Thrashers again fall short in comeback attempt
A week ago the Atlanta Thrashers were coming off a very successful road trip in which they went 3-1-1, earning 7 of a possible 10 points. Waiting for them… the Washington Capitals whose 10 points led the division, just one better than the Thrashers’ nine.
One week, three games, 13 goals against and one Ilya Kovalchuk broken foot bone later, Atlanta is still stuck at nine…the Caps now have 18. Oh, and the Thrashers also have the Lightning’s backsides to look at as Tampa Bays win over Ottawa puts them at 11 points.
That, my friends, is the definition of an un-good week.
Mike Knuble squeezes Todd White against the boards (AP/Gregory Smith)
Thursday night eerily resembled the previous two games in that the Thrashers fell behind early…then began to play well in a failed attempt to come from behind. Alex Ovechkin’s pair of goals in the first period put his Caps up 2-0…a lead that became 3-0 at the 4:10 mark of the second.
Two of those goals came on the power play…Ovechkin opening up the scoring with a blast from the left while Jim Slater sat for hooking. Brendan Morrison’s second period goal came while the rookie Evander Kane was spending time in the sin bin for the same infraction.
On that first goal, Marty Reasoner was pulled toward the middle when Mike Green had the puck. That little bit of space was all Alex needed and the puck was on…then off…his stick in a blink of an eye.
The Thrashers had a golden opportunity to tie the score at one around the middle of the first period when Slates…making his first start since opening night… broke through the Washington defense to go in one-on-one with Semyon Varlamov, but he was taken down from behind for a penalty shot.
Varlamov, however, was up to the task.
A short time later, Maxim Afinogenov put the puck in toward the net from the blueline but his shot was block. Nicklas Backstrom found Ovechkin breaking through the neutral zone…Afinogenov at the same time found himself on the ice.
Seconds later, Alex the Gr8 schooled Ondrej Pavelec to put Washington up by two.
After the Thrashers found themselves down by three goals in the second period…hey, haven’t we seen this movie before?…they once again mounted this night’s comeback bid. Atlanta began to get more chances later in that period and eventually outshot the visitors 13-8 in the middle frame. Unfortunately, Varlamov held strong and the Caps took their 3-0 advantage into the locker room after 40 minutes.
Brendan Morrison's power play goal gave the Caps a 3-0 lead (AP/Gregory Smith)
Zach Bogosian finally erased the goose egg from Atlanta’s side of the scoreboard with a power play goal 83 seconds into the final period. Then Slava Kozlov fed Todd White through center ice and Whitey pulled his team within one with 2:23 left.
Coming from behind…down by one…143 second left…set for another edge-of-the-seat finish…
again, haven’t we seen this movie before?
Yes…yes we have. And the end of this evening’s feature would not differ from the previous two times.
Mike Knuble crinkled the twine on an empty-netter before Bogosian could add a little window dressing, scoring his second of the night, fourth of the season, as the final horn brought to an end the Thrashers third straight one-goal home loss.
Four straight counting the 2-1 shootout loss in Montreal last week.
Atlanta wound up out-shooting the Caps 20-11 during the third and 41-32 overall.
Opie stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced and now possesses a .912 SV% and 2.82 GAA as his record falling to 3-3-1.
Evander Kane and Slava Kozlov each had 6 shots on goal for the Thrashers and Bogosian took 5.
Oh…and for what it’s worth…Atlanta outscored Washington and San Jose 6-0 in the third period during the three-game home stand. Normally, a stat like that will equate to at least one win.
They now go on the road again…this time for only a pair of games in Ottawa and Montreal…before returning home again in one week. Let’s hope it’s a better week than this past one.
Looking To Watch The game With Fellow Thrashervillians?
The Thrashers Fan Club will be holding a viewing party at Twains in Decatur Saturday afternoon while the Thrashers are playing in Ottawa. It’s a 2:00 start…so you’ll able to be home in time to deal with the costume-clad tykes who will be perusing the neighborhood extorting candy and treats.
For next Saturday’s game on Lonnnn-Gisland, our good friends at TJ’s have invited us out again to watch Atlanta take on the New York Islanders. As usual, there will be prizes to raffle off, 15% off your food and drinks and a good time shall be had by all.
You may RSVP with Trixie or with an e-mail at rawhide528@yahoo.com if you’re planning on attending that night.
Oh and hey, if we’re lucky, we might even be able to catch a glimpse of Buzilla as he’ll be in attendance up in New York.
OK, Zilla…I wanna see a “Rawhide’s Rowdies Rock at TJ’s” sign up against the glass!
And Finally…
I watched game seven of last June’s Stanley Cup Finals over a plate of hot wings with Jeff Schultz…can you guess which one?
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82 comments Add your comment
Lee
October 30th, 2009
3:47 pm
well, i think the thrashers wouldve won with kovy.
NorthStarsDave
October 30th, 2009
4:36 pm
The team IS showing progress…sure, losing hurts, but all good teams have done it at one time…the Caps, even the Pens almost left Pittsburgh….
Last year during their spring run, the team was pummelled by Detroit…now, against two of the top 5 teams in the NHL, the Thrashers have been competitive…with Kovy, things could have been different…
Granted, ownership is putrid…that is where the problems start and end…
A27
October 30th, 2009
4:42 pm
We lost 4 games!!!! Oh My God!!!!!!!! It’s all over time to move the team to Kallamazoo, thats in Western Michigan, right Brendan? Oh and the reason we lost those games was because of Mad Max, not anybody else ( Thorburn, Little, Salmella, etc…) just him and his dumb puck handling.
Midfield
October 30th, 2009
4:49 pm
I feel like voicing my displeasure with Anderson after this one. I watched the game on TV and did not see the whole rink as it was happening. But Elliot did repeatedly mention that the Caps played one forward up the ice pouching for a break away, which is how they scored the second and drew a few penalties. It took Thrashers half the game to regroup. Not fast enough for an NHL team.
Brendan
October 30th, 2009
5:00 pm
The Thrashers have faced some pretty quality opposition lately. I’d bet the Capitals 3-peat atop the Southeast Division this year. Let’s see how we fare against some mid-tiered teams.
My stance on Max hasn’t changed. Max isn’t going to be the reason we make or miss the playoffs. Signing Max was almost entirely “risk-free.” At $800,000, you can cut him. You can put him on waivers. Or re-entry waivers. Or stash him in the minors. Or release him, entirely, if he requests it. Or keep ‘im, to make Kovy happy, and bury him on the 4th line, used primarily to draw penalties so that our PP unit can cash-in. I don’t think Max is a God-send. But I don’t think he’ll derail the season, either. And Kovalchuk ever said, “I’ll re-sign, but you have to re-up Max, too.” Done. Yeah. I’d do it again, if it pleased Kovy. That’s a Kovalchuk “bonus.”
Atlanta needs to start off strong in the 1st period. If they continue to face uphill battles, like 3-0, they won’t be able to overcome it too often.
I am honoring my vow not to scream about this team until after Halloween. Which is tomorrow. I said, “If this team is 5 games under .500 by Halloween, we’ll know there are problems.” We’re not anywhere near 5 games under .500 at Halloween. We’re at .500 at Halloween. The sky isn’t falling. That spirited finish against the Caps gives me hope that this is more like a hiccup than a belly-flop.
A27
October 30th, 2009
5:07 pm
I was being sarcastic about Max.
R. Stroz
October 30th, 2009
5:34 pm
Well, at least stendec doesn’t have Kari to blame.
Lee
October 30th, 2009
5:40 pm
ok, the thrashers are not stinky becuase they lost this weeks games, hello??? Hear the new bout Ilya Kovalchuk???? Ok, im not sayin he’s the whole team, but he’s a big part of it, and u cant blame the team that hes out, they wouldve probably won the games against the caps and sharks!!! When u lose your captain, is discouraging to the team, and it takes a lot of the team out. So yes, the thrashers did lose, but i know they won becuase if they had kovy they wouldve
Brad
October 30th, 2009
6:17 pm
Atlanta doesn’t deserve an NHL franchise- and never did.
Seriously, after NFL, NBA, MLB, NASCAR, and College Football/Basketball in the Atlanta area, does anyone in Georgia even have the time- let alone the money- for “pro ice hockey” on a weeknight from Oct. till April?
HookyBob
October 30th, 2009
6:42 pm
Russian: Interesting that Russian media favors the Thrashers doing poorly. Never thought of it from that perspective. What are your thoughts on the “mother country’s” pull on Kovy?
DelawareRick: Welcome our blog. In early Nov 07 I was posting on El-Bashir’s blog encouraging Caps fans to “keep the faith.” Once Boudreau came on board the Caps came to life and realized their potential.
As a Thrasher fan I believe we have a good team and a good coach. We’ve witnessed excellent hockey from the same guys which are currently frustrating us fans with these slow starts (I like Stroz’s idea for being ready when the puck first drops). If our guys realize more of their potential soon we’ll remain in the play-off hunt.
I watched last night’s game from home and believe that Varlamov had a better much game than Pavlec (not that Pavlec played poorly),…and that, along with our (slow start type) penalties was pretty much the difference. On the bright side our guys didn’t give-up. DelawareRick noted this,…and I suspect that, as a Caps fan, he wasn’t too comfortable until that 4th goal.
Stroz: I recall Quinn breaking into the league with the Maple Leafs in the late 60’s. As a big, and slow, defensemen how can you appreciate anything but grit in a player?
Anyone here planning to be at Twain’s tomorrow afternoon?
Brendan
October 30th, 2009
7:48 pm
I hadn’t seen your post when I made mine, A27. Yours was a classic. We can never hear enough about Western Michigan, in Kalamazoo. Not like that worthless school up in the northern peninsula of Michigan. There’s a rumor that the school produces “top notch” GM’s. Any truth to it?
Brendan
October 30th, 2009
10:15 pm
Heartbreaker for Columbus tonight. They held a 3-1 lead going into the third against Pittsburgh. They couldn’t hold it, and then Crosby won it in the shootout on a “fluke” goal. The goalie stopped the puck, but his momentum carried him into the net. But before he entered the cage, he put down the paddle to push the puck out of the goal crease. Trouble was … he MISSED IT! He “whiffed” on the trickler. And you guessed it … the puck continued right on into the net, under his goal stick. It counted. As it should. 4-3, Penguins. The Islanders hung tough all night with the Capitals and it was Mark Streit, in OVERTIME, to win it for the Islanders over Washington. Thank you, Islanders!!
In a “duh” moment, Toronto scored on a high stick deflection with less than a minute left in regulation time. They went to Singapore to review it and determined it was “no goal.”
I tease. I kid. The “Maple Leaf” goal in question … was reviewed in Toronto where it was deemed … drumroll, please … a GOAL! 
So now, the Sabres and Leafs are in overtime. Amazingly, however, the Leafs were short-handed on a stupid penalty by Stajan to end the game when they got the short-handed tally. So, at 2-2, the regulation time ended with the Sabres on the PP. They did not score.
The Penalty carried over into the overtime. And just as the penalty expired, I believe, (unless they’re counting it as a PPG,) Tim Connolly got his 2nd of the game … to win it for Buffalo over Toronto. I must add … Buffalo “futzed” this game away. The Sabres had UMPTEEN glorious scoring chances that they didn’t cash-in on. It was pathetic. I just kept saying to myself, “Ya know, they’re letting the Leafs ‘hang around’ in this one, and it’s gonna bite ‘em.” Buffalo deserved the win. But the Leafs were very, very fortunate to earn their 5th point of the night.
Stop for a minute. Imagine … just imagine … if the Maple Leaf goal, with 0:37 left, had been DISALLOWED? And the result was … ZERO POINTS for the Leafs on this horrendous start to their season? I guarantee Ron Wilson and Brian Burke would have gone screaming to the media and league offices … “And it DOESN’T HELP ANY that we’re not getting any breaks from the review panel, here in Toronto.”
Personally, I thought it was a good goal. Florida and Dallas are tied, 4-4, after two. Let’s thank the Stars, as the Panthers once led by three tonight. Maybe Dallas can take BOTH points away from Florida? The Dallas Stars are, in fact, my least favorite team in the NHL. But tonight, I’m saying, “Go Stars!!”
Brendan
October 30th, 2009
10:17 pm
Comcast #779, Gaborik vs. the Wild, in Minnesota. Rangers 3, Wild 2. There’s about 6:00 left in regulation.
Brendan
October 30th, 2009
11:10 pm
I beg your pardon. Couldn’t find Gaborik in this game at all. And it was the Wild who defeated the Rangers. Not the other way around.
Panthers/Stars are in the shootout, 5-5.
Brendan
October 30th, 2009
11:14 pm
Panthers won the shootout, with the only goal in the shootout, 6-5.
Lee
October 31st, 2009
9:25 am
like to see the game tonight, it’ll be intresting!!! maybe the players can step it up since they they are not playing as good a team as Wash. I talked to Dr. Goloski, works at my hospital, and he said, progress is coming good with Kovy, and he is doing some brief excersises, he also said, not to worry, he is making great progress and is healing fast!
Dwayne
October 31st, 2009
10:16 am
I hope todays game is on centerice
LAC
October 31st, 2009
10:32 am
Dwayne, game on channel 770 at 2pm This Afternoon.
Not looking forward to these next two for sure, but other teams have injuries, so it is going around, one day #8 will get hurt and Washington will have to do without him… in this game it WILL happen at some point.
I cannot remember who it was several years ago stopped a slap shot by #17 and broke his foot… so it happens, heck Malkin is out for three weeks !
Rawhide
October 31st, 2009
10:36 am
Dwayne – Center Ic is listing it as game 7 today, which on Comcast Cable is channel 777. I think there is a replay at 1:00 am.
Lee – Great report from the field…thanks.
LAC – I heard Dr. Goloski say that an injury like the one Kovy suffered occurs about 6 times a year in the NHL.
Dwayne
October 31st, 2009
10:42 am
6 times a year, odds of that happining..slim and none..why us Lord?
Dwayne
October 31st, 2009
3:05 pm
Thrashers look pretty good, not slow start like games past, played a full 20 minutes. Leclaire robbed Salmela. Opie looking ok too. Commentators say Armstrong is borderline dirty, leaves feet when hits and always catches head. Said Boulton lost fight with Neil first game…anyone remember?
Alan R.
October 31st, 2009
4:33 pm
Wondering where our D is. 44SA so far, 1GA. I’m loving Pavelec right now for keeping us in the game, but damnit. 44SA!
Alan R.
October 31st, 2009
4:40 pm
Afinogenov! 3-1 now… I can breathe a little easier, now…
gcs
October 31st, 2009
4:41 pm
51 shots to 21??!! Thrashers got lucky.
.
Zoomo
October 31st, 2009
4:41 pm
nice to get back in the win column. Pavelec was out of his mind good. Good 2nd period…the rest? Eh..
Alan R.
October 31st, 2009
4:44 pm
Woot, we win!
Stendecs' Billy Goat
October 31st, 2009
4:50 pm
Max scores!! I love everyone!! Peace Rawhide!!!++BAAA++
Smitty
October 31st, 2009
4:57 pm
Kari who?
Smoothie
October 31st, 2009
5:13 pm
At least stendec can’t rant and rave about any soft goals given up by Pavelec. He even stopped one with his neck without a helmet. Don’t think that has happened in a very long time! Not a pretty game and a very lame effort in the last 30 mins but perhaps the pressure of securing two points became too great a weight to bear. Let’s hope that they can re-focus after getting a very important 2 points and play a solid 60, or at least 45, minute effort in MTL Tuesday.
Alan R.
October 31st, 2009
5:18 pm
I’ve been listening to the Sens post game show on Team 1200 in Ottawa, and the announcers can’t stop gushing about how good Pavelec was in goal. They’re actually wondering aloud if Lehtonen even has a job left to come back to at this point.
Brendan
October 31st, 2009
5:23 pm
See, this is why we have to get rid of Max.
:rolling:
Okay, look. It wasn’t pretty. But we have to take “four-point swing” games every time we can. This is a weak defensive effort. It was the Ondrej Pavelec Show. Was Atlanta the better team? Don’t answer. Was Atlanta the team that got two-points? Now, you can answer.
5-4-1 is a record over .500 for October. I said I wouldn’t scream about this team until after Halloween. I said if we were 4-5 games under .500 at Halloween … that we’d be in a real trouble. We’re not. Are we out of the woods? Uhh, no. But we’re not in horrible shape, either.
Rawhide
October 31st, 2009
5:24 pm
Nice win by the Thrashers…but 51 SOG??? Un-Good! Thank God for Opie.
Here’s a new blog to discuss.