Pavelec, Thrashers turn Friday the 13th into a nightmare for Kings
Friday the 13th in Thrasherville. But tonight, in this horror movie, the killer behind the goalie mask wasn’t named Jason… it was Opie. And his victim on this evening was the Los Angeles Kings.
Ondrej Pavalec makes on of his 38 saves (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Stopping all 38 shots L.A. took on him, Opie dropped his first goose egg ever as an NHL starter as the Thrashers whacked the Kings 7-0 in front of a raucous gathering in Philips Arena. The hockey team from Los Angeles may have been the ones with crowns on their jerseys, but on this night it was Ondrej Pavelec who truly was king.
In front of Pavs, Atlanta’s skaters where having their way with the visitors as what was a 0-0 game halfway through the second period quickly turned into a laugher. Evander Kane finally broke the scoreless deadlock at the 10:22 mark of that middle frame when his wrap-around got through Kings’ starting goalie Jonathan Quick.
Ya know…that Evander kid…I think he’s gonna do OK in this league, don’t cha think?
But shorty after Kane’s goal is when the storming of the Kings’ castle really got underway.
Two minutes after that, Maxim Afinogenov fed Ilya Kovalchuk who was in like a flash towards Quick…and it was 2-0. Max and Kovy have really seemed to be on the same page these past two games and if Max can continue to find the net like tonight…ooooh, that pair is going to be downright scary!
Maxim Afinogenov welcomes Erik Ersberg to the game by beating him on a breakaway (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
A buck forty-eight later, Zach Bogosian’s shot from the right made it 3-0…and then Quick made a …ahem…quick exit to the bench.
Erik Ersberg was in the Kings net for all of 70 second when he was rudely greeted by Afinogenov screaming through on a feed by Kovy, who was just returning the favor, and before you could say “Long live the King”…the Kings were dead.
Four goals in 5 minutes and 4 seconds!
Atlanta wasn’t done crowning the Kings though…in the third period Kovalchuk’s power play laser blast made it 5-0…Mad Max’s fly-through-the-air goal made it 6-0 and, while killing off a penalty, Kane took a pass from the Pevs Dispenser to kick the extra point for the 7-0 margin.
Let’s see…even strength goals, a power play goal, a shorty and a few good on-ice brawls. This game had everything!
Kovy and Max led the offensive charge, both with 2 goals and 2 assists on 3 SOG. Both also finished the night a +3. Evander Kane had a pair of goals and an assists and finished a +3 with 3 shots… Zach Bogosian had a goal on three shots and was a +4…Marty Reasoner had a pair of assists and was a +2… Rich Peverley, Christoph Schubert, Nik Antropov and Toby Enstrom each had an assist as well.
As a whole, the Thrashers only took 21 shots on the Kings goal…which means that they were scoring once every three shots.
I’ll take that percentage any day, my friends.
But tonight was Opie’s night. He was well positioned and his rebound control was fantastic. He was focused for the entire game and kept L.A. at bay long enough for the Thrashers’ offense to kick into gear.
He didn’t even let a puck to the knee while making one of his 38 saves stop him from his first white-wash…though we all held our collective breaths for a few minutes there while he was down on the ice.
Nope, even though the pain he told the Kings, “You’ll get NOTHING and like it”!
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86 comments Add your comment
fes
November 14th, 2009
12:47 am
The second frame was the best period of Thrashers hockey that I’ve ever seen. Opie stood on his head all night. Great game boys!
LAC
November 14th, 2009
12:56 am
In eighth place ahead of Tampa !!!!!
Still too many SOG on our goal, but #31 was EXCELLENT Tonight !!!
Nice to see Kane score twice and Max, what a second goal !!!!
Need another two points Sunday !!!
raindawg722
November 14th, 2009
1:03 am
That was the best Thrashers game I’ve ever seen. It’s a shame that it wasn’t on TV. It surely could have converted a few fans.
Sara
November 14th, 2009
1:12 am
That … was … AWESOME!!!!! Had such a blast tonight. Rawhide, enjoyed your company during the second period (JLH actually tried to send me back for the 3rd – something about not messing with the juju – I tried to tell him I *am* the juju).
Also a pleasure meeting both Blue Note and Russian tonight. Gentlemen, it was certainly tons of fun and I hope we can do it all again sometime very soon.
Coupled with the great news from the THM, tonight was a perfect hockey night!
Mr. Heat Miser
November 14th, 2009
1:21 am
Glad the Cold War is over and we got our Russkies. Bring on the Oilers!
Jeez that was a great game to be at!
LAC
November 14th, 2009
1:49 am
Check out On The Fly if you can, Thrashers have most coverage of any game last night, LOTS of NICE comments by both the guys on the show,
maybe we “are” turning the corner, Sunday will be critical…
Tony C.
November 14th, 2009
2:42 am
I was also flabbergasted that they didn’t have this one on TV-with all the mediocre sports choices on TV tonight, watching that explosion of O-ffence surely would’ve piqued interest from the casual fan… have a full on 5-on-5 fight wouldn’t hurt that effort either.
Shame I had to work. Glad to see the OnTheFly guys actually have an entire segment with nothing but positive comments regarding our guys.
Little was a scratch, anybody know why?
Putting On The Foil
November 14th, 2009
3:04 am
NHL Network airing replay at 4 am this morning. Just set up the DVR.
Cornbread
November 14th, 2009
3:07 am
“Little was a scratch, anybody know why?”
Groin.
Great game, even over the interweb.
Tony C.
November 14th, 2009
4:05 am
Sweet! I do get to watch the game.
LA color guys speak very nicely of our team-refreshing change.
Dwayne
November 14th, 2009
6:18 am
Touchdown!!!!! Thrashers!!!!!
Matt
November 14th, 2009
7:21 am
To rephrase my post from earlier blogs..Bogo and Kane are GODS!! 6 out of 7 goals from the forwards in the game. (Think we’ve broken that little slump?) Still don’t like the fact that we play to passively in the 3rd with a lead and get so badly out shot. But, all in all, a very impressive win. Now, Drill the Oilers!!
Daculafan
November 14th, 2009
7:48 am
Hey Buddy!…hell of a game! Hope your drive to Milledgeville wasn’t too painful after staying up. That was the best complete game of the season. There are so many positive things to point out and really not much critical to say about the team.
Thrasher fans…get out and support this team!! They are that good and they feed off your noise…come on and feed the animals folks!!
Believe in Blueland
The Real Thrash
November 14th, 2009
7:48 am
Kane: 11 points, +10, in only 14 minutes per game. Now that’s a great draft pick!
Hockey Biltong
November 14th, 2009
8:24 am
We watched the Ranger game in the company of neighbors, who in turn watched us scream and jump at every Thrash great play.
Then last night, a home game, which we did not attend[jinx], saw the Most Awesome Thrash game ever!!!!!
The LA feed was a very good neutral feed. They were screaming ’score’! Good comments dished out to Atl players.
OP the Brave endured a very hard shot andgritted thru for his shutout. WOWOWOWOWOWOWOW.
NorthStarsDave
November 14th, 2009
8:28 am
Hey ThrasherBashers….
The time Kovy was injured gave others the chance to have redefined roles…Bogo is showing he can be a scorer…Kane is showing why he was the 4th overall pick…Peverly has continued to improve….Mad Max is providing speed a scoring…Antropov is exactly the center Kovy needs…Kubina and Hainsey are playing great on the blueline….
The team is no longer relies on just Kovy for scoring and leadership….
Now that the team is complete with Kovy, the recent results are outstanding!
And the more consistent goaltending…OP as the starter with Moose pitching in…is proving to be effective…currently ranking in the top 10 in the NHL in save %….gives this team the opportunity to win every night…
This could be the beginning of something extremely good….
Bluenote
November 14th, 2009
8:52 am
Hope there’s some emotional gas left in the tank for Sunday. Up 5-0 last night, the team was skating with the same effort/intensity they’ve had when they were down 0-2….and looking like they were having fun doing it.
Biggest laugh of the night was Slater’s non-bout with Hanzus (who probably outweighs him by 50 lbs). He looked like the dog that caught the bus.
A delight shouting myself hoarse with Sara and Russian. Hope we can bring the team some more good kharma again soon!
Viking
November 14th, 2009
8:52 am
Did not see the game.
Did Kubina get injured? The stats show only 13:15 min ice time.
Dwayne
November 14th, 2009
9:07 am
What a great day, got home from work, checked mail, my Dec 21 tickets to see Thrash and Montreal where there. Then Falco….errrr…Thrashers score a touchdown on the Queens. Center Ice only had the LA feed. Not much those guys in the booth could say. WOW is what the wanted to say. I wonder what the Oilers were thinking as they watched the 2nd period onslaught?
Tom
November 14th, 2009
9:08 am
BlueNote – Watch the fight again if you can. We replayed in slow motion on Tivo and Slater threw 2 wicked uppercuts that rocked Hanzus. He could not get his head up again. I was proud of Jimmy after those punches.
Tom
November 14th, 2009
9:10 am
I would love to see the record of teams that spend an extra day in ATL. The free passes to the Cheetah probably do not help their game much.
Tom
November 14th, 2009
9:12 am
OOPS. It was Slater and Richardson that went. http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/88512
five_hole
November 14th, 2009
9:25 am
OK, everyone else is being positive; I suppose it’s up to me to Stendecize the blog.
What rocket scientist is in charge of scheduling the games? Most of the away games are not televised and perhaps half of the home games are. Not to mention 7PM starts and all of these Sunday games? Does the mensa candidate in charge of scheduling think he’s going to outdraw the NFL?
I’m just pissed ’cause I wish I coulda seen the game. Sounds like we really opened a can on the Kings.
Sorry Stendic for making you an adjective.
Hey Putting On The Foil So, how’s the TV and do you like the McCallums? Did I make you a convert?
RS
November 14th, 2009
9:54 am
I think the last 5 minutes of that game were very telling. They were up 7-0 and they were killing themselves to get Pavelec that shut-out. Dropping to block shots and still working like crazy. And the power play at the end when two guys on the ice could have gone for hat tricks but kept passing up on shots to try and get Kozlov off the schneid.
Dwayne
November 14th, 2009
10:22 am
I was impressed with the Thrashers doing everything they could for Opie and Koslov. Hockey players are just a cut above athletes in other team sports. It’s what drew me to the sport. Score a goal, usually quick celebrations, hug your team mates, fist bump the bench guys and go back t work. For the most part, Hockey player are humble, hard working people who do not try to bring attention to themselves. Few exceptions, avery to name one. Its a great sport, and we finally have a team to be excited about.
KovyRules
November 14th, 2009
10:28 am
RS is really on to something – that this is a TEAM! They were killing themselves to defend Opie’s shutout and to break Kozy’s jinx. Then, to top it off, Max and Kovy don’t skate out for their third and second star selections, after impressive four point nights, so Opie could have all the attention. Very impressive and self-sacrificial, and a glimpse at how these guys will bleed for each other. And the Greek Gods didn’t back down when LA tried the age old “start a fight to stop the other team’s momentum”.
Now those who stress over shot on goal statistics remember this game and chill out? Does anyone believe LA outplayed us 2:1 like they outshot us? No way! Shots on goal CAN be a meaningful statistic, and it can be meaningless. Tonight it was meaningless (not to diminish Opie’s performance – I was the ultimate Opie skeptic even after the regular season started, but no more!).
Last thought – why don’t we play 10 Friday night games? The crowd is noticably more vocal and revved up. I know I was!
Riceowls
November 14th, 2009
10:59 am
8th with games in hand against 4, 6 and 7.
Goals for: 2nd
Power play 2nd
Penalty Kill 8th
The future’s so bright, we oughta weart shades.
Moose
November 14th, 2009
11:00 am
For those of you that get the NHL Network you can watch that beautiful beatdown again today at 2 pm.
World Be Free
November 14th, 2009
11:00 am
Yes I am saying this-
Jim Slater probably played his best game as a Thrasher last night. Great fight (for Jimmy), he was all over the ice, using his speed to create havoc in the Kings’ zone. Now if he could only score!
It’s funny what time in the press box does to some players. Good for Jimmy that he used the time to his advantage.
Funny how nobody is calling for Don’s head anymore.
Toby
November 14th, 2009
11:03 am
Sara…Where are you hearing this news from Wad?
Nikita
November 14th, 2009
11:12 am
I watched the game on Centre Ice last night, being as I am in enemy territory. What a 2nd and 3rd period!
LAC
November 14th, 2009
11:32 am
WBF, I want waddell GONE even if we were to win The Stanley Cup !
He is AWFUL !!!!!
Toby
November 14th, 2009
11:41 am
I don’t believe its a coincidence we have the best depth in our history 6 months after hiring Dudley.
Dwayne
November 14th, 2009
11:54 am
Agree with Toby.
KovyRules
November 14th, 2009
12:28 pm
Dudley is huge. I think John Anderson has an eye for talent, too. Let DW be the deal-maker and let those two focus on the roster and our depth will just keep piling up.
KovyRules
November 14th, 2009
12:31 pm
I want to hear from allstar blogger Chrisoph Schubert today! Started a world-class brew-ha-ha there in the second – gute arbeit!!
Nate
November 14th, 2009
12:44 pm
Dude! Am I glad I decided to go to the game last night! That was A-W-E-S-O-M-E!
And speaking of stats…who would’ve thought that the Kaner would be leading the team in plus/minus at +10 16 games into the season. Nice job rook.
Hotrod
November 14th, 2009
12:55 pm
If we could only bottle that performance.
The youth is stepping up.
Kane , are you kidding me? Here I thought you needed another year.
You are the new man-child (formally held by Bogo).
This could be the year if both our goalies stay healthy.
Lets go boys, one shift at a time.
HookyBob
November 14th, 2009
1:04 pm
I thoroughly enjoyed last night’s game. Will wear the exact same clothes Sunday and follow same pre-game activities as close as I can.
LA looked like a good team to me,…excluding their goalies. Must admit they were hung out to dry a few times though.
They even tried to fighting to change the momentum,…and got their butts kicked. Fighting only helps if you win,…just ask Bolts.
That is the best rope-a-dope I have seen since the “rumble in the jungle.” I worry that it wasn’t intentional though.
Great game guys. Let’s do it again Sunday.
Thrashfan01
November 14th, 2009
1:18 pm
We may be seeing a group going from a roster to a team. This could have sat back and watched Kovy since his reurn but has simply incorporated and capitalized on Kovy being on the ice. With Kovy playing there is more open space for others and this group is starting to take advantage.
Kane is +10, Peverley is well above a point a game, Bogosian leads defensemen in goals scored, Antropov is doing his Adam Oates imitation and Max is starting to look like a answer instead of a question. Army is playing greasy, Kubina looks like DW stole from Burke and Pavs has been exceptional.
All this and does anyone really think we have seen the best of Slava and White yet?
Smoothie
November 14th, 2009
1:23 pm
Hooky Bob – funny u should say that as I was gonna upload a picture of Cassius Clay on my blog to illustrate our strategy from last nite. Add in Thorby’s and Slater’s execution of the sweet science and u have the perfect rope-a-dope. I think it was fully intentional knowing we would take a while to get our legs going and u had to figure LA would weaken as the game went on!
Sara
November 14th, 2009
1:32 pm
Toby – there was a Town Hall Meeting last night before the game with Waddell. Pretty good one too. Here’s the jist of what I remember (Stroz was a few rows in front of me so he can chime in perhaps if I’ve missed something or with his opinions).
- Don obviously started with the elephant in the room – Kovy’s contract. It started out the usual blah blah blah, we’ve been talking with his representation, talks are going well, seem to have picked up. Then he dropped the following bombs … according to Don, Kovy used his time off with the injury to really analyze the team and the direction in which he thinks it is headed. Waddell then said that Kovy called his agent and told him to start discussing hard numbers. Waddell took one question then in relation to Kovy, where a gentleman asked if Don knew what kind of contract length Kovy was looking for. The answer was “long-term.”
The implications of those last comments are extraordinary – in that Waddell strongly implied/all but said that Kovy has essentially made his decision and he’s staying.
- Waddell then talked about the other injured players, beginning with Kari (and I’ll follow this post up with something a friend told me on him in a minute). He recapped the surgery situation and said Kari is feeling much better. Boris’s situation was also recapped and Don said he is now skating.
Audience Q&A -
- someone asked about trading a goalie. Don said he couldn’t get so much as a Diet Coke for an injured goalie right now. Kari is going to have to play when he comes back for him to regain any trade value. He also mentioned again that they nearly traded a goalie at the draft and he wasn’t going to name names but he was really glad now they didn’t because we would really be in a spot now (which means the goalie had to have been Pavelec).
- Lots of discussion about marketing and attendance. On attendance first – paid attendance is up slightly (Don said about as much as the front row of the THM) which is the key stat for them since it represents cash flow. Obviously, actual attendance is much lower. One thing I found interesting – the team uses the ticket scanners at the door to track actual attendance and he said if a STH doesn’t show up for 3 games in a row, they call them and find out why.
As for marketing – one woman talked about promoting individual players more since she is tired of only hearing “Matt Ryan this” and “Matt Ryan that” around the water cooler at work. Don mentioned the charity work and other events they do. One young man suggested offering rock-bottom tickets for particularly weekday games. He said he knew that was a sore subject for STH but that empty seats were an even bigger sore subject. Don asked for a show of hands of people who would be ok with the team occassionally doing really low-ball offers with the caveat that STH would have first dibs on those seats. Most all the hands went up.
- Someone asked about Thrasher participation for Team USA – Hainsey will likely make the team, Bogosian is a long-shot due to his age.
That’s all I’m remembering right off that seems pertinent. Oh wait – actually there was a real funny question right off. Someone wanted to know at what point Don was going to start feeling guilty for Peverley’s contract. Don laughed and said it was kinda interesting. Peverley’s agent had apparently been pushing in the pre-season to do an extension and Don was his usual “don’t like to do this during the season” (unless of course your name is Hossa or Kovy). The agent persisted (good for him) and so Don said, send me something over and we’ll take a look. Well, we all now what got sent over. Don said he saw the agent’s proposal and was like “yeah I think we can work with this.”
I don’t like that Don wasn’t willing to get into it when both Peverley and his agent so obviously did want to talk. I can semi-sorta see his reasoning – more evaluation time on the team’s part and he might have thought also that they would come with a higher offer and there might be some sticky negotiations and he wanted to avoid that when Rich needs to be focused on the ice. It worked out but it could have gone not so well had Waddell put him off as he first started to.
I’ll wrap this up so it doesn’t get lost in blog purgatory then follow up with a new post re: Kari.
Sara
November 14th, 2009
1:47 pm
A good friend of mine is Finnish and told me last night about an interview with Kari he read from a media source back in Finland. (PS since this friend has posted here in the past I invite him to chime in if he feels so inclined.)
Essentially, Kari said he woke up from the surgery feeling like a new man and better than he ever has. Apparently this issue with the bone shards pressing against his back nerves has been around since Kari was very young. He feels his range of movement is much improved (which as my friend pointed out is insane given the acrobatics we’ve seen out of Kari in the past). Kari also said he was well aware of what was being said about him and it only fuels his fire to compete when he gets back on the ice.
Here’s my take – I think Kari is one of the most naturally talented goaltenders in the NHL, no question. I *do* question his maturity, particularly based on some rumors I’ve heard about his off-ice behaviours. He obviously has trouble staying healthy. However, if by some chance we have finally seen the last of Kari’s underlying health issues, he’s going to be a major asset for us this year and in the future. I would love nothing more than to see Kari and Ondrej battle it out for #1 position in the hopes that the competition would push them both to new heights in their on-ice performance. As much as I love Moose and value everything he brings to this organization, if we could move forward with both Pavs and Lehts as a goaltending tandem, we could become a truly dominating team in this League. Right now, we can easily afford to keep both goalies. Even playing lights-out when he comes back, Kari likely is not going to have the leverage to get a mega-bucks deal and Ondrej is still too young for that (and off-hand I can’t remember how much longer he has on his rookie contract – maybe another season?).
I would be very hesitant if I were Waddell to move either one of those guys anytime in the near future unless the return is something spectacular.
Alan R.
November 14th, 2009
2:16 pm
If that info about Kari is true, Sara, then I kind of expect both Kari and Pavelec to be our two goalies going forward. We won’t have a “backup” per say, but a tandem of 1a and 1b.
As far as the Kovalchuk thing is concerned, I believe most of us knew he was evaluating the team from the press box. It’s great to hear though that he called his agent and told him to start talking hard numbers, “long term.” With that in mind, I hope a deal is made in the next couple weeks.
Viking
November 14th, 2009
3:06 pm
Watching the replay of last nights game on the NHL Channel. I have still not figured out why Kubina only had 13 min ice time.
Anybody?
Viking
November 14th, 2009
3:21 pm
Looking at the official ice time stat sheet, I see Kubina’s last shift ended 18:18 in the 2nd period. I managed to take the dog out in the backyard then.
What happened to Pavel? News about this has drowned in all the good stuff that occurred.
Alan R.
November 14th, 2009
3:21 pm
There is no news about Kubina. You’ll have to email or post on Chris’ blog and maybe he can find something out, if something did indeed occur.
LAC
November 14th, 2009
4:08 pm
I bet this comment by #17 will NOT endear him to folks in Buffalo…
Funny though, it’s correct !
“Yeah, I think so,” he said. “Every day he’s smiling. That’s the most important thing because in Buffalo you can’t smile. If you smile, you sit on the bench.”
KovyRules
November 14th, 2009
4:31 pm
Gotta say a huge THANKS to Sara for her great info and scoops! Looks like this is the last year of Opie’s contract, so we’ll have two RFA goalies and one UFA at the end of this year. But with Opie’s brilliant play, everything looks so much better in that position.
On the THM, I give DW a lot of credit for his canor and ASG a lot of credt for making these guys available. That kind of thing doesn’t hao\ppen in every NHL city.
KovyRules
November 14th, 2009
4:32 pm
my keyboard sux!
Zoomo
November 14th, 2009
5:27 pm
I took the young-un to the Gladiators game last night (free tix promotion for grade school kids). 10,000 + in attendance. Got out of the game just in time to hear the Dan and Darren in rare form about the wild happenings.
Went home and watched the Tivo’ed Center Ice feed. What a dominating performance. I gotta say that Kovy and Max were totally in synch. Nice to see Max just beaming with delight after his second goal. Anyone think he feels like a new man right about now after his purgatory in Buffalo?
Evander the Magnificent! A great night again for the kid! I also think in 2 years we will be talking about Bogosian as the best defenseman in the NHL. He’s going to be all-world someday.
Let’s get Little, Kozy, and White going and we might really have something.
I know us faithful are only as up or down as the last game, and we rise and fall with every win and loss. We are all euphoric right now, but the team may have had a real breakthrough the past 3 games.
Smitty
November 14th, 2009
6:07 pm
This past off-season was probably the best in Thrasher history. It started with the ASG loosening the purse strings and allowing DW to bring in Rick Dudley (a Buffalo favorite) who has had success in several cities. We then had an excellent draft with Evander Kane putting to rest any doubts we might have had concerning his readiness to play in the bigs.
We then picked up some quality free agents for a change. Kubina and Antropov have been excellent additions. Max has also been a great addition despite some of my fellow WNY’s concerns. I think Lindy Ruff is one of the best coach’s in the NHL but Max just did not fit into Buffalo’s system as he does here in ATL under JA. The chemistry with Kovy and Antro is something special which you can see in their faces.
As many have mentioned, we have never had this kind of depth before and do not forget our second line has not shown up yet. There is some excellent talent in Chicago (Kulda, Postma, Esposito) and some excellent talent from our recent drafts (Morin, Klinkenburg, Sol) still in junior. This will help at the trade deadline if we are seriously contending and need to add a top line player.
Future is looking pretty good. I will admit I had questions regarding DW and I thought he should have been replaced. But he has done a pretty good job since last year starting with bringing in JA. Credit must be given when credit is due even if we had to wait almost 10 years.
waffleboy
November 14th, 2009
6:18 pm
I know everyone’s excited by the future, but has anyone looked at our list of UFA’s at the end of the year? Kubina, Afinogenov, Slater, Armstrong, Kozlov and some guy named Kovalchuk. Is there any way that after Kovy signs(knock on wood) some more of these guys ante up?
HookyBob
November 14th, 2009
6:29 pm
Oh,..oh had to pay the piper (damn those “future considerations” deals) and no longer have tickets for tomorrow’s game. Sometime back it was suggested, on this blog, meeting at Twain’s (Decatur area) for a game (not to mention a fine choice of adult beverages). If anyone is thinking they might be there there tomorrow? If so, and you see someone in a Steffan jersey, # 13, please check in.
Smoothie, if you have a blog please let me know where to find it. Also, encouraged with your thinking some of that rope-a-dope was intentional. Would be a unique “system” in the NHL. Works really well, if you have a hot goalie. I do think our team is one of the best on “the rush.”
Sara, your news from the THM is great, would be even better than last night’s victory, if the deal can be closed. On Peverly, I hope his contract has some incentives for goals, assists, +/-, etc. From what I believe of Waddel,…he’ll not do Peverly wrong.
Ditto on your follow-up on Kari. Sure wish Moose could remain with the organization and help Kari with the maturity thing
Viking, should Kubina be out that could be worrisome. We need a big body on the back line. Maybe we can channel his knowledge and skills to Boris.
So what are the Oilers strengths? I wonder how they do on ice that far worse than what they are used to?
Go Blue.
Cup Guy
November 14th, 2009
6:39 pm
Rawhide it was a pleasure to meet you. Sorry we were in a rush. Got off work late and wanted to catch the town hall. I had a very important question/statement that I wanted to ask. So again I apologize for not talking longer.
On that note, I went to the meeting and approached this question/statement. I get tired of hearing about how the arena is empty. I am right up there with that. I want to see more people and more people means that this team has something to play for. Think about it, no fans what are you playing for. But I also get tired of hearing everyone whine about the guy next to me only paid $10 while I $98. So my solution was to test out this idea. One game a month, preferably a weekday game against a decent team, to slash the prices like crazy. I’m talking about $10-15 downstairs and something like $5 upstairs. Give the season ticket holders first chance to purchase and get word out to their friends and family. Then open up to the public and back it with advertising. See how this plan works and if it works great then replicate it and do it again.
Don said he was game for anything. He said it was up the us on whether it was cool or not. So obviously there were a few that had questions and didn’t like it. When put to a vote it was clearly a majority with at least 3/4 going my way. Sure some people aren’t happy, but there are to many people in this world and not everyone is going to be happy with everything.
After the meeting I talked to Brad. The head of ticketing discounts and he loved my idea. He said he was waiting for someone to come up with an idea like that. He said not only did I have a brilliant idea, but the way I set up the question to the ticket holders about empty seats and guys with cheaper priced tickets, he said I made it to where they would be contradicting themselves if they didn’t vote for this. Anyways. Sounds like it is in the works so keep your ears out for this.
Also I would like to thank Kennesaw State University for my education and soon to be Marketing degree.
rightshot
November 14th, 2009
6:55 pm
Very much enjoyed the game. One of the announcers for LA said he wanted to see if the jinks would work and started talking about OP never having had a shutout. Funny
For the second game, I thought Kovy looked a little hesitant on D. Anyone else?
Hope everyone has a great weekend.
Midfield
November 14th, 2009
8:56 pm
LAC, what a season that’d be if Thrashers won the Cup and Don was fired on the next day, eh?
biscuit
November 14th, 2009
11:28 pm
Tandems don’t last. Somebody always wins the starting job and I assure you Pavelec didn’t grow up dreaming his whole life to stitch 1b on his jersey. It’s not like you’re demoting the guy to the second line that limits his playing time by 3 minutes a game. Back surgery doesn’t fix pulled groins or showing up to preseason as fat as a thanksgiving turkey. Kari has unbelievable skill and can beat Pavs out of the starting job while he’s motivated by people talking about him, but you better be prepared to talk bad about him for the next 10 years, because OP and Kari won’t play on the same team for very long. I suggest you pick your side. And get your front row tickets for the show come January.
LAC
November 15th, 2009
1:11 am
Midfield, Yeah it would be !!!
Need SOLID effort today, Tampa got point last night after they “thought” they had won the game in OT. As BAD as Quick was Friday night, he was REAL good Saturday night.
Will Carolina ever win again before we see them in a couple weeks ?
Dwayne
November 15th, 2009
8:12 am
who is in net today?
Putting On The Foil
November 15th, 2009
8:29 am
five_hole The tv is awesome. HD is spectacular, almost unbelievable. Watched the replay of the Thrashers game and football all day yesterday so didn’t check in with the blog. Local store didn’t have the McCallum’s , so it was Glenfiddich.
World Be Free
November 15th, 2009
9:06 am
LAC-I had to say something to get you going, you have been so mellow recently. Nice to have you edge back!
Biltong-I enjoyed the Kings’ broadcast as well. Bob Miller is on one of the unratted play/play guys in the league. Jimmy Fox is good too.
Smitty-I think you and I probably have the greatest admiration for Dudley becuase of our Sabre connections. Duds is still one of my favorite Sabres after 39 years. In the simplest terms, he gave 100% every time he was on the ice. I never heard a fan boo him or want Duds out of the lineup. When he left we were all pretty sad.
What more can you ask for a player. Now he’s doing the same in management. I said it when we signed him, GREAT PICKUP!
World Be Free
November 15th, 2009
9:07 am
Sorry for the bad English, it’s Sunday AM and I had too much wine last night.
five_hole
November 15th, 2009
9:36 am
‘Fiddich is good, but I think you’ll like McCallums better. You need a good drinking game, like a shot for every shot Kane takes.
World Be Free
November 15th, 2009
9:36 am
Hewre’s a great thought-
You wonder how much of Chelios is rubbing off on Postma these days?
KovyRules
November 15th, 2009
10:22 am
I think DW is back in his comfort zone, talking ticket promotions and contracts. He’s a business guy, not a coach or talent scout. Glad ASG finally realized that.
Cup Guy, as an STH, I hate knowing there are people sitting next to me having paid 25% what I did for a seat, but I hate empty seats worse, so bring on the weekday or Sunday giveaways and bring in the energy! I wasn’t worried about ticket prices on Friday night when the place was rocking!
Putting On The Foil
November 15th, 2009
10:35 am
five_hole – Or a shot for every Kovy shot if you need to speed things up.
Jameson
November 15th, 2009
11:07 am
I think that if Kari does come back fully healthy we will have an interesting situation in goal until at least next season’s trade deadline. I don’t think we’ll have any trouble resigning OP if it’s on a one-way contract. If Kari can stay healthy once he’s back until the end of the season and plays well, we should be able to resign him at about the same rate he’s currently signed to. If that continues most of next season, then we can really decide if we want to trade a goalie.
Christoph Schubert
November 15th, 2009
11:09 am
KovyRules,
Ich denke, was Freitag Nacht jedem gezeigt hat, ist, dass wenn Sie kommen, suchen einen Kampf von einem von uns. ..expect ein Kampf von allen von uns. Wir sind eine Mannschaft, nicht nur eine Sammlung von Individuen.
Seien Sie ängstlich Edmonton. ..be sehr ängstlich!
Putting On The Foil
November 15th, 2009
11:17 am
Rawhide Good read on the Hockeybuzz about the Kovy contract situation. Sooner sounds real good.
Rawhide
November 15th, 2009
11:24 am
POTF – Thanks…indeed it does. If this is finalized and announced in the next few weeks, I think it will really clear the path for a playoff run. One less thing to become a distraction.
I’m trying to catch up this morning on my blogging duties….after posting this, I was up at the crack of dawn and was out of pocket all day yesterday in Milledgeville as the youngest’s JROTC unit competed in a drill meet. He is the captain of the Academics Team which finished 2nd out of 2 units competing. Very proud of that young man.
Looking forward to the Thrashers continuing their great play of late against the Oilers. I’ll be enjoying it fro the comfort of my couch today however…
CupGuy – Pleasure to meet you as well.
Russian – It was a pleasure to share the game with you Friday night!!
Bluenote – Of course you know that makes two games in a row that the Thrashers started scoring only after you came down and joined me and my party. Do I need to e-mail you in advance now to let you know were to find me?
Sara – Thanks for joining us for the second period. As always, a pleasure spending time with you.
Sara
November 15th, 2009
11:29 am
Bill, that is a great write-up over on HockeyBuzz. And while I know there are still some out there who doubt Waddell’s, um, reliability, and given that it doesn’t count until the ink dries on the contract, what Waddell said matches up with what Kovy himself has said in recent interviews. “Moving in the right direction” has more often than not been a punchline on these blogs but those five words have come out of the Kaptain’s mouth more than once since this season started and I’ll take his word as gospel.
Hockey Biltong
November 15th, 2009
11:39 am
Balvenie Double Portwood!!!Foil and Five-Hole…
Putting On The Foil
November 15th, 2009
11:44 am
Biltong Got it down. Thanks. You and five_hole will make a drunk out of me yet.
Brendan
November 15th, 2009
11:48 am
Well, Edmonton is 2-7-1 coming into this afternoon’s affair, in their past 10 games. Their ranked 23rd in the league. Atlanta has three games-in-hand on them, and 12 fewer goals against. Should be a good one.
Anyone know who’s starting in net for Edmonton?
World Be Free
November 15th, 2009
12:03 pm
LAC-wasn’t that Tampa game wild?
I turned it off after Tampa’s OT goal thinking they got the 2 points.
Only to turn on HNIC to see the 2-1 score after LA won the game in a shoot out!
Sara
November 15th, 2009
12:05 pm
Brendan – per Dan Kamal on Twitter today’s goalie match-up is Moose v. Bulin.
Little is scratched again.
World Be Free
November 15th, 2009
12:06 pm
Enjoy the game today folks. Tough to sit inside on a great weather day, but we have our Thrasher duty.
We are taking my father in law to the game today, 85 years old and it’s his first NHL game! He a WWII vet, former flier, so he’s getting the special treatment today.
Michael B. Shapiro
November 15th, 2009
12:13 pm
All
Loved Friday’s game. Took the youngest tax deduction and both of us commented on the ice-clearing fights. Loved Boults fighting after being taken down and flat on the ice, and that the refs were so busy with the other fights they couldn’t break it up. Thought Jimmy did a fabulous job on a guy much bigger than him. Only thing missing was the goalies mixing it up. Held my breath for a long time when Opie went down. See unbelievable chemistry between Kovy and Mad Max. Let it continue all season please! Nice to see Max happy and playing responsible hockey, nice to see Kane up in stats for rookies (points, goals, +/-). Feeling more confident with Opie every day. He doesn’t go streaky like Kari.
Biltong, et al: skip the single malts and go for Midleton’s Very Rare Irish Whiskey. You won’t be disappointed.
GO THRASH, drill the Oilers today.
LAC
November 15th, 2009
4:35 pm
How many fans in attendence today ? 2,500 ? Bet there were not 10,000 there, EMBARASSING, since the team is playing pretty good.
Nice to see Slave get the GW goal !
Nate
November 15th, 2009
4:59 pm
LAC – It’s a 2:00 game on a Sunday in the middle of football season. What did you expect???
Totally with you on the Slavanator. The hex is over!
Brendan
November 15th, 2009
5:04 pm
Wonderful game this afternoon! Too bad the Falcons lost. But hey, let’s keep all the talk on hockey. Finally!! Yes, finally … Slava Kozlov catches the ferryboat off the Island. Can’t believe Antropov is still there, however.
It was a two-point afternoon for Kozzie, who was a +1, with 13:47 played. At +1, were White, Enstrom, and Kozlov. At -1, however, were Boulton, Slater, Thorburn, Armstrong, E.Kane, and Zach Bogosian. At -2, was Ron Hainsey. Ouch.
Okay, lots of good things happening! Like 2/3 on the PPG front! Bogosian had his 8th goal of the year. I’m tellin’ ya, folks, he’s going to get 20 this year. (He’s on pace for 35 or more. But shh. Let’s keep that to ourselves.) How about Finny?! That goal, at the end of the 2nd stanza, was HUUUUGE! That’s his 7th, if you can believe it. Finny played 18:18 today, and was “even” on his plus-minus.
The Pevs dispenser had another causal day at the office, with two (2) more points, both assists. I think he was “even” on the plus-minus front. Kovy was “even,” too, but had PP assist. Kovy played 23:18.
Our old friend and former Captain, Steve Staios, was in the sin bin when Bogosian scored. DW probably smiled at that one. Staios, for those of you who feel he’s “irrelevant” in hockey, did play 20:38. Those aren’t “garbage minutes.” Sheldon Souragy took home the lion’s share of Oiler minutes play, at 25:10.
Here’s how our D broke down, in terms of minutes played. Actually, Ron Hainsey played the most, at 24:42. He was a -2, however. Right behind him, was Bogosian, at 24:19. Next, it’s Enstrom, at 19:31, who was a +1. Schubert played 18:15, and was “even.” Popovic played 15:54 and was “even.” And rounding it out … was Anssi Salmela, who logged 12:26, and was “even.”
Hedberg stopped 34 of 36 shots faced. Moose had a very good game. We had a few defensive breakdowns. And he bailed us out. Thirty-six shots is still a lot of shots. Atlanta got 30 shots, but the ‘Bulin Wall could only stop 27 of them.
Here’s the box score. http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2009020281
Brendan
November 15th, 2009
5:08 pm
Is is really 10-6-1?? We’re getting back into the playoff picture.
Brendan
November 15th, 2009
5:12 pm
Looking for a RANALLO WARNING??? Seeing none, here’s a link to the Conference standings, which has Atlanta in the #7 slot, in terms of the playoff field.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/standings.htm?type=con#&navid=nav-stn-conf
Trixie (Rawhide's Secretary)
November 15th, 2009
5:17 pm
This is your official Ranallo Warning!! New Rawhide blog in 10 minutes!
You really should be more patient Mr. Brendan.
JLH
November 15th, 2009
5:23 pm
Is is? Calm down Brendan! I know we’re kind of approaching foreign territory (major optimism/Kovy signing/a coach the players love/a good locker room/goalie competition), but let’s keep it in perspective…… on the other hand…..What the hell …… WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Max, Pevs, Bogosian, Kane ….. a team with enough depth to put Reasoner on the 4th line. 17 games in and we’ve only been embarassed once. I hope this team is as confident as it should be. They will/should only play stronger as their confidence grows.