first period when Gionta was left all by his lonesome over on the left side. He circled around and made good on his shot at the 17:44 mark. Defenseman Christoph Schubert was none-too-pleased with the defensive help by his teammates on the play and let the forwards on the ice…Armstrong, Kane and Peverley…know it.
That third line made up for it, though, at the 6:06 of the third period as Army took a Peverley pass from the left boards and snapped off a winner past Jaroslav Halak to tie the score.
The goal was not the first bit of damage that Armstrong inflicted upon Montreal this night. During the second period he put a ferocious check on Marc-Andre Bergeron that left his knees wobbly and teeth rattling. Honestly, Bergeron did well to get back on his skates right after the hit.
Not to be overlooked is the fine play on the penalty kill once again. For the season, Atlanta now boasts the fourth-best PK in the NHL, killing off opponent’s man-advantages 88.0% of the time…I got dizzy just typing that. But the best man on that PK unit tonight was the one standing between the pipes.
While it was nice to come away with a point when the team played under par, I would have loved to have seen the Thrashers snag the extra point that was available to them once Opie got them into the shootout.
Still, as I stated above, seven points outa ten on this roadie is more than acceptable.
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115 comments Add your comment
Smoothie
October 20th, 2009
11:41 pm
Amazing performance by Pave-LECK tonite!
Third line was #1b tonite and dominant in the third. Love the chemistry of the Pevs Army Van!
We were atrocious in the OT but Pavs did not let up like his forwards. Luckily, our road weary boys get to sleep in their own beds.
calgarypuck
October 20th, 2009
11:44 pm
That was an awesome hit on Bergeron.
Brendan
October 21st, 2009
12:29 am
None of my posts are taking on this blog. This is more of a “test message” than an actual post. Here goes!
Thrashers27
October 21st, 2009
12:30 am
I’ve been withholding on judegment of Pavs, but I’ll be damned if that boy didn’t win me over tonight. He battled like my favorite all time Thrashers net-minder “PASI”. He looked phenominal and I can’t wait until we see he and Kari battling for that #1 spot. If Moose wasn’t such an awesome guy, I would be waiting to hear him hit the bricks. I couldn’t do that to the guy. Not sure if DW can. Maybe Moose stays and Kari goes, but either way, it’s good to know that Pavs is bonafide and ready.
First line was more, or less non-existent in the third…maybe it just seemed that way with Little playing with White and Kozzie.
Go Thrashers!!!!
R. Stroz
October 21st, 2009
12:30 am
After the midway point of the third period, I noticed an interesting switch of players between the first and second lines. Little was moved to the second line, formally known as the Little White Russian line, and Afinogenov was moved up to the first line, turning the first line into the Russian National Team line.
Kovy really seemed to pick up the pace with the switch and the Little White Russian line found their old chemistry quickly.
Call me crazy, it wouldn’t be the first time, I’d like to see the Russian National Team and Little White Russian lines stay intact for the game against the Capitals on Thurday.
Yes, I know the lack of defense concerns of putting Antropov, Afinogenov, and Kovy on the same line together. However, I sure did like the speed and energy between Kovy and Afinogenov as well as the rekindled chemistry of the Little White Russian line.
Brendan
October 21st, 2009
12:35 am
Okay, that one took. Nice game by Colby Armstrong. But yes, Pavelec stole the show. It’s a “pity point” … on the road … up in “la belle province.”
But uhhh … there woulda been something so cool about … defeating Montreal … handing them their sixth straight loss … and quite possibly, getting Bob Gainey fired.
Rawhide
October 21st, 2009
12:36 am
Brendan - The blog’s website…she had a hic-up. All better now.
Smoooooooothie – Indeed…the third line’s kinda been 1b all season…and I’m cool with that.
Calgarypuck – Indeed it was a smashing check! Perfectly legit, too. Kozzy’s though…not so much.
Thrasher27 – I, too had my resevations about Opie…but so far, so good. The kid seems to really have his head into it 100% of the time.
RStroz – OK…you’re crazy.
mehoff
October 21st, 2009
12:37 am
thanks smoothie, glad to know i wasn’t the only one getting a headache from them butchering opie’s name….
we stole that one tonight, 4-1-1, not bad at all
stroz, i won’t be callin you crazy. i’d like to give those lines a looksy myself
shootout. kovy. backhand. really?
R. Stroz
October 21st, 2009
12:39 am
If the combination of Antropov, Afinogenov, and Kovalchuk sticks, I vote for calling that line the Comrade Connection.
mehoff
October 21st, 2009
12:51 am
“comrade connection” is nice, but i’ll throw out “The Soviet Circus” lol
Wreckin & Thrashin
October 21st, 2009
1:32 am
Beautiful stuff tonight… not the play… the fact that we stole a point when we had no business getting one. We played horrible, but still got something out of it. That, to me, is the sign of a good team.
World Be Free
October 21st, 2009
5:42 am
Last night shows the team is good enough to sleep walk and still get a point. I guess we can toss out the notion that Pavs cannot play like a no. 1 cause he sure did in Montreal. He has 2 more tests this week.
Dwayne
October 21st, 2009
6:39 am
SOME MUCH FOR MY 9-3 prediction….goalies stole the the show, That 3 rd line is pretty darn good. Opie Pav-lesch was awesome, who-da thunk 4-1-1?? The comrade connection line will be fun to watch o-fensivly, but i gaurentee everyone will hold their breath when the other team has the puck. Opie likes alot of shots??? He will get them with that line out there.
The Real Thrash
October 21st, 2009
6:57 am
Out shot 35-23. This is catching up with us.
RS
October 21st, 2009
7:04 am
The thing about goaltending is it seems to build on itself, both good and bad. Pavelitz must be feeling really confident right now.
RS
October 21st, 2009
7:06 am
Oh, and Pierre McGuire raved about Evander Kane all night. Somebody’s got a new mancrush to go with Mike Richards and Dion Phaneuf.
NorthStarsDave
October 21st, 2009
7:12 am
Wasn’t it about a year ago that Kovy made the statement about OP that he was one of the best G he has ever faced….after a practice?
Moose is the back-up….so…since the team is settling in their roles and the chemistry is good, do we get draft picks for Kari or D?
Sara
October 21st, 2009
7:27 am
RS he was crushing on Pavs as well. And I’ve seen a few comments from Montreal fans who were impressed with Opie as well. In fact, he earned the #2 star from Puck Daddy last night. He was darned impressive. And that’s what you need – sometimes the goalie has to be able to steal one all by himself.
Wonder how Kozzie’s hit on Gomez is going to play out today. It will be reviewed by the League – has to be after he got the game misconduct. His reputation certainly works in his favor – the announcers were as shocked as we were that Kozzie of all people did that. Then again, he did it to a Canadien, which never bodes well, and you never know when Campbell will be in the mood to “send a message.”
As for trading Kari – problem is, he has virtually no value right now. The market for goalies has been putrid for a couple of seasons now, which doesn’t help. Add to that Kari’s injury history and the fact he hasn’t played this season and that pretty much gets you nada. And right now, we don’t have any specific needs to address. Too soon to give up on anyone on the roster currently and also too soon to know what holes might exist in the roster after this season. End of the day, unless something comes out of left field, Don needs to wait until at least the trade deadline to try and move a goalie – best shot at getting something that would qualify as decent in return. And in the meantime, Kari will have to play at some point and look good doing it.
Toby
October 21st, 2009
8:17 am
I posted this on another site…it works here too…
Terrible game by the Thrashers (minus Pavs of course). Worst effort of the year so far. It looked like they hadn’t slept in weeks and didn’t want to play hockey at all. I kept checking to see if Hartley was behind the bench because all we did was dump-and-chase. All night. If Pavs had an average night, we lose that one 3 or 4-1. Habs camped out in our zone.
Kozzy’s hit was stupid. No, he didn’t mean to injure Gomez, but he did have time to react differently. That, and the fact it was OT. Not good.
….buuuuuut, whatever. We escaped with a point. I’ll take 3-1-1 on any road trip!! Let’s pull ourselves together for a great HOME game tomorrow night!!!
DB
October 21st, 2009
8:19 am
Frolov seems to be out of favor in LA. Wonder if DW could work a deal with them for KL?
Buddha on Ice
October 21st, 2009
8:24 am
What was up with Kovy and Peverly in the shoot out? Did we have something on the Montreal goalie that he doesn’t defend well against slow rushes? Seems both could use their speed a little more in that situation. And I will take one point as well. Go Thrash.
stendec
October 21st, 2009
8:31 am
Morning Rawhide. Pavs should sue for non support! Glowing praise for such a shet offensive effort? Losing to a Hab team on five game slide equates to Falcons allowing Detroit Lions to end record losing streak. They did not! THANKFULLY. Totally nauseating! Glad for point? When Thrashers miss playoffs or favorable playoff positioning by single point later I will remind you of this travesty. Losing should never be acceptable nor graciously condoned! Pavs deserved much better! Captain Ilya Kovalchuk and other boys did not. Truly Washington Redskin inoffensive uneffort. So very ashamed! Maybe the guys can regroup from this offensive disaster with some inspired hockey. Maybe not. This was the most inept offensive walk through display the Thrashers have puked up in ages. So very sad after such heroic play this season! Tell Sori Letemin his vacation has been permanently extended. Have a nice day all. Peace. ++STENDEC++ (WHEW)
Get The Puck Out
October 21st, 2009
8:41 am
Do you think the right players shot in the shootout? I would have liked to have seen Kane and Little in the shootout.
Tom
October 21st, 2009
8:47 am
Nothing in the paper today AT ALL about Chelios signing with the Wolves? Who knows if the guy has anything left at 47, but seems to me the big club could use his experience and leadership if nothing else.
Dwayne
October 21st, 2009
8:50 am
Kozlov’s game misconduct caused Thrash a shootout goal. Did not like Kovy or Pevs effort. If Slava gets a game off, does Slater get a play??
GaVaHokie
October 21st, 2009
8:53 am
Oh, and Pierre McGuire raved about Evander Kane all night. Somebody’s got a new mancrush to go with Mike Richards and Dion Phaneuf.
Yeah, he also seemed very impressed with Pavelec and said that Lehtonen may need to “buy a ticket out of town”
Thrashers27… I was just making a similar comment over at the Blueland Blog… I definitely had my moment of “faith” with Pavelec last night… much like the Pasi “Donkey kong” save… I’m on board with Pavs, even though that Shootout was ugly! That Gionta goal was flat out embarrassing.
GaVaHokie
October 21st, 2009
8:59 am
I gotta say Bogosian has taken a couple steps backwards the last couple of games… he had some really bad turnovers last night. And that one back pass to Toby in their own zone when Toby was covered… I gotta admit, I had my remote aimed at the TV if Montreal scored on that turnover the way the game was going.
World Be Free
October 21st, 2009
9:04 am
Dwayne-you know I totally forgot about Slater!!! (not really but Jimmy is easy to forget)
Chatter out there that Chelios will be up with the Trhashers at some point this season. Now that would be cool!!
merculf
October 21st, 2009
9:13 am
bring on the caps!
ranallo10 (in AT)
October 21st, 2009
9:13 am
The way Kozlov fell on Gomez after the boarding made me think he was about to help him up while saying “DUUUUDE, I’m sooooo sorry!”. The few replays I’ve seen make it seem to be a bad play on Kozlov’s part, that’s unfortunate.
Armstrong’s hit was nice…Bergeron was completely lost for a minute. I also liked Amstrong popping Lapierre in the face while sitting on the ice during the ensuing scrum, that was comical.
Glovesave29
October 21st, 2009
9:20 am
Chelios didn’t sign with Atlanta, but with the Wolves…any team can grab him from there.
Pavs was great last night, but Montreal came with their A game to end the streak. I think we all know the Canadiens are a better team than they have been playing…and most likely a lower level playoff team. Stendec is showing again how little he knows about this sport other than trashing Kari. The D did a good job of letting Ondrej see the puck. We held a desperate, fast skating team to under 30 shots. As great as he was, I am sure Pavalec (not Pavalets) is kicking himself for leaving the 5 hole open on the goal. He will forget the acrobatics that kept us in the game, and focus on how he could have stopped than lone puck from beating him. Just the way goalies are wired.
Anyhow – GREAT road trip and lets pack Philips to show the boys some gratitude. Oh, except for Sage…who seems to be missing a lot these days.
Gib Traf
October 21st, 2009
9:22 am
ranallo said: “Armstrong’s hit was nice…Bergeron was completely lost for a minute. I also liked Amstrong popping Lapierre in the face while sitting on the ice during the ensuing scrum, that was comical.”
I agree. I watched that replay 10 times at least. I am suprised Bergeron didn’t just fall back over after he got up. Looked like he was about to wobble right over but he grabbed onto the boards. And Army’s sock into Lapierre’s kisser was pretty funny too.
Pavelec has REALLY shown something this season. ATL was lucky to get out with a point.
R. Stroz
October 21st, 2009
9:23 am
Anyone remember this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlBxx1Wh9PE
It wasn’t even a penalty, but hey, it occured in frogland. I’d remind Campbell of this if a Kozlov suspension is suggested.
Then again, there is a double standard, remember Crotchby checking out Boris’s gonads.
Rawhide
October 21st, 2009
9:27 am
Dwyane & RStroz – In regards to Kozlov possibly being ssupended and/or fined…as I opine here, had that type of penalty happened against one of our players I would would want some kind of action taken against the offending party.
StateBird
October 21st, 2009
9:30 am
I also noticed the line switch in the 3rd. Didn’t like it. Little was getting good chances in 1st and 2nd. Concerned that he isn’t cashing in this year but at least the line was producing good opportunities. With Max on the line it looks great but they skate in circles, albeit fast, but get one chance on goal at best. Add no defensive mentality and no face off skill that breeds trouble and minus ratings.
FormerIslesFan
October 21st, 2009
9:35 am
Just my quick $.02 here because most of the things I would have said have been mentioned already. However, Stroz, I noticed the same thing you did about the change on right wing during the third period and thought it was an interesting idea.
Did anyone else notice the stat that TSN put up during the 1st period on team goals: Kovy 7, Peverly 4, Rest of Team 9. That is not anything we’ve really spoken about yet, but obviously, we have got to get some scoring out of the rest of the team. It will come, but it needs to start coming soon.
Okay…now my quick gripes. Yes, they butchered Pav’s name the whole night. But, was anyone else feeling fingernails against a chalkboard when they had the “Canadian” pronouciation of other people’s names: Bo-go-SEE-an, Ree-SOHN-er, et al.? Just was driving me a bit nuts.
Two other things really bothered me. First was the constant talk about Army and his value on the open market this summer. It seemed to me that, at least to them, there was no reason why ANYONE would want to resign in Atlanta.
Second was the constant sensationalism. Example: Bergeron got rocked by Army, no doubt. However, when he was still having issues in the third period, McGuire must have said 10 times that it was due to the hit. Nothing was mentioned again about the fact that it was MAB’s first game back in the NHL or that he had not gone through a training camp or any of a number of OTHER possible explanations for why he may not have had his legs back under him fully.
Like I said, just my griping. Overall, I think the game can be summed up by saying “we allowed them to play their game and we never played ours.” Le Thrash have got to learn how to win those 2-1 games over the course of the season. Not every game is going to result in us scoring 4 goals…
R. Stroz
October 21st, 2009
9:39 am
Rawhide, no pimping allowed.
ranallo10 – I agree, it looked like Kozlov was in the process of seeing if Gomez was ok and seemed contrite before Gomez went nuts.
five_hole
October 21st, 2009
9:42 am
GaVaHokie I agree with you about Bogosian. For the last several games, he has not been making smart passes. His pass out of our end in the Devils game directly led to their first goal. I attribute it to the “sophomore jinx”.
Glad to see that Army got off the Schneid. And weren’t some people here talking about letting him walk at the end of the year? I for one would love him to stay.
And keep in mind, we’re unhappy that we only got 7 out of 10 points on the road trip.
The good? Our special teams are clicking. The bad? We’re consistantly getting outshot in every game.
Rawhide So, what’s the deal with Saturday? When are we supposed to be at TJ’s? What time does the bus leave?
Smoothie
October 21st, 2009
9:49 am
Crap-tastic effort in the 2nd period especially. I didn’t get to see the first 15 mins of the 1st period due to some cable wiring issues, but we were certainly outplayed at the end of the first as well. However, SOG were relatively even, but Kamal gave me a heart attack on a couple of early chances by the Habs.
Every team is going to have an off night and its not hard to believe that we could have been playing a bit of rope-a-dope in the middle part of the game to save our legs for the 3rd. I didn’t like how we essentially gave up in the OT (Pave-lish not included) and the Kozlov gaffe certainly didn’t help. But I was impressed with the heart and hustle they exhibited on the PK.
The biggest thing concerning me is how we are playing against teams who like to sit back in the neutral zone and trap. Against Ottawa we seemed to have some issues and last night we did not make any adjustments of merit in the 2nd period. The 2nd line was tragic (White was good in the F/O circle, but he seemed to be sleep-walking otherwise) and Kozzy was out of sync with his linemates. I liked the switch of Little in the 3rd to wake those two up a bit as Little’s engine never stops.
As for Little, he is getting some chances, but he seems to be pressing a bit now since he’s been scoreless; probably gripping the fiberglass a bit too tightly now. But his effort cannot be second-guessed. I just wish Kovy didn’t have to dominate the puck coming into the zone as Little seems to get lost on the weakside and his linemates aren’t making the simple play to feed Little when he crashes the net.
Still lots to work on, but the thing that stuck out was the determination and toughness of our defensive corps last night. Bogey is still making some iffy passes, but he was a beast out there defensively (think he had 6 blocked shots). Popovic really battled hard and seemed to be winning every puck battle. Other than the screen on the goal against, Schubert seemed to play well also. But I think I like Pops and Anssi together against speedier teams like MTL better.
GaVaHokie
October 21st, 2009
9:51 am
FIF… another thing that I was getting tired of was the constant mention of Peverley being a “waiver pick-up”… Waddell said in his interview yesterday that Peverley was getting a little tired of the label, and was hoping the new contract would put an end to it.
http://thrashers.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=235&id=49174
Rawhide
October 21st, 2009
9:52 am
RStroz – My blog…I can pimp all I want!
five_hole – The party bus is scheduled to depart TJ’s at 5:00 pm on Saturday…but be there at least an hour prior if ya can.
Speaking of Saturday…there are a few more seats that become available on the bus…so for those interested, contact Karin Beckman at 404-878-3781 and get on board!
Zoomo
October 21st, 2009
10:14 am
My earlier post gotten eaten by the blog monster. I wasn’t a horrible performance. Looked to me like the Habs were playing for their life, hustling after every loose puck, and that pulled us out of synch. I thought Kane and Hainsey were bright spots. 3rd period was a reasonable push to try to win it.
…and of course, Pavs was “out of his mind” good.
Note to Antro. To paraphrase Dean Wormer – Big, slow, and lifeless is no way to play hockey, son.
Bluenote
October 21st, 2009
10:14 am
A 4-1-1 prediction a month ago would have drawn a lot of raised eyebrows…especially from me.
They aren’t all going to be gems, and we were very fortunate to get out of Montreal last night with a point. Props to Opie for getting the job done last night. It’s scary, but he came up big. Caps and Sharks are going to be tougher tests. I would not be buying any Finnair tickets just yet.
Is there any history between Gomez and Slava? The hit from behind was cheap and out of character and shot whatever chances we had in OT. Not typical of a usually disciplined player. I’m just asking.
Jarndyce
October 21st, 2009
10:14 am
Antropov, Afinogenov, Kovalchuk. The AK line: it just keeps firing, and firing, and firing.
GaVaHokie
October 21st, 2009
10:29 am
Funny how we thought Kane was going to be a Defensive liability at the start of the season.
I’d still like to see Kane, Peverley and Afinogenov on a shift or two now that we know Kane isn’t the liability we thought he’d be.
Smoothie
October 21st, 2009
10:30 am
The effort of the third line was excellent and the results were immense. Without them we don’t get on the scoresheet at all. The other two lines were out of sync all night and had trouble even receiving a pass from a linemate. We were losing battles all over the ice and our speed to loose pucks was non-existent. EXCEPT for the 3rd line. They dominated on every shift on the ice. JA cannot afford to break up this line even with the 2nd line playing miserably.
It may prove to be a good thing if Kozzy is suspended for one game just so JA is forced to experiment with some other line combos. Problem is we don’t have a LW other than Kane to play on the 3rd line without Kozzy. I suppose we may see Pevs bumped up to play LW again with Whitey at C and hopefully Little at RW. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Triple Russian threat in a game that affords more open ice. But we better make sure that 2nd line is matched up to play AO, Backstrom and Knuble!
ranallo10 (in AT)
October 21st, 2009
10:41 am
“Funny how we thought Kane was going to be a Defensive liability at the start of the season.”
Not so much a liability as a waste of offensive talent on a checking line…however I would say the current third line is nothing similar to the 3rd lines of Atlanta Thrashers Past, and is clearly more offensively oriented based on talent and game time role. I’m surprised to be seeing them play that way — I guess I’ve become accustomed to teams rolling two offensive lines, one defensive line, and one grinding line. They’ve also been responsible defensively from what I’ve seen, which is a nice bonus.
In the short time they’ve played together my concerns with the third line have been diminished. I like it when the Thrashers play alleviates my concerns…but now I’m curious how long they can continue playing at this level. Hopefully it lasts for a long while and it’s more than just a hot start.
Re: Atlanta’s current standings — I would be remiss to allow this to pass … remember those who were complaining about the preseason results? Toronto went 6-3-0 in the preseason (12 points, first in their division), and thus far are 0-6-1 (1 point, last in the entire NHL). Pittsburgh went 1-4-1 in the preseason (3 points, last in the NHL), and thus far are 8-1-0 (16 points, first in the NHL). Somewhere in the middle Atlanta went 2-3-1 (5 points) in the preseason, and are 4-1-1 (9 points) in the regular season.
In conclusion, the preseason matters not.
Gwinnett Fred
October 21st, 2009
10:45 am
Is Opie cool with being called Opie??
Hope so, cause I’d love to hear resounding cheers of O-PIE, O-PIE, O-PIE at home games – but it wouldn’t help much if he doesn’t like the nickname.
Smoothie
October 21st, 2009
10:51 am
Our D-men has an astonishingly high number of giveaways last night with 12 collectively. Believe it or not, Zach was not the biggest gift-giver of the night as Ron Hainsey had 6 of them. They must’ve been all in the 1st and 2nd periods as I thought Ronsey played rather well in the 3rd.
Luckily for us, the Habs defensemen were equally lousy as they coughed up the puck 16 times. Hopefully in the next game up there in Montreal we can exploit their suspect D and pot 3 or 4 goals at least.
Lastly, I don’t think we can underestimate the value of having Kubina on the PK along with Schubie when we need another big body out there. Enstrom hardly plays on the penalty kill anymore and that is a very good think indeed (he had all of :10 sec last night). Problem is that Enstrom needs to develop a quicker shot if he is going to get all of the PP time. Teams don’t have to cover him because he hardly ever shoots and his long stick makes his wrist shot pretty ineffective. But there is no reason he can’t give it the ol’ half-wind 3 wood slapper before the defense has a time to rotate.
j nes
October 21st, 2009
10:55 am
Things I have been wrong about so far this year.
1. Kane should be sent to the minors for another year.
2. Releasing Manny Legace was a big mistake.
3. It would take a month for the team to gel with all the new additions
Sometimes, I like being wrong.
Midfield
October 21st, 2009
11:18 am
Except for Army, the team skated with no jump. Totally outhassled. It’s probably been a good wake-up call: no team in this league is good enough to play on two cylinders – even your Atlanta Thrashers. Glovesave, it looks like Pavs is managing his technical kinks much better these days – save an embarrassing poke-check attempt on Gionta during SO.
Buzilla in CT
October 21st, 2009
11:36 am
So when no Kozlov in the shootout? That is idiotic. He is by far the best guy for that job. Plus I think I remember Little having a knack for it. Look, Ilya is the sh*t. We all know he is by far our best player. BUT, the man isn’t so hot on the shootout. Not his thing. Which is fine, use him if it goes longer than the first three guys.
Sara
October 21st, 2009
11:40 am
Buzilla – Kozlov was unavailable thanks to a game misconduct. Little was set to shoot 3rd.
NASCAR Dave
October 21st, 2009
12:24 pm
I like that idea of LEHTONEN for FROLOV… Good suggestion!!! I would rather keep LEHTS and try to trade MOOSE, but LEHTS would bring more in return…
Sara
October 21st, 2009
12:30 pm
BTW, just a little note – apparently Al Strachan will no longer be commenting on HNIC’s “Hot Stove.” Sounds like it’s mostly political – he got in trouble with the network for using the HNIC logo on the cover of his new book (though they swear that isn’t why he was let go). He also has been highly critical of Burke (can’t imagine why) and there’s some supposed pushback from that.
Either way, as far as I’m concerned, this is karma kicking him in the gonads for spreading that rumor about the Thrashers getting relocated.
GaVaHokie
October 21st, 2009
12:37 pm
Buzilla – Kozlov was unavailable thanks to a game misconduct. Little was set to shoot 3rd.
I thought that wasn’t an official rule. Just one that experts think should be implemented.
I thought he was allowed to participate if coach chose him.
Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Get The Puck Out
October 21st, 2009
12:48 pm
I think Kane should have shot first and Little second. ESPN has Kari on the tradin block. Frolov down below him. Hmmmmm.
RS
October 21st, 2009
12:59 pm
Kozlov got a game misconduct. He was kicked out of the rest of the game. The rule change is regarding players who take a penalty in overtime, I believe.
hip czech
October 21st, 2009
1:08 pm
After all the ‘don’t subsidize the ineptness any longer’ talk over the last two years it’s time to pay up.
Let’s hope the sheep start subsidizing the product…got your butts in the seats sheep!
Dwayne
October 21st, 2009
1:08 pm
Not alot of zip last night, last game of a long road trip? maybe? I’d like to see JA use the guys in the pressbox in the second game of a back to back. As long as its not Boris.
hip czech
October 21st, 2009
1:17 pm
wrong vowel…and it’s not like the o is even close to the e on the keyboard…GET your butts in the seats
Old Time Hockey
October 21st, 2009
1:22 pm
When is Kari supposed to be healthy (if that is possible) so we can start speculating about trades? Blackhawks need a goalie badly…what can they offer?
Darren
October 21st, 2009
1:23 pm
Rawhide, as usual, your thoughts were dead on about last night’s game. The effort, Pavelec stealing us the cheap point, being happy with 7 out of 10. Gotta work the bugs out before playing Washington, or those guys will rip Atlanta apart, if they play like they did against Montreal.
I don’t think LA is looking for a goalie… for now. Quick seems to be holding his own at the moment. Not sure who I’d like to see them trade Kari for.
Hokie, I saw your comments the other night about Bogosian, and tried to focus on him when I watched the game last night. Alas, I’m afraid you’re dead on as well. Neither Bogosian nor Enstrom had a particularly strong game. Both have the talent to play top-2 in the league, but not like last night. Need to be much better to shut down the Alex’s in Washington and all the scoring they have in San Jose.
Baldheaded Thrasher
October 21st, 2009
1:30 pm
THN (Ken Campbell) wants the NHL to suspend for 5 games. I believe a one game suspenion is warranted, it’s not like he has a history of cheap shots.
Smoothie
October 21st, 2009
1:32 pm
Wow, the Bruins can’t buy a BREAK these days. Ha! Get it, sorry.
Savard now out for 4 weeks with a broken foot. Chiarelli really must’ve pissed off the hockey gods somehow.
They probably aren’t a good trade partner, but man I would love to see Blake Wheeler in a Thrasher jersey! He reminds me a lot of Armstrong, but he’s a stronger “wheeler”…sorry, the puns just fell into my lap.
Baldheaded Thrasher
October 21st, 2009
1:34 pm
Left out THN suspension for Kozlov.
Buzilla in CT
October 21st, 2009
1:44 pm
See what happens when I don’t have center Ice. I missed everything
Dandylions
October 21st, 2009
1:59 pm
I don’t have Center Ice either but I remembered someone on here saying it was free for awhile so last night I checked and lucky me I found the game on channel 773 on Comcast. Wasn’t a pretty game but a point is a point.
GaVaHokie
October 21st, 2009
2:05 pm
This is the last week of free Center Ice on Dish Network… I also want to add, Thank God that TSN picked up the game last night. I thought I was going to have to hear it in French on CBC.
Old Time Hockey
October 21st, 2009
2:30 pm
The killer is DirecTV not carrying Versus anymore. They can’t agree and we get the shaft. Wonder what Bettman thinks about that.
GaVaHokie
October 21st, 2009
2:40 pm
Sara… where did you see the Al Strachan story?
Smoothie
October 21st, 2009
2:48 pm
@ hip czech – calling on our resident czech blogger to clear up the Pavelec pronounciation controversy…which is it?
Pave-LECK
Pave-LITS
Pave-LISH
J.B.
October 21st, 2009
3:05 pm
I also heard Pave-LECKS and Pave-LECH
GaVaHokie
October 21st, 2009
3:10 pm
I usually pronounce it Pav-uh-lick
Sara… nevermind on the Strachan story, i found it… I should learn to reference HFboards before I ask questions.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/on-hot-stove-head-shots-and-gemini-honours/article1332002/
GaVaHokie
October 21st, 2009
3:11 pm
I think I’ve even heard Kamal say it like Pav-uh-luck before.
Lee
October 21st, 2009
3:14 pm
ohhhh baby was pav-uh-lick hot yesterday or what!!!!!???? kari may not hav a job when he comes back!!
ben
October 21st, 2009
3:15 pm
glad people see that Lehtonen is almost outta here.
this team is pretty good, and Pavelec makes it better
Lee
October 21st, 2009
3:17 pm
btw, armstrong’s hit was soooooo clean, clean as a whistle!!!! the canadiens were jsut jealous that they cant hit like that!
Spud Webb
October 21st, 2009
3:36 pm
World, why would Chelios come up w us? Andersons system seems a bit too fast for a 47 year old? I’m not saying I’m against it, but I also don’t believe Chelios is better than any d man (boris NOT included) that we currently have on the roster.
I think we have enough leadership and vets on this team currently.
Someone else posted lets go with the all russian line. It seems ok, but defensive responsability would be a HUGE issue with that line.
Smoothie
October 21st, 2009
3:37 pm
We better hope Pav-uh-luck continues to have good puck luck and his rebound control does not go a Pav-ah-lack-ing if we are to beat the Crapitals. If we give up 10 more ES shots on goal like we have been (say 40 – 30), we better hope we can win 4-3. If Pavy has a bad game, we’ll go down 6-2. Luckily, the Craps’ D is a bit shaky so hopefully we can exploit them at home.
hip czech
October 21st, 2009
3:46 pm
Smoothie, sorry man, but my Czech heritage only goes back to some distant relatives on my Mom’s side, so I can’t help out too much. I just used the distant relatives to come up with what I thought was a cool moniker
The c in czech would normally be a ts sound…guess it depends on how Opie wants it pronounced.
On a somewhat related note I was listening to the beginning of the game on the Montreal radio broadcast via XM in the car….Man, they butchered ‘Plekanic’ as well, but at least they were consistent, I think they pronounced it PLE-kan-ish.
Glovesave29
October 21st, 2009
4:03 pm
Buzilla – if you are in the box at the end of the game, it carries into the OT, or in this case from the OT to the SO. He was DEFINATELY unavailable.
I know Kari is not well liked here, but we are a better team with him instead of Moose as the back up. I have never been a fan of a starter getting 60+ games a year as goaltending wears you out physically. I’d like to see us split the goal duties no worse that 50 for the starter and 30 for the back up and have a really strong backup. If we can hold on and make the playoffs, having a fresher keeper is a huge advantage. If we need to trade – what about Calgary? Kippers getting older and showing wear and MacIlhenney doesn’t look like much – do they have anything on the farm?
R. Stroz
October 21st, 2009
4:12 pm
hip czech – I’ll behehehehe there for both games.
Hopefully, the Thrashers will beheheheheat the crap out of the Caps.
hip czech
October 21st, 2009
4:52 pm
hopefully we can keep Nicklas Baaaaackstrom in czech….
Hockey Biltong
October 21st, 2009
5:43 pm
Kozlov did not expect his hit to take the man down. It was unfortunate tht it did.
Passing out of our end zone was poor all night. The boys were flat. But it’s OK!!!
Brendan
October 21st, 2009
5:58 pm
Savard broke his foot or ankle. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=502939. Poor guy. He’s on IR. Isn’t this his ‘contract year?’
Old Time Hockey
October 21st, 2009
6:04 pm
I believe Kozlov was unavailable due to a game misconduct, not carryover. I don’t believe they have a rule regarding penalties carrying over from overtime.
Glovesave, do you think Marty Brodeur or Roberto Luongo would like to split the season with their backup (or 1b if you will)? You win and lose in this league based on goaltending. We have sucked because our goaltending has sucked, period. If Pavelec could play like last night 65-70 times a year, you would be nuts to not play him. The coach has to manage the playing time to keep his goalie fresh. A 40 game season would be perfect for Kari. His problem is reliability. Do you invest in an unknown (can he stay healthy)? If he is deemed healthy and they get a decent offer, they should jump on it! You bring him back and hand him the job and he gets hurt AGAIN, then you’ll be lucky to get 50 pucks for him.
Squeaky Fromage, The Hockey Debutante
October 21st, 2009
6:12 pm
Did anyone notice how full the arena was last night for Les Habs? For a team that’s lost all of their games, you’d think there’d be a contingency of boycotters. Atlantans are Equal Opportunity boycotters – don’t show up whether we’re winning or losing. I hope that changes real soon, and not just for the Big Games. Maybe we’ll sell out for the Avalanche. And maybe Hockey Biltong will win the lottery…
World Be Free
October 21st, 2009
6:16 pm
Spud/Glovesave-from what I heard, the Thrash may bring in Chelios to tutor Bogo. Looks like Bogo is ahead of the curve and may not need alotta help, but it is an interesting concept. I think some of the folks in the media just look at Chicago Wolves-Thrashers connection as a straight line without considering Anderson’s system.
Sara-nice catch, I noticed that Strachan was gone from Hotstove too. Let’s hope it for good.
Strach is Canada’s version of Mike Lupica. He reminds me of the Weisel on Looney Tunes-and Mike Milbury is Forghorn Leghorn.
Hanson Brothers
October 21st, 2009
6:22 pm
To settle the question once and for all about Kozlov’s eligibility for the shootout last night, the answer is he was not eligible. Here is Rule 89 (b), Note 2 from the NHL rulebook:
(NOTE 2) Three (3) players from each team shall participate in the shootout and they shall proceed in such order as the Coach selects. All players are eligible to participate in the shootout unless they are serving a ten minute misconduct or have been assessed a game misconduct, gross misconduct or match penalty.
World Be Free
October 21st, 2009
6:33 pm
Time for Antropov to get going.
Also, Orrin Hatch and Obama want to investigate the BCS?
Pretty soon they’ll investigate why MBL’s umpiring is so pitiful.
Makes me appreciate NHL officials a little more.
JAmes_kovyboy from MTL
October 21st, 2009
6:50 pm
damn it was like the 3rd line, bryan little and pavelec against montreal
everytime the gomez line stepped on the ice, they created chances
weak, not bad, performance but i didnt see any domination like they had in Nj or St-Lou
anyways on the brightside were 4-1-1!, and i hope we win November 3rd guys
Viking
October 21st, 2009
6:54 pm
Smoothie, Hip Czech @ Co;
If a commentator use an unusual pronunciation of a players name, it is very likely that he has done the homework and is actually saying it correctly. (Non English) European names are heavily distorted around here. Our injured goalkeeper’s name has been mispronounced for years. Only Kamal gets it right when he is not excited: Lehtooonen without the “i” as in Jere Lehtiiinen. The NHL pronunciation guide is rubbish by the way.
I Googled a little regarding Pavelec and it appears they did it right last night.
HookyBob
October 21st, 2009
8:19 pm
4-1-1,…love that sound,…especially when 5 of them were in hostile confines.
I wonder if Chelios would consider coaching,..then he could work with all our D-men. I saw him play in 84 in an Olympic team game. He had just been busted for stealing a hooker’s purse. After 25 years of meanness and a great NHL career,..he’s got to have a wealth of things to pass on.
Pavelec may play best when he has a few days between games. That has been the case so far this year. Kari seems to loose his attention span with too many games in succession. So keeping them both and more or less alternating may give us the best back-stopping each has to offer. Wouldn’t that be sweet. Hopefully we could find somewhere for Moose in mgmt.
Wish Armstrong had also gotten an assist last night,..no wait the GH hat-trick is a fight,..not a huge hit. Would like to see a huge hit, a goal, an assist become known as a Thrashers hat-trick.
Who is our best shutdown line for AO? Along with Semin, Backstrom, and Green all coming at us,..the Caps have a lot of firepower. We all know about the shots we give up. Any predictions on the # of shots the Caps will get tomorrow night?
Glovesave29
October 21st, 2009
8:21 pm
OTH – Luongo has crapped out in the playoffs…why? He’s beat up, used, and in dire need of a break. Had he gotten more games off, I think the Canucks might have gone a bit further into the playoffs. Marty is a a freak, but then again, he’s behind a superior defensive team and sees a fraction of the shots other goalies do. I am sure they would much rather play more seasons with fewer starts then fewer seasons with more starts…everyone is playing for than next contract. The best comparison is running backs in football. They only have so many carries in them before retirement calls. Think of goalies the same way.
Rawhide
October 21st, 2009
8:34 pm
Squeaky Fromage, The Hockey Debutante – Hi there beautiful!! I was wondering how long it was gonna take you to finally post a comment up here using that most exquisite username. Tell Mr. Biltong that I said hello and I’m looking forward to seeing ya’ll at Philips.
sisu
October 21st, 2009
9:16 pm
the Kozlov hit was not a big deal, Gomez was leaning forward and lost an edge. If that was a suspension then what about the hit on Pop in the first by 46? Same difference…
If there is a suspension the I call bull crap! I listened to the game last night and just watched it now…
One thing thy left out is how they have the guy from New England from the famous snow game where Patriots beat the fish by 3 – 0. Apparently they do not like to resurface around the Montreal net and the refs got on him about this and made him do it right!
Smitty
October 21st, 2009
9:42 pm
I wonder if Kozzy and Ryan Miller are friends and this way a payback for Gomez taking out Miller last year. If I remember correctly not too much was said about that incident.
gcs
October 21st, 2009
10:22 pm
Are the Thrashers having any giveaways this year?
There is nothing on their website.
.
Bryan Lewis
October 21st, 2009
10:30 pm
THE TEAM IS PLAYING TERRIFIC. I AM GLAD TO SEE THE MOMENTUM CARRY OVER FROM LAST YEAR. THE TEAM NEEDS TO DO 3 THINGS:
1) GET ARMY RESIGNED NOW -HE IS A LEADER, IS GREAT IN THE LOCKER ROOM, AND IS THE TYPE OF GRINDER THAT EVERY TEAM NEEDS.
2) GET KOVY SIGNED
3) WHEN KARI COMES BACK, GIVE HIM A FEW GAMES AND THEN TRADE HIM
Bryan Lewis
October 21st, 2009
10:32 pm
THE 2ND LINE LOOKS AWFUL. WHITE MADE A NUMBER OF BAD PLAYS. AFIGENOV IS FAST BUT OUT OF CONTROL AT TIMES. KOZLOV IS STARTING SLOW TOO.
Hockey Biltong
October 21st, 2009
11:20 pm
sisu – you see the Kozlov hit my way too. Saw a very similar one tonight, Canuck coming out of the sin bin and flattening Toews. Clean hit, but breakaway play to Chicago goal was stopped. I felt the whistle should not have been blown. Any one else see it???
GTFan1
October 21st, 2009
11:36 pm
Do you guys think the NHL took a step back with the deal with Versus a few years back? Check out my blog!
http://www.ajc.com/sports/georgia-tech/acc-title-game-could-168913.html
Brendan
October 22nd, 2009
12:06 am
Biltong, Vancouver’s hit on Toews was a legit hit. Nothing dirty about it. Toews just got tagged. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn he has a concussion. He could barely skate after the hit. And he didn’t return, per the announcers.
Anyone see the Aves-Wild shootout tonight? I was confused by something. On one of the Colorado shots, the goalie smothered the puck in his pads, but his momentum carried him inside the goal cage. Why is this not ruled a goal? The only thing I can fathom is … the ref blew the whistle, counting it as a save, prior to the goalie entering the net. The Wild got credit for a shootout win. They needed it. I think they’re 2-6 on the season, now. Can you believe this start by the Avalanche? 28th place in the league last year seems like a distant memory. You’ll recall … Colorado CLEANED HOUSE after those results, stating, “This will not be tolerated.” There’s a word for that. Accountability. Matt Duchene is there, ostensibly, for the season. Colorado is trying to turn the corner this very season.
ranallo10 (in AT)
October 22nd, 2009
7:06 am
Mitchell’s hit on Toews was clean, in my opinion. Did anyone notice the person who coughed up the puck which was immediately followed by Samuelsson’s game winning goal ?
Smitty
October 22nd, 2009
7:25 am
Sedin had a breakaway after that clean hit on Toews. Whistle should not have been blown. Campbell’s giveaway led to the game winner. TSN analysts were split on Kozzy being suspended.
Should be a good test for the Thrashers tonight. Hope the place is full
World Be Free
October 22nd, 2009
9:16 am
Kozlov probably deserves a suspension for the hit. He did not go out of his way to hit Gomez and I don’t think it was intentional, but it happened. Gomez should have got more for his reaction, obviously he wasn’t hurt. He spends too much time running goalies anyhow.
Hope TSN is up in arms next time, when a Toronto and Montreal player does the same thing.
Smoothie
October 22nd, 2009
10:14 am
Found this little nugget in the Wash Post: “Whenever Fleischmann returns, it will give Boudreau more flexibility when constructing his forward lines. One option would be to put the 25-year-old on the left side of the second line and drop Brooks Laich down in an attempt to jump-start the struggling third line. Through eight games, Laich has scored one more goal — three — than the third and fourth lines combined.”
Perhaps our bottom two lines, especially the new AK-47 line, can do some damage against the Caps bottom two lines in light of the fact we get to match up as the home team tonite. JA will really need to work the match-ups as much as possible to exploit whatever weaknesses the Caps have. And somehow our top line needs to limit the effectiveness of AO – Nikky B – Knuble. Should be an entertaining night at the Bulb!
GaVaHokie
October 22nd, 2009
10:23 am
Smoothie… I think you have to put Kozlov White and Afinogenov out against Ovie’s line and hope you can beat them in a puck possession game… doubtful, though.
Could be a good night to take Max off Kozy’s line and put Army there… Kozy/White/Army and make that your checking line against Ovechkin.
Then try to create some scoring with Kane/Peverley/Max
GaVaHokie
October 22nd, 2009
10:25 am
… or Kovy/Antro/Max and Kane/Pevs/Little as your 1 and 2 lines.
Sara
October 22nd, 2009
10:26 am
According to Ben on Twitter, the RW swap continues at practice today. Little White Russian line + the Comrade line out on the ice.
Smoothie
October 22nd, 2009
10:46 am
No way in hell I put the Little White Russian line out against Ovie and Co! White & Kozlov are a combined -6 and until Kozlov gets going I might use them against Washington’s 3rd line. Let the AK-47 line try to contain Semin and hopefully put some pressure on them defensively.
And I’ll take my chances with the Comrade Connection line against Ovie and hope they can score a goal for every goal Washington’s top line may score. Ovie is more prone to defensive lapses than Semin & Laich and perhaps Kovy and Max can use their speed to create some havoc against AO’s line.
Trixie (Rawhide's Secretary)
October 22nd, 2009
10:56 am
This is your official 10-minute RANALLO WARNING!
World Be Free
October 22nd, 2009
11:09 am
Hope we can afford a GPS for Max-so he can find his way back to the defensive zone.
hip czech
October 22nd, 2009
11:24 am
Brendan…”Anyone see the Aves-Wild shootout tonight? I was confused by something. On one of the Colorado shots, the goalie smothered the puck in his pads, but his momentum carried him inside the goal cage. Why is this not ruled a goal?”
I did (thanks for the tip about center ice being free this week!)…if you noticed in the replay the puck actually went to the side of the goal. I thought the exact same thing because at first it looked like the puck was between Backstrom’s pads and he ‘carried’ it into the goal.
But the replay clearly showed the puck going off his right pad and into the corner at the side of the net.
Looks like I’m about to be Ranallo’d, so I’ll probably post this on the new blog also.