Can Thrashers turn it back on in time?
To say that I was disappointed after Tuesday night’s massive, epic FAIL on the ice of Philips Arena would be quite the understatement. Bob and I…along with his guest and a “lurker”… for the most part of the final two periods just looked at each other without the adequate words to properly express ourselves.
And those words that we could come up with aren’t exactly fit to print here.
How many of the 18 possible points remaining will the Thrashers gain?
- ZERO: A death march to Lotterypickville! (3%, 4 Votes)
- 1 - 6: It'll be oh-so painful to watch (11%, 14 Votes)
- 7-12: Win a few, lose a few - no playoffs (66%, 88 Votes)
- 13-17: They'll finish strong and make the playoffs! (20%, 26 Votes)
- ALL 18: That's right, you heard me...all 18 BAY-BEEEE! (0%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 133
Loading ...But with a new day and a new game comes the opportunity to put the failure of the past behind us and begin anew. But let’s not kid ourselves…at this stage of the game, Ws are a must. The season isn’t getting any younger, ya know.
With that, the Thrashers will host the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight..a game in which they will dress seven defensemen… and there are a couple other matchups to keep your eyes on as well. Up in Philly, the Flyers will host the Minnesota Wild and in Montreal the Canadiens will take on the Florida Panthers. Needless to say, as much as we are Thrashers fans, tonight we are also avid supporters of the Panthers and Wild.
A thought that doesn’t make me as ill to my stomach as being a Sabres fan last night…yeck
Regulation losses for the Flyers and Habs, combined with two points for the Thrashers would bring Atlanta to within one of Boston, two of Philly and three of Montreal. Of the trio of teams we are chasing, the Thrashers own head-to-head matchup tiebreak scenarios with Montreal and Philly.
However, as pointed out below, total wins would be the first tiebreaking scenario.
Oh, and let’s not forget the Rangers who after last night’s 5-0 blanking of the Islanders are but two behind the Thrashers, they play in New Jersey tonight…so, go Devils.
Again, steep road ahead…and I personally don’t see post-season happening, especially considering those five games that end the season. But first things first, I suppose. Leafs now…then a home and home against the Canes Saturday and Sunday before heading up to Toronto next week. Hopefully we can get some help as well in other games…Lord knows we’re gonna need it.
However, none of that matters unless the Thrashers can at least take care of their business …starting right now.
Rawhide Blog 2010 Comment of the Year Awards Vote
Be on the lookout just after the season ends for your chance to vote on this season’s Rawhide Blog Comment of the Year. As you’ve probably noticed, as the season has progressed, there have been a handful of comments posted which have already received nomination for the coveted prize…but there is still time to nominate others if you wish.
If there is a comment that you think merits COTYA consideration, simply let me know by linking to it in the comment section below. The comment must have been post on this blog and nominations must be posted before 5:00 pm April 9, 2010.
Nominations must be forwarded on behalf of others…not yourself. We’ll have none of that self-promoting, self-grandeurization stuff going on here. It doesn’t matter what position one may hold in this on-line forum, all participants will be given equal and fair opportunity to have their comments nominated.
Also, keep in mind that comments posted from an IP address further than 75 miles of Atlanta will indeed be deemed qualified for nomination and award.
I…along with considerable assistance from Trixie… will be the sole determining factor in which comments nominated will actually be given consideration. After all, I have the right to be here to decide such matters. Those chosen will join the four others who have been officially nominated already…World Be Free, B. Thenet, Brendan and Bob.
Then, in a few weeks…I will give you the opportunity to vote on those nominations to see who wins the COTYA.
Now, what is the grand prize? Well, after giving much thoughtful consideration to the matter…and realizing I am not allowed to give away anything of any cash value…I have decided that the winner of the 2010 Rawhide Comment of the Year will be allowed write a blog that I will post here in the future.
I know…I know…please govern your enthusiasm accordingly.
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70 comments Add your comment
Lee
March 26th, 2010
6:54 am
Actually, we’re closer to 8th place than I thought! Still think it will be out of reach because of those tough 5 games, we need to win the three easy ones to REALLY have a chance.
jerry
March 26th, 2010
7:13 am
There was quite a contrast from the 1st two periods and the 3rd period last night. In the 3rd period it was like they were half way trying to make up for piss poor efforts in the previous two periods.
Red Light
March 26th, 2010
7:45 am
Interesting how jazzed up the Leafs were after the “meaningless” win. I guess that says a little bit about their character. Five of the six bottom dwellers all won in the East last night, which just goes to prove that outside of the top four the rest are capable but really aren’t that solid.
Badger Bob and I talked so much during the final period that I lost track of time. It was the quickest period I remember all season, and watching those two teams, I was the better for it. Thanks BB!
stendek
March 26th, 2010
7:46 am
Hi Bill. No longer have any passion for this horrendous team. Players quit on me so I have quit on them. Fans far more fired up to compete at game time than players. That is indeed a shame. Have a wonderful day pal. I have no respect for the Trashers. Every iota of good will I had for this bunch of quitters vanished when Pavs Lehtonen allowed the puck to slowly slip past him 0:01 seconds into overtime to ensure yet another Loseland foldup job. To the Stanley Cup contender Toronto Maple Loafs no less. Way to go sieve. I see this guy as being another Sori Letemin. The bum will waste a roster spot for years as everyone waits for him to reach his potential. A potential, as in the case of Kari Lehtonen, which will never materialize. Five more years of the 30 year plan shot to blue blazes. I do not totally despise these prima donna figure skaters due to my hero Johan Hedberg. I only pray that Moose departs after the next few games so he can conclude his stellar career with a winner. Perhaps, dare I dream, with a Stanley Cup. The Trashers are the worst team in the NHL. Argue all you want. Tis true. I honestly do not want these heartless scumballs in the playoffs. An open net was there for the scoring over the last few winnable games and they missed it. Every freaking one of them. John Petrino has to go. I want a fire and brimstone guy behind the bench. One who will kick some butt when necessary. Good coaches are not friends to players. Rather have Vince Lombardi or Baby Jim Mora? I rest my case. Trashers do not care. Hey guys I have joined you. I do not care either. It took a long time to get me to this point. Feeling was secured during a nightmarish overtime at Philips Arena. Enjoy the golf boys. Know all of you would rather be on the greens anyway. Hope your next destination is Hamilton. Sorry Moose. ++STENDEK++ I tip my Atlanta Flame cap to you Sage. Right on all counts!
Midfield
March 26th, 2010
7:47 am
I did not see the presser, but my guess is that Anderson said that the players were squizzing their sticks to tight. Am I way off? Back to the drawing board? Do tell me.
rob
March 26th, 2010
8:02 am
Was that coach JA at the post game questioning? He actually questioned some of the players effort (not by name but it was a start)! Of course it seems a little late in the campaign for that but who knows. On a seperate note, it seemed the organ and thrash were actually trying to get more crowd involvement than they have done lately which isn’t bad (I’m looking for something good to talk about). We have to thank the posts for our point tonight. We looked disorganized, and truthfully, tired. Jekyl or Hyde…….
World Be Free
March 26th, 2010
8:07 am
I missed most of the game, but it sounds like they played against Boston. We need a captain, a leader who will stand up and get his teammates going when they are in a funk. I never played on a team without a captain. He is the leader who carries the intangibles to get the team going when they are in neutral.
You could blame Anderson for a number of things, one of which is that he did not press for a leader after Kovalchuk was traded. Every kitchen has a head chef and every hockey team should have a captain.
My two cents…………
smokemonster
March 26th, 2010
8:22 am
Wow the Thrashers really are “LOST”. hahahaha
TableHockey
March 26th, 2010
8:30 am
I had great seats for a pretty boring game. Half way through the 2nd period I noticed the Leafs had 14 shots on goal and we had 10. With a three week old baby boy at home this was almost certainly my last game to attend – pretty depressed to end the season on that note.
the fish
March 26th, 2010
8:37 am
This team sucks. It has always sucked. It will continue to suck. In Canada.
World Be Free
March 26th, 2010
9:07 am
fish-yet another person who thinks the remedy to all of the Thrashers’ ills is to move them to Canada.
da 'boomer
March 26th, 2010
9:46 am
From TSN.Cs by Ray Ferraro on 3/22 – Why cant this be a story about the Thrashers? I think we all know the answer. Further proof it can be done with the right people running the hockey operations even if the ownership situtation is unstable:
One of these days, I hope the Nashville Predators get a near-salary cap budget to work with.
Every year, they cobble together their club, lose another player to a bigger payday elsewhere (Alexander Radulov), draft well (it’s often a defenceman), get excellent goaltending and are a total pain in the tail to play against. It seems as though no one can quite take them seriously enough, yet year after year Barry Trotz and his excellent staff guide their team with a realistic, “this is who we are” approach.
Their leading scorer is Martin Erat and he has 48 points. Patric Hornqvist has been a revelation with 28 goals, but they know they can’t run and gun, but can score enough, and they lead the NHL with nine players that have 30-plus points. Not enough to overwhelm you, but enough to get the job done. I asked a coach this week if he thought Nashville would fold at all down the stretch, and he said, “not a chance, they play too solidly all over the ice.” I have always loved the underdog, as I felt I was one when I played, and I love the spunk the Preds play with.
What Nashville does year after year – from GM David Poile, to assistant general manager Paul Fenton, to Barry Trotz – is remarkable. They also have one other thing going for them. The players they select and trade for are generally hard workers and quality people. If they can just give a former No. 1 draft pick David Legwand directions to the opponents net, that might help. He hasn’t scored a goal in 31 games.
Smitty
March 26th, 2010
9:56 am
There goes my 93 point prediction
Sage of Bluesland
March 26th, 2010
10:07 am
Great post, da’boomer!!!
Compare and contrast the FACTS between ourselves and Nashville. We are more similar than different–except in decision-making at all levels.
Make excuses all you want for this abomination–and keep funding their incompetence, but now you are as much of the problem as those who continue to make terrible decisions, both tactically (coaching/GM) and strategically (ownership/GM).
Basic economics, folks. Cut the funds and watch how fast change occurs! Some still, remarkably, argue with this most fundamental premise of business. Wow.
(Then again, their decisions must be on the same level as Don Waddell and the ASG….two-peas in a pod and all…Wanting SO BAD to be right and that things will work out just fine! It would be hilarious if it weren’t so sad. Oh well, enjoy the squalor, subsidizers!)
For those who have (and will) vote with their wallets, I salute you. You get it. You understand the concept of ‘tough-love’.
frenchy
March 26th, 2010
10:18 am
I did not watch the entire game as my daughter had her science fair at school last night but man….what I saw was sad…. I was almost tempted to push the guys so they skate faster… Army was just freaking slow… I would skate faster than that and I’m 42!!!
You would think a team in need of every single points in the standings would play with their hearts on their sleeve and give everything they have but instead we all saw uninspired hockey…
I’m a fan but really…fed-up with this crap…. year after year!
DWTOO
March 26th, 2010
11:19 am
Well, really disappointed after the win streak putting us back in the picture for a short while. However, the one constant with this team is that they usually fold under pressure. So, I’m not surprised – Best line of the night came from a “bull” horn in Sec 222 – “Armstrong, move your feet”. As much as I like Colby he looked like he was playing in the Lower A league in the AAHL last night.
Bob
March 26th, 2010
11:38 am
Guys, the playoff hopes ended with the debacle Tuesday night against the Bruins, them the facts. That game last night would have been a blowout except the Buds hit the pipes 5 times during the game, that was brutal. Canes and Devils always play us tough and we can’t match up with the Pens or Caps.
Armstrong is out of here as he’s UFA this summer and there’s no way he re-signs, but it’s still unprofessional for him to dog it. Slater and Reasoner seemed to have the urge to win, but the rest of the guys just are out of it. Not that impressed with Bergfors or McArthur. I like Oduya, he’s solid. Peverley seems to have hit a wall. Enstrom continues to be a liability out there as he just gets pushed around in his own zone and isn’t an offensive threat, at least he attempted to throw the puck on net a couple times.
There’s a core group of guys here that a new GM could build around and the only thing left for me worth hoping for the remainder of this year is what happens on the Monday after the regular season ends. We get a presser and they remove Waddell, then there’s hope for next year, but if that Monday comes and goes with dead silence, it’s just more of the same old same old next year and the next and the next until he’s gone.
Who’s our core guys a new GM could build on? Antropov, Little, Kane and Peverley on offense? Bogosian, Hainsey and Oduya on D? Kubina is pretty much a must to re-sign. The rest of them are pretty much replaceable parts.
World Be Free
March 26th, 2010
12:01 pm
Bob/DWTOO-you’d think Armstrong would at least want to audition for his next employer? GMs can’t be too impressed with his work ethic or goal output. They guy obviously thinks he has his next contract in the bag.
d’boomer-great post, I alotta teams should look at what Nashville has done. Their only mistake was making the deal for Forsberg, but they got past it. Trotz is very underrated.
R. Stroz
March 26th, 2010
12:16 pm
DWTOO – Gee, I wonder who the guy in Section 222 with the BULLHORN was last night?
DWTOO
March 26th, 2010
12:41 pm
We were down in 121 last night and heard Bullhorn and turned around to see who was expressing themself so well. And lo’ and behold non other than our very own R.Sroz.