Thrashers loss to Bruins was as bad as it sounded
Greetings from sunny Florida. Well…actually where I am, it’s actually kinda gray and cloudy with rain expected…but it’s still Florida. I’m spending time down here at the lake house with the family for New Years. We’ve recently upgraded this place to circa 1990s technology and so I’m able to come to you by way of a dialed up internet.
Slowwwwwwwww….
I do, however, have modern-day techno-gadgets in the new vehicle and thus I was able to listen to last night’s beat-down in Beantown via satellite radio. XM provided the Bruins radio feed, so I was able to get their prospective of things…which is always interesting.
I’m sorry that I cannot recall the pairs names as they did do a very fine job of calling the game.
As I was “enjoying” the game while cruising through south Georgia and north Florida on I-75, I couldn’t help but think to myself, “I wonder if this game is really as bad as it sounds…or if this game seems so one-sided given the fact that these guys are just focusing on the team they are paid to cover”.
I mean, the last five minutes or so of the game, the pair of broadcasters piping though my radio started talking about the ice conditions at Fenway Park where tomorrow’s Winter Classic will be held. Oh, there was the occasional…”And Savard shoots, kicked out by Hedberg”…but then they would return to the subject of the New Years Day event and discuss the forecasted weather and if they were going to prepare any differently for it.
So, they were looking for anything to keep their listeners tuned in.
Well, when I got in shortly before 11:00, I checked the comments that were left by you all and yup, it sure appears as though it really was as bad as it appeared…maybe even worse.
Much of your observations mirrored what I heard coming from Boston for most of the game. The one phrase I think I heard 3 or 4 times from Boston was that the Thrashers had no “push-back” in them on this night. What they meant was that after getting down 3-0 after one period of play and chasing Ondrej Pavelec before the first intermission…again…the team seemed to just stand there and “take it”. There was no fight…no spirit…no intent to stir things up.
“Providing little resistance”, was another phrase used. I’m tellin’ ya… the radio broadcast guys from Boston were making it very clear that the Atlanta Thrashers simply phoned in that effort and rolled over…showing little or no pride in how they looked out there.
Phoning it in is inexcusable. Well…I mean, unless it’s using dial up to “phone in” this entry. 
Some of the low-lights include…Opie being chased for the second time in a week before playing 20 minutes. This time, he surrendered 3 goals on 10 shots in 16:50. Hedberg seemed to perform mop-up duties well by stopping all but one of the 20 shots he faced, however.
The Thrashers offense mustered up a grand total of 18 shots on goal themselves. With the way this team plays defense, they cannot have an off night in the attacking zone.
The power play took an Oh-fer…failing on all four of the man advantages they were afforded.
The normally reliable Marty Reasoner was a –3 on just 11:10 TOI.
Eric Boulton was a –2 on less than seven minutes on the ice, as was Chris Thorburn playing just under eight minutes.
This team needs a good kick in the pants right now…and I’m hoping John Anderson gives ‘em that prior to tomorrow night’s game in Buffalo. Last night’s phone in was simply embarrassing and if there is one player that does not feel that way and has the pride to come out of the locker room against the Sabres willing to at least put up a fight should be put on the next flight home.
Until then, I wish you all a very happy New Years…may it be enjoyable and safe!
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126 comments Add your comment
Brendan
January 1st, 2010
12:47 am
Very exciting World Juniors! It’s a shame the USA couldn’t hold that 4-2 lead over Canada in the 3rd period.
LAC
January 1st, 2010
1:22 am
This Morin kid from Auburn,N.Y. really looks like a WINNER. Quick, Quick
release and nose for the net, not to mention Fast Skater. Could he be a surprise for next season ? Remember a lot of GOOD players can beat a superstar player on a team any game. Just look at the team game most are playing.
Great Shootout goal as well, Too bad USA lost the lead and shootout…
Brendan
January 1st, 2010
1:28 am
LAC, Phoenix better not fold its tent like it did last year. At or about this time in 2009, Phoenix held down the #5 seed in the West. They finished the year by drafting 6th overall. D’oh! But yes, they are to be commended for holding it together, through all they’ve had to endure, ownership-wise, coaching-wise, financially … and they’re doing it all … in the middle of the desert.
I have to say … if the NHL is trying so hard to keep that team in Phoenix … with all the money it loses … it had better start to see some postseason action. I seriously doubt that hockey will leave Atlanta. Our market is very big, and is only growing. And for hockey to flourish, it only needs 18,545 out of a population of over 5,000,000 to consistently come to the arena. We’re talking about less than 1% of the city’s population that is needed to consistently come to Philips Arena. As Sage of Bluesland often says, “There are too many sheep who subsidize this product.” Let me clean that up a bit, the utter incompetence of the ownership is overcome by the sheer volume of population in Atlanta. And remember something else, six thousand fans of the OTHER TEAM show up on any given night. That means, if six thousand Thrasher fans show up, that’s 12,000 fans. Or, said another way, that’s’ two-thirds of the Arena’s seating capacity. In short, it’s enough to qualify for revenue-sharing dollars, to keep ownership solvent. Sage’s quest to FORCE the ownership to change … is likely to fall short. To FORCE the change that Sage wishes, it would take a total attendance of six thousand or fewer fans, nightly, to cause that change.
But Sage is right about something. If the 6,000 fans of the other team decide that Atlanta is so lame, that they don’t even want to watch their beloved … uhh, Flyers, for example, play … then the ownership really is backed into that corner where they simply must make personnel changes. It’s utterly ridiculous that the hockey-going public has to resort to such drastic measures to bring about changes that would naturally occur in cities like NY, Boston, Detroit, DC, Denver, etc. There is just not this pressure to win, like in other cities. If there was, changes would have occurred by now. They haven’t. Normally, ownership throughout the NHL is DESPERATE to recoup losses by the pure PROFIT of playoff revenue. My guess is, that isn’t so in Atlanta. For Atlanta’s game plan is, most years, to spend to the league minimum floor, then recoup any of its financial losses via the spill-over profits from successful markets, like Detroit, Toronto and Boston. In short, Atlanta ownership, essentially, breaks even with the revenue-sharing dollars.
Is this what NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman had in mind for Atlanta? Uhh, hard to say. But probably not, is my answer. I think Mr. Bettman had it in his cabeza that Atlanta would actually try to gain a legitimate foothold on the NHL’s ladder of teams. That hasn’t happened. Stop. It hasn’t. There has NEVER BEEN a time in this franchise’s history where ownership was committed to winning the Stanley Cup. Actions speak louder than “drunken words” spoken on a banner raising ceremony for Opening Night. Okay, then. So, Atlanta is a cylinder that isn’t firing. But does that mean it should be relocated? Not a chance. All Atlanta needs, I swear to God Almighty, is ownership with a sense of accountability. First off, Atlanta has to SPEND lot a contender. And that means being at or near $3 million of the cap limit, year-in and year-out. Second, it has to hold GMs, Coaches, and Scouts to some measure of accountability. So, how come Atlanta doesn’t do that? Look at the First criterion. Spending to at or near cap limits. Generally-speaking, Atlanta doesn’t do that. Consequently, it doesn’t have to answer for its lack of playoff revenue to OFFSET those financial losses. The offsetting factor … actually comes in the form of revenue-sharing dollars, from more successful teams.
Atlanta isn’t going anywhere. Kovalchuk can leave, and it still won’t change things. Atlanta can, fairly easily, go land a couple of 22 goal scorers, even at UFA pricing, to compensate for Kovy’s 50-60 goals. In fact, Atlanta would be REQUIRED by league policy to spend to AT LEAST the FLOOR of the cap. Like it or not. I repeat, like it or not. And to get the attendance they need, for revenue-sharing dollars, they only need six thousand Thrasher fans and six thousand OTHER TEAM fans to pack the Bulb on any given home game. Plus, the NHL apparently allows “give away” tickets to count as “sold” tickets, for attendance purposes. While that’s hardly IDEAL for the ownership, they need those revenue-sharing dollars to survive.
Folks, if the Atlanta franchise were to be run PROPERLY, that is, with spending at aggressive limits and accountability over results, this team would be in the playoffs 8 out of every 10 years and in competition for the Cup 2-3 years out of every decade, with plenty of playoff revenue to offset whatever regular season losses the franchise sustains. It’s just sad … that no ownership of this team has vigorously pursued that as an option. Commissioner Bettman is learning from the Atlanta example, however. You’ll notice that “Ice Edge,” the 8-man investor group interested in purchasing the Coyotes, is REQUIRED to go PUBLIC with its holdings/finances, to PROVE that it CAN SUSTAIN a 26-year lease in Glendale, Arizona. And they are required to do so … within the 30-day limit the NHL imposed on them. Why? So they don’t have another “Octocluster” among their ranks of ownership. This way, if some “estranged” investor partner wants out, the REST of the group can produce the revenue NEEDED to sustain the spending limits that it would take … to keep the team in the playoff chase, each and every year.
See? Some good came out of the Octocluster for the NHL. The league is getting smarter about how and WHO they’ll allow to own teams. Meanwhile, I suppose, Jim Balsillie just shakes his head in utter disbelief that he CANNOT acquire a franchise. But it’s his own DARN fault, for being so adamant about FORCING a team into Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. If Balsillie were smarter, he would have just purchased the nearby Buffalo Sabres, and settled for that. Even today, I’d wager that Tom Golisano, the Sabres owner, would make him a nice deal to own the Sabres. But the NHL wouldn’t bless it, for they know Balsillie has nothing but RELOCATION on his mind. Personally, I don’t see why Mr. Balsillie cannot be HAPPY and SATISFIED by owning a team located in Buffalo, NY. The fans are hockey savvy, pack the arena, and are the die-hard variety, in a cold-weather, “traditional” market. But hey, I’m not him. And I don’t see the allure of Hamilton, Ontario, either.
Brendan
January 1st, 2010
1:31 am
LAC, my post on the Phoenix Coyotes got swallowed by the SPAM filters. Check back tomorrow to see if Trixie could save it.
Dwayne
January 1st, 2010
9:10 am
HAPPY NEW YEAR FELLOW BLOGGERS!!!!
World Be Free
January 1st, 2010
9:21 am
You know Brendan, Ruff takes alotta heat on this blog and others for his style. But he always seems to be able to field a compeititve team, despite a real lack of commitment from management. One of the keys is he sits players if they are not playing they way the coach wants them to. No question in Buffalo as to who the boss is.
Right now, I don’t see the coach (J.A.) here doing the same. They trot out the same old team, reshuffling the deck to see if something changes. It’s not working.
Gotta waive 1-2 players and bring up some kids that have the heart to make a difference. The season is slipping away, regardless of what Kovy decides to do.
LAC-State of New York is starting to pump out real hockey players. Auburn,NY is a heck hole, but Morin is a player for sure.
NorthStarsDave
January 1st, 2010
10:23 am
Happy new year all!
Anyone check the TSN Player rankings lately…Kovy is #9 in the LEAGUE….Gaborik (#3) signed with the Rangers for just under $8M/year…so Kovy can be signed for less than the max…
If Waddell is so bad, why then does TSN rank the Thrashers FA signings (Antropov, Finny, Pevs) as being very good?
BTW…outside of Atlanta, no one thinks that Kovy is going anywhere but the KHL at this time…however, there are several NHL teams that would be interested…
Another item of note…remember, thanks to our wonderful ownership, the Thrashers have one of the lowest payrolls in the NHL…so, adding $5M to the payroll would not significantly affect the current make-up of this team…and, believe it or not, there would STILL be room to add a top line player or two…..
So all you guys that want to watch minor league hockey…go to the Glads games…and get on their blog….
Boy…you GM wannabes sure show your centuries of hockey knowledge…
Rawhide
January 1st, 2010
10:33 am
Oooooo…sorry if I shouted to loud. I know some of your heads might be pounding a bit this morning.
Brendan – Trixie tells me she freed your 1:28 am post. Oh…and congrats for being the first one to post here in 2010 at 12:40 am.
HookyBob
January 1st, 2010
10:54 am
Happy New Year all.
Seeing as the Thrashers have garnered 10 points in their last 5 meetings with the Sabres,..this might be just what the doctor ordered. On the other hand, as some bloggers note, the law of averages could start catching up to us tonight. We do seem to match-up well against the Sabres though.
With the law of averages still on my mind,…maybe White will score tonight.
Hope Zach has a good game as I’ll bet he’ll have lots of family and friends in the stands. Oh,…we need him to have a good game too.
I’m looking forward to seeing the Sabres big rookie D-Man again (Tyler Myers?). Except for being undressed by Max late in the last game,..he looks like the real deal to me.
Go Blue, play like we know you can.
Hockey Biltong
January 1st, 2010
11:37 am
Happpy New Year y’all…Thrash looking to sell locally???? God, wouldn’t it be cool if some righteous owner[s] stepped up and took the reins from the Spirit gruppen…….
Yeah, babyyyyy!!!!!
Putting On The Foil
January 1st, 2010
11:47 am
Happy New Year. Biltong, the Balvenie is as good as you rated it. Can Anderson. Time to go OD on football.
stendec
January 1st, 2010
12:32 pm
Alex. Did not have Russian dictionary handy to translate your post. Would never own one of the damn things. Oh well. ++STENDEC++ If you think play of captain has been up to par of other NHL captains this season you are f#cking deluded! No translation needed for that next to last word.
Cornbread
January 1st, 2010
12:38 pm
I went back and looked at Pavelecs numbers for December. It is obvious that he is part of the problem and was the Pavelec we all were fearing we would see at the beginning of the year. In the 8 games he played, he was pulled in 3 of them. He gave up an average of 5.35 goals per game in the month and saved 85.9% of the shots he face.
I don’t see him being the “Number 1″ anytime soon and I don’t see him getting the start until the team turns things around. I guess the real question is will that be before Lehtonen returns?
stendec
January 1st, 2010
1:26 pm
Hey Cornhead. You are right! When Sori Letemin, excuse me, Kari Lehtonen, returns the Finn space cadet will not allow a goal. The Yardbirds will claim plenty of 1-0 regulation wins plus a slew of overtime/shootout decisions. The oft injured netminder will propel the Yardbirds within a point of the division lead before regular season ends. KL will be unscored upon during the playoffs as Yardbirds will capture Stanley Cup! Things will be wonderful. Unless, of course, another broken fingernail takes glass groin Finn out again. Living in your fantasy world must be sweet! Happy New Year. ++STENDEC++ Pavs IS NOT answer. Package Ilya “I Am (Not) Worth Millions” Kovalchuk, KL and Pavs to obtain a tough minded goaltender who hates to lose as much as I do who is unflappable physically and mentally.
HookyBob
January 1st, 2010
1:40 pm
Call me delusional if you will,…but I wonder if there is anyway the Thrashers contract with Ilya could be structured to contain a partial ownership share of the team? That would be the ultimate “no trade clause” eh. I guess the salary cap might need to be redefined. Although it came about a very different way,..this arrangement seemed to work pretty well in Pittsburgh.
Gotta go,…Game on!!!!
stendec
January 1st, 2010
1:43 pm
If Moose Hedberg starts in goal tonight he will turn in a stellar performance. The Yardbird offense will remain in deep freeze no score mode. Captain Ilya “Give Me Money Now” Kovalchuk will miss open nets and continue to play bullfight (ole) defense. Yardbirds will continue to trip over their own skate laces. Coach John Petrino will continue to look as lost behind bench as Mark Bicht on sidelines. The new year will be a continuation of the old one. Uninspired debacles. Heartless exhibitions. Gutless showings. Just standard operating procedure for this uncaring club. ++STENDEC++
LAC
January 1st, 2010
2:03 pm
wbf, My aunt lives in Auburn and it is a Nice town in the Finger Lakes Area… By NO means a hole !
ben
January 1st, 2010
2:50 pm
happy 2010. I think Kovy’s leaving, but the team will keep on.
Smoothie
January 1st, 2010
2:57 pm
I have no feelings but doubt w/r/t the Thrashers until they prove to me otherwise that they deserve my hope and expectation for success. I have lost most of it. Perhaps if some dramatic changes are made sooner than later, we can save this season. But the one thing that everyone feared early this season and really, last summer, has come to fruition. That Kovy has not signed and made some sort of commitment, even short-term. When the team is made up of young RFA’s and a handful of vets who are either overpaid (Hainsey, White, perhaps Antropov) and guys who make a ton of dough and only have one year left (Kovy, Kubina, Kozlov, Army), a feeling of doubt and internal conflict arises in the players’ minds and personal preservation becomes more important than hard work at any cost. Until something happens one way or the other on the Kovy front, I don’t see January being any better than December. God I hope I’m wrong!
Smoothie
January 1st, 2010
3:38 pm
Per Dan Kamal, looks like Whitey is back in along with Anssi Salmela. Boris takes a seat…finally! Still waiting word on the other forward scratch…how about Kozzie?? Moose gets the nod in net…obviously.
I’m hoping they mix up the pairings and let Anssi skate with Hainsey as those two were decent together in limited action last year. I think it’s time for Bogo to have his minutes reduced…to third pairing mins. I see no issue with Bogo and Schubie playing against Buffalo’s lower lines and perhaps preserving Zach’s energy for some productive PK mins.
Smitty
January 1st, 2010
4:49 pm
OK sports fans. My son amd I will be at the Sabres game tonight. If the Thrash do not show any fight we will. Wish us luck. Happy New Year!!
stendec
January 1st, 2010
4:50 pm
Do not think all NHL outcomes are scripted ala professional wrestling. Have no doubts Winter Classic was! Tying goal late. Home team wins on power play goal in overtime. Bostonian who scored winner for USA against Russians in 1980 Olympics plus a few gold medal teammates in attendance. Coincidence? Conspiracy? Duh! ++STENDEC++ Do not get me wrong. Glad Beaners won. I hate Philly, which embraces dog killing thugs, with a fiery passion. City only damn cesspool surburb of Detroit anyway!
LAC
January 1st, 2010
8:29 pm
Solid first period, Buffalo only 2 shots… Stood up at the blue line and won most ALL play along the boards… This type play wins hockey games !!! KEEP IT UP !
Lee
January 1st, 2010
8:37 pm
Nice period, good playing, good work. If you play like this, you’ll be sure to win. Salmela has been doing a great job gaurding the blue line. The only thing that might stop us is the stellar goalie RRRRRRRYAN MMMMILLER
Lee
January 1st, 2010
8:49 pm
OOHH Great goal by captain Kovy!!!!!! 600th point!!!! OOOOHHHH my gosh!!! They literally scored as i’m typing!!!!! Evander Kane! WHOO HOO!
Bob
January 1st, 2010
9:08 pm
Valabik out and Salmela in is already paying dividends. they need to keep Boris off the ice, his inability to handle a puck is a huge liability in Anderson’s system. congrats to Kovy on 600, wonder who he’ll score 700 for?
Russian
January 1st, 2010
9:23 pm
Good Game. I think we will get some news very soon. Kovy is playing like always.
Brendan
January 1st, 2010
10:03 pm
How many times, now, have the Thrashers given away a “freebie point” to the opposition? Atlanta could NOT hold a 3-0 lead, with 22:00 left in regulation time.
I want the stat. I know one of you has it. How many times now, in-a-row, have the Thrashers tossed the opposition a gratuitous point?
The goals came from Kane, Kovalchuk, and Little. We’re in OT now. Moose Hedberg has played a nice game, in my view.
Brendan
January 1st, 2010
10:04 pm
The REPLAY of this game will be at 11PM, on Fox SportSouth.
Brendan
January 1st, 2010
10:10 pm
No sooner do I praise Hedberg, than he gets caught trapped behind the net on a strange carom, while the Buffalo player pots it into the empty net for the win. Final score: Buffalo 4, Atlanta 3.
Atlanta led, 3-0, with 22 minutes left. They did not win.
Those are facts. Those are facts. This is another. This is the sixth straight loss, and eighth in nine (8/9) games. They didn’t play all that badly. Atlanta played well enough to win.
But I’m an accountability guy. And I see very little, in terms of accountability. What’s next? Sitting Kane??
Brendan
January 1st, 2010
10:13 pm
Bob, the L.A. Kings?
stendec
January 1st, 2010
10:16 pm
The losing streak lives on! Another heartless choke job by a group of untalented commode residue bestards. Yardbird freefall to the bottom continues unabated! Send these uncaring quitters to Hamilton. Hoboken. Any damn place except Atlanta! A complete and total embarrassment. Moose Hedberg not sharp but El Kapitan Ilya “I Miss Open Nets For Millions Of Dollars” Kovalchuk should have had early goal plus no fewer than three more. Some captain. Captain my a$$! All these quitters can go straight to Hell except Moose Hedberg. Hope he relocates to a winner! ++STENDEC++
stendec
January 1st, 2010
10:19 pm
Do not be misled by illusion LAC. Same worthless Yardbirds! ++STENDEC++
stendec
January 1st, 2010
10:35 pm
Is that damn show on Ilya “Give Me Money Now” Kovalchuk the only one SportSouth has access to? So f#cking tired of that damn thing being on all the time! Total bullshet. Getting to where I hate that money hungry bestard as much as I do Finn fraud Kari “Let Em In” Lehtonen! Do us a damn. Burn of copies of that program. It sucks! Almost as much as Yardbirds. ++STENDEC++ Drop dead apologist sisu!
Brendan
January 1st, 2010
11:52 pm
For Atlanta to make the playoffs, they must go 25-14-3 in the remaining 42 games. I think it’d be a tall order for the Thrashers to win HALF of those (21 wins). I think this streak of losses, where Atlanta only banked two of a possible fourteen (2/14) points, has cost them the playoff berth.
Folks, from this point forward, the intensity of the seasons ramps up. Atlanta’s never been known as a physical team. It seriously lacks grit. And grit is what it will take, from this point forward. The time to bank points and wins off of teams that are BETTER than we are … has passed. It’s over. We got to the mid-point, essentially, at only one (1) game over .500. And if we lose tomorrow, to the Islanders, we’ll be at .500.
So?
So, to make the playoffs, Atlanta must go 11, or 12 games over .500 the rest of the way. It’s not an impossible task. But from the looks of it, it’s not going to happen.
Now, I hear ya. You silent bloggers, and even the “not so silent” bloggers who predicted 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th or even 15th in the Conference, will come forward to say, “But Brendan, I knew this wasn’t a playoff team back in September. Shoot, I knew it in July. I knew it when Don Waddell wasn’t fired.”
Yes, fine. But, “that’s why they play the games.” If we don’t play the games, we don’t have any results to confirm or discredit those thoughts. Truthfully, Atlanta’s right about where I thought they’d be at this juncture. I’ve got a prediction of 85-points, 3rd in SE, and 10th in the Conference, from our contest, which concluded back on “puck drop” of Opening Night. NO MORE VOTES. VOTING ENDED in OCTOBER.
Smoothie
January 2nd, 2010
12:57 am
Brendan, while I agree with your premise that this current losing streak will make it very difficult for the Thrashers to make the playoffs, I don’t think they will need 94 points as you say. To wit: the current 6 thru 13 spots in the standings are collectively only 7 games “over .500″. None of the teams have really show any sort of consistency.
Unfortunately, the Thrashers are the only one, I believe, who have lost more than 5 straight. Obviously if they don’t start winning NOW, then they will sink deeper and deeper having to leap-frog 4 or 5 teams later, which is much harder.
But if you ask me, it’s anyone’s game for those last 3 seeds. If you take away the OTL column, 6 – 10 are a combined -8 in the race against .500. Hardly what you would call dominant.
I’m thinking 88 or 89 points might just get you the 8th seed. A record of 23 – 18 – 1 in the last 42 might just get it done. Not much to write home about, but I would win your “guess the points competition” with my 41 – 35 – 6 prediction for 88 points (I think)
.
More to the point, if you recall, that was our record over the last 42 games last season, was it not? Certainly do-able and within the realm of reason for the folks who made realistic, tempered predictions at the beginning of the year.
Tony C.
January 2nd, 2010
2:22 am
wow. what a choke job….. they looked like they finally had understood the need to come to the arena ready to play starting from the puck drop-played a nice road game, then they took their collective foot off the gas and guess what? snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
World Be Free
January 2nd, 2010
6:09 am
Well folks, at least we got a point; better than the last 6 games without a point. Looking for some positives.
Also, if a player is a “healthy scratch”, can they really be that healthy? I was a healthy scratch once in my hockey career, just once. I played like a madman the rest of the season, because I did not want to sit again. See, it works and I never got paid to play hockey.
I also got left of my HS varsity hockey team when I was a Jr, becuase I thought I had it made. I hated that coach for 20 years afterward; I guess I have “hockey passion”. My “hockey passion” is for sale to one of these chumps who don’t care.
Get The Puck Out
January 2nd, 2010
8:01 am
I live in north Ga. and lost my sports south feed because of some squabble over pricing with Fox. Anybody else lose sports south? Guess it’s time to get the dish.
Putting On The Foil
January 2nd, 2010
8:07 am
Dish is the way to go. Just said to hell with Comcast a couple of months ago.
Putting On The Foil
January 2nd, 2010
8:10 am
As a long suffering Atlanta sports fan, all I can say about last night’s game is WTF is gonna happen next?
World Be Free
January 2nd, 2010
9:11 am
Dish Network – agreed POTF
Bob
January 2nd, 2010
9:40 am
Often to break out of a losing streak, you need a game like last nights. Outplay the opposition and still lose. If they bring that effort tonight, they’ll win. Little looked better.
Smitty
January 2nd, 2010
9:49 am
Had to eat a little crow last night. Thought we we were in good shape after going up 3-0 but then a bad clearing by Kubina and the Sabres were back in it. Watched Miller closely last night and he is the difference why the Sabres are first in the NE and we are skidding. Imagine a 5th round draft choice 138th pick overall is on his way to a Vezina trophy. Hope Dudley can pull off some of that type of magic soon.
Miami Screaming Eagle
January 2nd, 2010
11:34 am
General Manager Rick Dudley sounds real good right now, real soon we hope!
alex
January 2nd, 2010
11:47 am
hi stendec, kovy playing 50% still scored #24 11 more then closest on the team. check scoreboard keep talking, continue to ignore that cancer for this franchise is only owners and theyer loyal brown nose gm. buy the way, happy you don’t have russian dictionary because swearing i using, like vodka strongest in the world so you blood presse going to go up, and i don’t wish you that. in august on one of my blog i pointed “weakest link on this team also most important for every hockey team is goalee” (including you second obsession lehtonen) is’t this dw job or kovy job. ok stendec please continua picking on chosen two players and be thanktfull for this mess to you admired gm.
next- russian curse, no need to translate.
Brendan
January 2nd, 2010
11:50 am
Here’s your boxscore: http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2009020610
Notice that Hainsey and Antropov were the only “plus” (+1) players for the Thrashers. Kubina’s give-a-way, that lead to the 1st Sabre goal, made him a -1 for this game.
Brendan
January 2nd, 2010
12:05 pm
Here’s your game preview for the Isles-Thrashers game tonight. Notice how unbelievably similar we are to them. And folks, the Isles are the team that drafted 1st overall last June. We are barely, I repeat, barely ahead of them in the standings, and we trail them in categories like “average goals against.” What more is there to say, other than “ouch.”
And, to be clear, I mean no disrespect to the Islander fans on this blog. Who expects the Isles to hang the moon? But the Islanders, right now, have about as a good of a shot as making the playoffs as the Thrashers do. This has been a great season for the Islanders, all things considered. And yes, the Islanders own two victories over the Thrashers already this season. I suspect the Islanders would like to play Atlanta a lot more.
Brendan
January 2nd, 2010
12:08 pm
Helps to embed the link: http://www.nhl.com/ice/preview.htm?id=2009020615
five_hole
January 2nd, 2010
2:02 pm
I saw 100% effort out there. Unfortunately it was only for about 30 minutes or so. We actually had Buffalo bottled up and were outshooting them 16-4. Then we wore out.
Kubina made a dumb play but Salmela was worse. Stick him back in the doghouse.
R Stroz may not like my saying this but I thought White played a really good game last night. He took over the PK while Reasoner was in the box and was aggressive on the boards and in his forecheck.
All you can do is suck it up and hope for better results vs the Islanders.