Buffalo enjoys brutally good time in Thrasherville
Wednesday night the Buffalo Sabres provided the opposition for the Atlanta Thrashers at Philips Arena. It’s just too bad that the Thrashers couldn’t return the favor. The beat-down wasn’t even as close as the 4-1 score would indicate as the Sabres simply outplayed the home team all night long.
It was bad…brutally bad.
If you were fortunate enough to miss the Sabre-slapping in Thrasherville, really all you need to know is this: When Cody McCormick scored 2:34 into the second period, the Sabres had more goals scored than the Thrashers had shots on goal. Buffalo led 3-0 and were out-shooting the Thrashers 14-2 at that point.
There was a lot of action going on around Chris Mason's goal Wednesday night. The Thrashers goalie managed to stop 38 of 42 shots faced in the 4-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
On that goal, Chris Mason had bobbled a save, Ron Hainsey tipped the puck back into the crease where McCormick tapped it home.
Overall, the Sabres took 42 shots on goal to the Thrashers 18. Atlanta could muster but 2 SOG on Ryan Miller’s goal in the opening 20 minutes.
“We didn’t do anything to make [Miller] work,” Mason said. “We didn’t test him”.
Looking for excuses for this debacle? Well, don’t look to head coach Craig Ramsay as he’s offering up none. “Attention to detail was almost nonexistent,” he said after the game. “We had a couple of days off, we had two good practices and there’s no reason for them not to come and be able to play”.
During the course of an 82-game season, teams are going to drop a steamer on the ice like this one occasionally. It is what it is. But what’s more alarming to me is this continues a season-long stream of games in which the Thrashers defense allowed an unacceptable amount of shots to get through on goal. Last night it was 41…Saturday it was 39 in San Jose…41 the night before during 65 minutes of play in Anaheim.
In fact, not once in the six games have they allowed below 30 SOG. The 31 allowed to Washington on opening night is the “high mark” of the season so far. And while many questions about this team are still yet to be answered, one thing we all know for sure is that no team is going to play past game number 82 if they allow 37.3 shots per game to be taken on their net.
37.3 SA/G… I don’t care if it’s only six games into the season, that’s shocking even by Thrashers standards.
…sigh…
OK well, it’s over and done with. If you wish to analyze or break down last night’s craptacular extravaganza in any more detail…be my guest. I’d rather just put in behind us and look forward to Friday night’s engagement with the Tampa Bay Lightning. It’ll be the first time in this young season that the Thrashers will have a chance to avenge a previous loss.
The second time will be next Friday when the Buffalo Sabres return to the scene of the crime…the brutally bad beat-down at Blueland.
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132 comments Add your comment
Alan R.
October 21st, 2010
12:18 am
This goes back to what I said before the season started: The team is still “getting to know each other,” and I expect October to be a losing month for us.
The number of shots allowed is horrible, and the number we took also falls into that category. The team looked tired and out of place for about 55 of the regulation 60 minutes. It was almost painful to watch.
Hopefully, this stuff is corrected just in time for the back-to-back games on Fri and Sat.
kracker
October 21st, 2010
12:21 am
You captured the essence of the game, RH, in just one word. Brutal.
Oh, wait….isn’t that the Thrashers’ current marketing theme?? Oh, well…we had a bad game, so we move on to the Bolts here on Friday. A bounce-back game is rather essential, don’t you think?
kracker
October 21st, 2010
12:23 am
Alan, I was there and I can assure you it was very painful to watch….ugh
stendek
October 21st, 2010
12:33 am
Is there some clause in contracts that Thrashers MUST perform like shet on home ice? Just saying. Man this sucks big time! Horrible display from team I want so damn much to embrace. Will maintain distance now. Total crap! STENDEK
Thrashy Thrashy
October 21st, 2010
12:40 am
Craig Ramsay’s post-gamer should be mandatory viewing for all Thrashers fans.
He doesn’t sound like a man who’s going to put up with this s***.
stendek
October 21st, 2010
12:50 am
To all the smarties who complain that I throw Thrashers under bus after every loss. Wrong! I drive zamboni over them. There is a difference! STENDEK
Wayne stuck in AL
October 21st, 2010
12:58 am
Thrashers got the crowd they deserved for this one (8,820 announced).
stendek
October 21st, 2010
1:09 am
Hey Thrashers! Want home ice advantage? Want an arena filled with screaming fans? Very simple. Go all out every shift like that shift will be the last one. Ever! Play like studs. Not like the pu$$ies that showed up tonight at Philips Arena. True fans KNOW when you guys are trying. None of you were tonight! You know it as well as we do. Make foes hate coming to Atlanta. Most teams find visits therapeutic! That CANNOT be allowed. Unless all of you enjoy studio hockey! STENDEK
Derrick
October 21st, 2010
1:20 am
Being a Thrashers fan, we’ve all seen plenty of bad games but this is one of the worst I can remember them playing a long time. They were dominated in virtually every facet of the game. They looked like they had no idea what they were doing, especially in the first period where they only had 2 shots on goal. I mean seriously, 2 shots in a whole period? That’s gotta be close to a record. This team has consistently fallen behind early in games and the guys have gotta do a better job of coming out ready to play from the opening whistle. Also, I think it’s time to give Nigel Dawes a taste of the press box and put Bergfors in there. He was -2 in the game and had the least TOI of anyone the team so obviously Coach Ramsay must have thought he was playing pretty badly to give him less than 10 minutes of ice time.
Baldheaded Thrasher
October 21st, 2010
5:09 am
I’m wondering where the Thrasher’s partied at Tuesday night. It appeared to me they all had tremendous hangovers except for Mason. Chris should have cussed them all out after the game for the nonsupport and lack of effort. I wonder if any player stepped up and told them all this kind of play is totally unacceptable?
I can’t recall seeing a worse game than this. The start of the second period we get a too many men on ice penality when no one was close to the bench exiting the ice and now were down by three, any pep talk after the 1st period was just flushed down the toilet.
hockeymom92
October 21st, 2010
6:20 am
That was one of the hardest games I have ever forced myself to watch. I kept thinking that surely they would get it together at some point. My son’s team could have played the Sabers better than the Thrashers did last night. It will be very interesting to see what the “Ram”ifications of last night’s game are at the next practice.
Alan R.
October 21st, 2010
7:10 am
It will be very interesting to see what the “Ram”ifications of last night’s game are at the next practice.
Judging on the post game from Ramsay, today’s practice ought to be very, very interesting. His post game was a thing of beauty. No “bad puck bounces” or any of those other bull excuses like Anderson used to throw around.
EA
October 21st, 2010
7:11 am
I am so glad I did not have to sit through that game. If the Thrashers want a full arena, they are going to have to play through some small crowds until consistency returns. What a bomb! I hope the team that showed up out west is the one that shows up Friday night.
jerry
October 21st, 2010
7:34 am
It has been said that the Thrashers have the 2nd lowest payroll in the league. I will do my part to make them the 2nd lowest in the league in attendance.
LAC
October 21st, 2010
8:09 am
This game was a disgrace to all Atlanta fans. No attendence, maybe that was it ?
No drive, Desire, No Nothing, Gee… Who is the Number #1 pick this year ? Many more like this and it will be ours.
Simply put, this team has no leader on the ice, and little scoring. How can you play so well in California and then get completely outplayed by a BAD Buffalo club… Sick !
It is time to get rid of Brian Little, the kid has nothing and same flr slater, get something for them while they still have “some” value, but they are BAD.
DWTOO
October 21st, 2010
8:10 am
And to think I could have stayed home and finished a good book. It’s by Justice Breyer on the workings of democracy per the Courts. Very interesting and non-partisan.
But instead I witnessed one of the top ten disasters in Thrasher history. That had to be one of the worst efforts I’ve ever seen. They sould be ashamed for stealing our money. Realize that it’s going to take time to get every facet of the game in sync, but, the lack of effort is inexcusable. I was ready to leave when Buffalo scored their third goal.
The names may change, but, the results remain the same. If this garbage continues I may join Sage in the boycott. The only good thing last night is that so few fans had to witness it.
Mike
October 21st, 2010
8:12 am
I think they need that early morning skate that the coach up in Minnesota had his team do. They came back and slaughtered Vancouver after that. But honestly, its sad that us fans PAY to watch crappy like last night. These guys need to get their heads in the game, no excuse whatsoever on their poor performance. Except for Antropov, he’s about the only damn one.
Prince
October 21st, 2010
8:14 am
Last night, the Thrashers PLAYED like it was 1999!
(It wasn’t a party, unless you are a sadist.)
Jeff
October 21st, 2010
8:15 am
Bill, was you in the third row in section 316-317?
Horrible game….and to even think of using the excuse of coming off a road trip is garbage. They flew home on SUNDAY! They go on a road trip and play pretty well (though few would know back here as none of the games were televised locally), and then to come home and stink the joint out is inexcusable. Bad attendance? Keep doing this and it will stay bad even after college football season is over.
And management wonders why a guy like me, who had full season tickets since Day One, is now down to a Flex Pack. 11 seasons is a lot of bad hockey…
Red Light
October 21st, 2010
8:21 am
Mike:
Not sure what game you were watching but Antropov is playing like he is injured. He did nothing except for two shots on the same shift in the 1st period and a few half-hearted efforts throwing a check. He needs to sit until completely healthy. The game could easily have been 8-1 if not for a few kind bounces and a few nice saves by Mason in the first. But, it’s only one of 82 games and they should bounce back with a good effort tomorrow night.
Mass Dawg
October 21st, 2010
8:23 am
Let’s face it, the ATL is not a real hockey town. I know you have all of these transplants from the North that claim they love hockey, but still root for their old teams. You can’t blame the Thrashers Management, why would you dump a lot of money on players, when you can’t get anyone to show up to watch your product. This team doesn’t even get on anybodys radar screen until January, when football is finally coming to a conclusion.
EA
October 21st, 2010
8:28 am
Mass Dawg, you are just one of a chorus that continues to feel the need to give us your opinion about hockey in Atlanta. FYI, no one cares what you think.
mikey da mug
October 21st, 2010
8:28 am
So discouraging to see in person. The arena was like a morgue, and rightfully so.
DWTOO
October 21st, 2010
8:34 am
Mass Dawg – that’s why the Thrashers set attendance records for first year teams, sold out their playoff games, etc. Give the fans a good product and they will return. Saturday night games were regular SRO and it the ASG put a good team on the ice it will be filled.
Fed Up In Blueland
October 21st, 2010
8:36 am
Bad, bad bad…
Darkhorse
October 21st, 2010
8:41 am
From sec 115 last night I saw a lot of eye rolling and blank stares from our guys. Agree with many of you above, if this team wants bigger crowds, they better play with intensity and win. That’s the only way. I can accept they lost the game, but not the way they did it. My buddy’s rec team looks better than the Thrashers did last night.
Darkhorse
October 21st, 2010
8:43 am
Oh, and if our future captain was on the ice last night, I didn’t see him at least try to light a fire under the troops.
Russ
October 21st, 2010
8:43 am
I would like to build on Red Light’s comments on Antropov. The other day Ramsay talked about limiting his minutes because he is not 100%. I don’t know the exact nature of his recovery, but it would seem to me playing at all can’t be helping it. I would think the team would be better off letting him sit out a couple of weeks and hopefully getting back the player from last season for around 18 min. per game than letting him fight through the injury at an ineffective 13 min. Just my opinion.
The number of shots this team is giving up is alarming. They are .500 right now, but if the S/A doesn’t get drastically reduced they will be lucky to reach 60 points this season. You just can’t be consistently competitive giving up 35+ shots every game.
Marsha
October 21st, 2010
8:43 am
What is the deal with those losers in Section 109 at Philips Arena with the irritating cow bells and the blowhorns last night?
Those sad excuses for “hockey fans” made the incredibly obnoxious and smug Buffalo fans look around my girlfriends and me look classy, respectful and intelligent by comparison.
madahliaa
October 21st, 2010
8:45 am
Why is Antropov even playing if he’s not 100% and why would the team announce that ?
EA
October 21st, 2010
8:46 am
I don’t know if anyone heard Colby Armstrong on T.V. yesterday. When asked about the Atlanta fan base, he said that while it is small, they are GREAT fans.
ThrashDawg
October 21st, 2010
8:50 am
Terrible game to watch last night, turned the channel to Ghost Hunters after the 2nd period. I cannot get excited about this team this year inspite of their recent good play out west. I was excited about the trades, the new coach and the new GM but was expecting a major trade before the start of the season to bring in a big time scorer from a cap stapped team and it just did not happen! Why did it not happen? Maybe we just did not want to spend the money to bring our payroll off the basement floor! I believe we have a good coach, a good GM and good young talent and if given the resources we would have a vert good team. How many of us thought that Bergfors was going to really have to step up this year to help with the shortage of scoring? How is that working for us with him in the buffet line? If the kid is not buying in we need to package him with someone else and go after a scorer and somebody that will be a leader on this team.
Alan R.
October 21st, 2010
8:54 am
The problem, Mass, is the simple fact our team isn’t winning on a consistant basis. The more we win, the more people show up. Fans stay away and watch from afar because of past performance. Why bother showing up when your team doesn’t, right?
Chicago had attendance issues (The Wolves would out-draw them) before they started winning. Detroit had attendance problems before they started winning. Washington had attendance problems before they started winning. It should be so simple, even the stupidest trolls would get it. If you build it, they will come. Its only game six, so the jury is still out on whether anything has been built at all, or if its just the status quo.
HP Drifter
October 21st, 2010
9:02 am
A new coaching staff, many new players, and it will take some time for the chemistry to eveolve. Let’s not forget teh 5 year plan. Hey, at least we don’t have Kovalchuk skating around on th eice looking to score goals.
MashaPlayer7
October 21st, 2010
9:03 am
I only watched the last half of the game, but it reminded me of the 9-0 blowout to the NJ Devils in our first season. It was eery and made my skin crawl in terms of how similar the feeling was (cue favorite Halloween theme).
I heard alot of the PowerPlay segment on XM radio yesterday afternoon. Colby’s response was professional and positive given that Don Maloney asked a very bias question “Let’s talk about Atlanta. Can hockey really work down there?”.
And earlier, cement-head Matthew Barnaby was on the show talking about engagement with fans and he mentioned having to go to Atlanta which “was a terrible place to play”.
This should all be bulletin board materials for this season’s high character Thrashers. Don’t just play for your teammates, play for the fans and their ability to see hockey for the next generation.
I am optimist and certainly believe Atlanta is a hockey town, but we all have to admit that if we continue to put a poor product on the ice and we only get 9-10K fans a game, we won’t be talking about this team in 2020.
Thrashers Rule-Fans are losers
October 21st, 2010
9:15 am
I read these blogs everyday, and most of you are either to stupid and expect a great game every night like they are going to go undefeated, or just to stupid to understand sports altogether. I have been watching hockey and a fan now for over 40 years now, and I have watched some of the best teams take the ice that possible ever will!!!!! And guess what they did not win every game, and had a game or two or three that they were completely blown out of their own building even lol. I am not saying that this team is going to win the Stanley Cup or even have a winning season, it is too early in the year to say. But if some of you go back and even read your own comments from just yesterday, you might find the same humor as I do in your comments, one day playoffs here we come, today won’t win another game, again I laugh. I would suggest to you all that you on one day off the next wait until about 20 games in and then make a decision on how this team is going to be, as REAL hockey fans that know the game would.
DWTOO
October 21st, 2010
9:19 am
MP7 – Barbaby’s just PO’d because the camera caught singing Feel Like A Women in the penalty box. And the next year his face was photoshopped to look like Flounder in Animal House.
thebigharybeast
October 21st, 2010
9:27 am
Rammer hammered home what needed said after the game. It was defnitely the only hightlight to take from this game. I like when a coach doesnt sugar coat things.
As for the game itself. I get the willies even thinking about it. It was as ugly as a possum family caught on an open highway in the middle of a tractor trailer convoy.
Alan R.
October 21st, 2010
9:40 am
And guess what they did not win every game, and had a game or two or three that they were completely blown out of their own building even lol.
I’ll bet the teams at least showed up those days.
The problem last night isn’t that we lost, it’s that we played like garbage, and the Sabres took full advantage of that. We let them win.
The last game I can remember from the Thrashers that was this bad took place 28 March 2008, when Carolina beat us 7-1 (see: http://espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=280328007 ).
It is unrealistic to expect the team to go 82-0, or anything even remotely close to that. I think that as our players come gel a bit more, we’ll be winning a lot more games with more regularity.
Old Time Hockey
October 21st, 2010
9:44 am
“We…uhhhh…came out flat tonight” WTF?! Not like they need to actually say that…anyone watching knew it. Hopefully the film sessions will help.
I Like Puck!
October 21st, 2010
9:44 am
@ Marsha – 8:43 am
Don’t be so hard on those guys, Marsha.
At least the annoying dweeb in that section with the unoriginal, annoying & uninspiring cow bell is smart enough to cover his shameful face with a mask.
Thrashers Rule-Fans are losers
October 21st, 2010
9:53 am
Alan R.-That is what I am saying it happens, but some people on this blog from game to game sway one way or the other off to the cup or gloom and doom. I am not saying we played well, just the opposite, but Buffalo was a desperate team last night and we came out flat and could not over come it. Everyone needs to calm down, new GM, new Coach, half of a new roster. Like I said I will wait for the first 20 games before I decide what kind of team that we have, and I in no way think this is a Stanly Cup team, and if we make it to the Playoffs we will just sneak in, but I do like the moves made, and equate the New GM and Coach, to what the Falcons did. I think they can turn it around, even if it is not this year.
DWTOO
October 21st, 2010
9:53 am
Thanks Alan R – I don’t expect to win every night. That’s not possible, especially with the roster we have. What I do expect tho’ is a team that at least competes and hustles. If you watched last night the Thrashers did neither and that’s the point we are making.
Rawhide
October 21st, 2010
10:05 am
Bill, was you in the third row in section 316-317?
Jeff – yeah, I was in the second row of 301. Just behind The Blueland Chronicle boys. The older tax exemption was with me.
Alan R.
October 21st, 2010
10:07 am
If you watched last night the Thrashers did neither and that’s the point we are making.
I did, and I made that pretty clear in my post. Not saying you’re insinuating I didn’t watch, just saying that I’m not impressed in the very least with the performance from last night. However, I am happy Ramsay didn’t sugar coat things.
If anyone goes to practice today, I’m really interested to hear what goes on in Duluth today.
Smoothie
October 21st, 2010
10:20 am
“I read these blogs everyday, and most of you are either to stupid and expect a great game every night like they are going to go undefeated, or just to stupid to understand sports altogether”
I’m sorry, but you’re not going to endear your POV to many loyal folks of this blog by calling them stupid. Your reading comprehension must suck too by the way to make a comment like that. Yeah, sure there are folks like stendek and LAC who like to “blow off steam” and express their discontent after a bad loss, but I don’t think there are many people here who are pollyannish in their expectations of this team.
Sure, there are some who are a little more optimistic in their point predictions than others, but I bet if you pulled them aside, they would express a little doubt and would fall into the category of cautiously optimistic. I suggest you change your tune a little bit and allow people to vent over one of the single worst performances (and I am quite serious) ever by a Thrashers team at Philips over the last 5 years.
I can think of one other game when I was this disgusted…okay, two. Feb of ‘09 against NJ when we were outskated and outclassed by Kevin Weekes and his mates and lost by the count of 5 to 1. I actually walked out of the arena after 2 periods I was so pissed with the lackluster effort and constant parade to the penalty box. And of course there was last spring’s debacle against the Boston Bruins when the # 8 seed hung in the balance during the playoff race. The 4 to 0 loss wasn’t as close as the score indicated and the effort against a superior team was laughable. It was complete domination but I managed to sit through that one since the game was so “meaningful”.
But I digress…I’m not sure what you hope to gain by lambasting the faithful of Bill’s blog with your holier than thou attitude. But the folks who post here everyday are some of the most loyal fans in the city when it comes to putting up with this crap year in and year out. Piss off.
DWTOO
October 21st, 2010
10:21 am
Alan R – Not insuating that you didn’t watch, not at all. Was really agreeing with you about last night’s performance. Don’t want to give the wrong impression. Actually, wish I hadn’t watched. It was anything but impressive.
DWTOO
October 21st, 2010
10:31 am
Good points Smoothie – Think everyone is PO’d with the effort last night. Everything we’ve heard since Dudley took over was how this team would skate hard, hustle, play hard, compete. And then they come out with nothing last night. For those of us who’ve followed from the beginning it just looked like what we’ve been putting up with for years.
Blogs are like screaming at the mirror – great venting opportunity and that’s what we’re seeing this AM. And you feel better afterwards.
“Lighten up Francis” (from Stripes)
Alan R.
October 21st, 2010
10:32 am
I wish I hadn’t watched, either. But then, I wouldn’t be here giving my opinions on what I saw
It’s been said that the Atlanta Spirit, and probably the front office of the Thrashers read this blog. I hope many of them come away with our statements and apply pressure on our guys to succeed. We don’t need to see any more losses like this one.
I honestly don’t mind losing if we’re going out with a fight. Last night, there was no fight. There was no punch. There was negative effort. There wasn’t even so much as a whimper. This has got to change, and I’m sure the 8800 fans who were in attendance last night would agree.
Thrashers Rule-Fans are losers
October 21st, 2010
10:33 am
Wow Smoothie, if you were not one of the people I was talking about then so be it and don’t take it so personal. I can think of a few games other than the ones that you have mentioned, but no need to go into that right now. I have watched, been or listened to every game this team has ever played since they got here. This is by far the most hope that I have had in this team since there inception, but I do like your vigor for coming to the rescue of the people I was talk about, good for you. I am as loyal a fan as there is on this blog, and more than most, I hate the Ownership, and hope for better to see an even better product put on the ice, but ion the mean time I will support this team without the name calling. So take it for what it is, a bad team, that is getting better, is much much better than no team at all.
Old Time Hockey
October 21st, 2010
10:36 am
I’ve said before, you tell a lot about the character of an athlete by how they handle those aspects of the game that they are totally in control of. Fitness, diet and effort are the big three. The first two are usually recommended by the training/coaching staff, although there are a few smart enough to go beyond that. The effort level, though, is all on each player. There is NO excuse for poor effort. As others have stated, you won’t win every one, not even close. But you should COMPETE in every one, no question. I don’t think anything pisses off fans more than poor effort. Simple rule from my days of playing hockey…keep your feet moving. If you are standing still you are lost. You can’t wait for the game to come to you, you have to be the aggressor. That’s what Ramsay has been saying, just didn’t happen last night. If I were coaching this team, todays practice would be one they would not forget for the rest of the season…lot’s of sprints and some handy puke buckets.
Tim
October 21st, 2010
10:42 am
I was up in 317, not the guy in the third row, but I’ve never seen a game where absolutely everything was done so wrong in so many new and creative ways. Out side of Chris Mason, our effort was grim and bleak. Like the poster above, its hard not to keep them at arms length when they play with no heart whatsoever. Lose, fine, but play like you give a damn that Miller coulda hit the CNN center for a beer for most of the first period and wouldn’t have been missed.
Savannah Blueland Fan
October 21st, 2010
10:49 am
Someone should remind Ron Hainsey that he can get home to his new baby just as quickly by winning a game as he could by just standing around like a tree.
Smoothie
October 21st, 2010
10:49 am
“Lose, fine, but play like you give a damn that Miller coulda hit the CNN center for a beer for most of the first period and wouldn’t have been missed.”
LOL, indeed he could have taken a nap in his crease at the very least if he wanted to. Can’t remember a game (at least in person) where the ice was tilted for so long in our end.
Also, character will be revealed Friday nite. It will be interesting to see who has it. My gut tells me most of the guys will respond well. Just don’t know if we have the talent to overcome another slow start against an offense as potent as Tampa’s.
Lastly, Dawes needs to go. That first goal was solely his fault for not gettiing over to his RW position in time. His primary responsibility is to get to the wall and cut off a long 2-line pass for an easy break-in. He must’ve thought he was still playing LW?? No excuses. He’s been dreadful in just about every game and he’s been on the ice for 6 ES goals against…most of any forward save for Stewart. Lucky for Stewie he scored that hattie to buy some time. Dawes has done absolutely nothing offensively and doesn’t seem to have any chemistry with anyone. Bring me SuperFly!! Now. At least his give-a-crap meter always seems to be set on hyper-care.
Thrashers Rule-Some Fans are losers
October 21st, 2010
11:02 am
There Smoothie I have changed my name for you, not being sarcastic, you are one of the people on this site that I admire for your in site on the game and this team.
Adam
October 21st, 2010
11:11 am
Rammer should have had them put their equipment back on and had them skating laps once the arena was empty.
I’ve said all along that I didn’t expect this to be a winning month but I expected the team to fight and play hard. They may lose by a goal, maybe two, but play hard the whole game.
This better have been a one night anomaly or there is serious trouble ahead.
Lastly if Antropov wasn’t at least 80% and getting better at the start of the season he should have been on IR. If he was and the hip has gotten aggravated over the last week then I think it’s time for him to sit. They don’t need to be pushing him at this point. If he is going to be a key player for this team then he needs to get healthy. I surely don’t want to see his carrier cut short.
Adam
October 21st, 2010
11:12 am
carreer…
Dwayne
October 21st, 2010
11:23 am
********Rammer should have had them put their equipment back on and had them skating laps once the arena was empty********
Wasn’t it half empty during the game????
Joe Friday
October 21st, 2010
11:25 am
“Rammer should have had them put their equipment back on and had them skating laps once the arena was empty.”
“Again!”
Guys, they got outplayed out West and were pretty fortunate to pick up those 2 wins. I thought they’ve been outplayed in every game I’ve seen, except for that opener against the Caps. Mabye Pavelec can faint every game.
When you’re giving up this many shots every night, something is wrong and that will burn us in the long haul.
Adam
October 21st, 2010
11:47 am
Another thing that I am completely fed up with is the Thrashers being the whipping boy for teams in a slump. It seems that every year when we face a team with a multiple game losing streak we’re the ones that get our a$$es handed to us and the other team goes out and wins the next several games. This also usually marks the start of an ungood streak for us.
Red Light
October 21st, 2010
11:58 am
Here we go again…it’s always one, two or three guy’s fault that they lost the game right?
Uh no, this was a complete failure from all 20 guys and the coaching staff. Game is over. Move on, or would you like to create your own lines and d-pairings for the 826th consecutive Thrashers’ game?
Smoothie
October 21st, 2010
12:06 pm
R/L – Dawes and Modin have been consistently bad in just about every game. Not saying last nite was their fault alone, but time to cut bait with Dawes IMO. They also need to let Antro rest and make sure Modin is paired with two speedier guys who can make up for his lack of wheels. Also, Big Buff has been okay on D, but he’s taking too many chances at the wrong times. There, is that more fair and balanced?
ThrashersRule – I appreciate your passion and some of your sentiments, but I was simply begging you to take it easy on this blog since most of the comments have been appropriate considering the piss-poor effort last nite. It’s okay to vent a little bit after a game like that. But I think most of the regular posters here are quite level-headed in their assessment of our team and its chances this season. Yes, it’s a long season and we can’t truly evaluate till probably game 15 at the earliest, but there are some tell-tale signs that we’ve become all too familiar with in the past several years. That’s all I’m sayin. And I apologize for being a bit harsh. Just don’t like it when our passionate fans get picked on for voicing some frustration. If you were there last nite, you’d see that half the 9,000 fans were pulling for Buffalo. We can’t afford to eat our own so to speak!
Bad Beer Smell
October 21st, 2010
12:26 pm
This new guy seems really famaliar.
Russian
October 21st, 2010
12:40 pm
Nigel on Waiver today!
Russian
October 21st, 2010
12:41 pm
This is a reference;
http://twitter.com/TSNBobMcKenzie
Alan R.
October 21st, 2010
12:51 pm
Great news!
Red Light
October 21st, 2010
12:57 pm
Nigel hasn’t played well and probably deserves to be waived. Modin hasn’t shown much either. Antropov is a shadow of his former self so far. In fact, like Joe Friday, I have seen little to like so far. Kane’s cocky play has bothered me. Little has been a non-factor at center. In fact, I think Thorburn has been the Thrashers best, or most consistent player through the first two weeks, with Ladd a close second. Every time I see Byfuglien skate forward, I think like many have said, he might be a great answer up front. But as R. Stroz has said time and time and time again, this unit was gotten on the cheap, and last night they played like it.
And yes, Smoothie, although I was only partially calling you out, that is much better. If you’re at the game Friday, I’ll let you buy me a beer! LOL
Simon
October 21st, 2010
1:06 pm
For those who are interested…
http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/12416/atlanta_thrashers_depth_analysis_fall2010/
kracker
October 21st, 2010
1:07 pm
Coming out flat and uninspired causes all these problems. This is why you need a fighter on your bench, not in the press box: Boulton would have gotten their blood pumping or at least he would have tried to. So, I am askng, why didn’t Thorburn, Eager, Stewart try to get some noise going last night by dropping the gloves w/ someone??
As far as Rammer teaching and commenting after the game, well, that is all well and good — but it appears that Lindy did his teaching before the game.
Simon
October 21st, 2010
1:08 pm
Oh, and its great news that Dawes was put on waivers!!! Bring on Freddy P
Dwayne
October 21st, 2010
1:09 pm
Hey, whats yalls thoughts on Kincaide with the intermission questions? Better than the goofball blondies? questions, not looks
stendek
October 21st, 2010
1:09 pm
I honestly don’t mind losing if we’re going out with a fight. Last night, there was no fight. There was no punch. There was negative effort. There wasn’t even so much as a whimper. This has got to change…Thanks for this. STENDEK
Smoothie
October 21st, 2010
1:13 pm
With respect to Nigel, I hate being right…sorry Mr. Dawes, but you were positively uninspired and, to quote a wise man, UN-GOOD!
Smoothie
October 21st, 2010
1:16 pm
“I honestly don’t mind losing if we’re going out with a fight. Last night, there was no fight. There was no punch.”
Exactly. No need to hold back today because that team absolutely, positively stunk beyond recognition. And Rammer knows it. They will pay the piper like Nigel Dawes just did. In fact, that should get their attention that pre-season performance guaranteed nothing.
Now sit Big Nik down, let him rest. If they’re that unhappy with Bergfors, go to LouLam and make him an offer for Travis Zajac that he can’t refuse. Remind him of the fact that Zach Parise is gonna have to GET PAID next summer or he’ll get so many offer sheets that he’ll have no choice but to leave Hoboken. Get it done Duds!!
ThrasherTim
October 21st, 2010
1:35 pm
I haven’t seen all the games due to the Dish blackout and haven’t honed in on Dawes’ specific performance — but putting this guy on waivers so quickly sends a message to everyone in that room. Lack of effort will not be tolerated. This is a great outcome after such a poor effort.
Over the last 2-3 years it seems, every time the Thrashers seem to gain any kind of momentum – they came home and lay an egg. Sure, an an empty building doesn’t help the team get it’s legs – but the fans aren’t coming during the week until this team eliminates these performances and starts winning more conistently. It’s really that simple.
jimbo
October 21st, 2010
1:37 pm
Rawhide- you captured the game or Buffalo;s bashing us perfectly. It was a morgue and let’s see if the boys have any pride and come out the next game to prove that this one was a fluke. We left with 10 minutes left, about the earliest my wife and I have ducked out. It was the worse game that I’ve seen in many, many years. No hustle, no grit, no emotion.
alex
October 21st, 2010
1:37 pm
i like to ask asg, llc what they exspect from the team with the second lowest parol in nhl or how many people in the stand they hope to be to watch the team where no stars just roll players and they are cheap. i am not going to surprised if after couple more similar losses crowd be in hundreds not in thousand. ram should be a hero after winning evry game with this roster. to survive hockey in atlanta asg gang should sell the team asap, thy are disgrace
Smoothie
October 21st, 2010
1:51 pm
FROM WOLVES WEBSITE: Heat netminder Leland Irving (3-2-0) thwarted all 13 of the Wolves shots on the way to handing Chicago (3-2-0-0) its first blanking of the season.
“We were real flat and had no physicality tonight and they are a young gun, hardworking team,” said Wolves Head Coach Don Lever. “I guess this has been coming after we were able to come back in two straight games. We can’t let them outwork us.”
Looks like this mid-week malaise is an organization-wide affliction!!
Wayne stuck in AL
October 21st, 2010
1:52 pm
From BuffaloNews.com:
“7:26 p.m.: The next commercial comes with 8:16 to go, and the Sabres have a 9-0 shot edge. The Thrashers can do little. Two fans sitting in the top five rows started a “Let’s go, Buffalo” chant that echoed through the arena. The crowd count might be up to 3,000 or so now. I’d count them all, but I’m terrible at math.
[...]
8:26 p.m.: Kiss Cam is on, and I feel kind of bad for the camera guys. There’s not enough people here to find couples. They put the camera on a few folks, and they obviously weren’t dating.
[...]
8:57 p.m.: The organization knows how to make it loud in here with music, horns and sirens. Fans would make it even louder.”
Hockey Biltong
October 21st, 2010
1:56 pm
The boys in blue made extra dough on account of the NHL telling them to take a night off against the Slugs….so don’t all y’all get yer panties in a wad…just sayin’…
LAC
October 21st, 2010
2:03 pm
There goes “smoothie” yet again blowing up over my comments and others.
Your comments are almost exact “smoothie”, you should try understanding others comments, before you make an A$$ of yourself… Gee Whiz !!! get over it !
Tom Lysiak
October 21st, 2010
2:06 pm
Dawes was a good place to start, but other candidates have emerged as well. Keep whittling them down as people get healthy and/or prove they will put in the effort up here.
Sit Antro down until he is game ready.
Cut ties with Modin unless something changes real soon.
Figure out which Stewart is the one you will see all season. Cut him if it’s the same old Stewie.
Bring Pettersson up now.
Never, ever pair up Sopel and Hainsey again.
That is all for now….
Cornbread
October 21st, 2010
2:08 pm
It was a bad game by a good team. It happens. They made it easy for Buffalo and in that gave up their biggest strength.
Dawes has been bad. A message from the coach needed to be sent early on. No more irresponsible play and no more nights off. Good move.
I have to agree with much of what Thrashers Rule is implying: preseason, the team was going to finish 15th; Sunday, playoffs; today, worst team ever. I have seen a lot worse Thrasher games than last night’s loss and an awful 0-6 start a few years ago. That was a bad team back then and one bad game from this good team is not time to throw in the towel.
They will respond this weekend with much better efforts. Let’s see if the fans do.
Hockey Biltong
October 21st, 2010
2:11 pm
Poor Nik did look like he is still hurting…we are so shallow at centre that they don’t want to bring anyone up while he sits and heals…..even if he had every third game off, that would significantly improve his rate of recovery….
Hockey Biltong
October 21st, 2010
2:13 pm
I’d like to buy an argument…..
Smoothie
October 21st, 2010
2:14 pm
LAC – I feel very, very sad for you. As Mr. T says, “I pity the fool”.
Thrashpuppy
October 21st, 2010
2:32 pm
The thing that bothered me most about last night was how many players seemed to showed little effort. Many people, including me, have been talking about the character of this team, the character that led them to fight back on the games of their road trip even when down. But the lack of effort last night did not show character.
I too am one who didn’t really expect a winning Oct. just because of all the changes in personnel and the changes in the system. But this lack of showing of character bothered me a lot. I hope Ramsey and Mason both let the rest of the team know how unacceptable that lack of effort was in no uncertain terms. Waiving Dawes was probably a good move at this particular moment in time, to make a statement to the rest of the team. Hope they got the message, even the ones who have been here and/or in the league for a while.
Thrashpuppy
October 21st, 2010
2:47 pm
I’ve seen it so I know a key to a down team beating someone better and/or hotter is to come out hot and fast and put the other team into shock. Buffalo did that last night. I didn’t get home in time to hear the first so I don’t know for sure. But I felt like that is not all that happened here with the Thrashers last night. From what I heard, we didn’t seem to be playing shocked, we seemed to barely be playing at all on the parts of too many players on the team. Ramsey has got to let the guys know that such lack of effort will not be tolerated, even if it means we lose a player or two because they need to be sent down to Chicago and get snatched by someone else in order to bring up some guys who want to play in EVERY game.
Of course, after reading the comments about the game in Chicago, we may have to go to Gwinnett to get players who want to play!?!
Wish we would hear that the flu is going through our ranks both here and in Chicago but I doubt that is the case or we probably would have heard by now.
Thrashpuppy
October 21st, 2010
2:50 pm
The only way a low payroll team is going to succeed in this league is to have a whole cast of players that show up and try hard every night. I hope the Thrashers can still show that they have that character. Otherwise, I’m very concerned for this team and it’s future.
Yet, I’m a diehard fan (and have been from the Flames days back in high school) so I’m not ready to throw in the towel. I’m discouraged but not out. I still believe Ramsey is a coach who can make a team even of a low payroll organization if anyone can. So I’ll keep listening (and wishing I could afford to watch, especially live) and waiting and hoping it won’t be too long until we are being a good team and a good character team on a regular basis. Go Thrashers!
Nate
October 21st, 2010
3:18 pm
Smoothie wrote – “I can think of one other game when I was this disgusted…okay, two. Feb of ‘09 against NJ when we were outskated and outclassed by Kevin Weekes and his mates and lost by the count of 5 to 1. I actually walked out of the arena after 2 periods I was so pissed with the lackluster effort and constant parade to the penalty box.”
Funny, that’s the exact course of action I took last night. Fans should be entitled to a refund when the home team tallies less than half the shots on goal of the opposition. That’s a direct result of lack of effort. So is this line change business. If players are hustling and doing what they’re supposed to do bad line changes don’thappen.
Red Light
October 21st, 2010
3:25 pm
Byfuglien quote from Buffalo News…
“I think we can get the fans to come behind you. It’s a tough environment around here. People, they don’t know their hockey, but they’re willing to support it. We’ve just got to have a winning team and make the game fun for them to watch.”
DWTOO
October 21st, 2010
3:36 pm
R/L – The Big Buff hit the nail on the head. When you think about it most folks really don’t know the game. See colby’s remarks quoted above – good fans, but, they’re a small group. Buf is right – win and they’ll come out of the woodwork. We’ve seen it before.
JR
October 21st, 2010
3:43 pm
here is the answer that i received from NHL center ice when i questioned the west coast blackouts:
Thank you for your email. Based on your location, you are in the Atlanta Thrashers local television territory. Atlanta Thrashers’ games are televised locally on the regional sports networks – Sports South and Fox Sports South; however, on a handful of nights Atlanta’s regional sports networks – Sports South/ Fox Sports South – will not be televising Atlanta games in the local market.
In past seasons, blackout lifts were implemented within NHL Center Ice so that the Thrashers games could be seen in their local television territory when Sports South/ Fox Sports South was not televising at home.
At midnight on September 30, Dish Network dropped FOX Sports South, Fox Sports South and 17 other Fox Sports regional networks and has refused to reach a fair agreement to distribute Fox programming.
As a result, Atlanta Thrashers’ fans with Dish Network service will miss Thrashers’ games this season until the dispute is resolved.
Also due to this dispute, we are not permitted by Fox to allow blackout lifts, at this time. Thrashers’ games will be unavailable in the local market on the NHL’s Center Ice package, regardless of your cable or satellite service provider.
For more information, please contact Fox Sports. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Thanks,
NHL TV
doesn’t make a hell of a lot of sense to me.
Smoothie
October 21st, 2010
3:46 pm
Certainly good to see Buff speak up and take a realistic stance on the attendance issue rather than bemoan the fact that the Bulb was half-empty last nite. I’m so sick of athletes blaming the fans for not being there to “pump them up”. It’s their job to play well so we have a reason to get excited and fired-up before coming to a game. Like DWTOO said, if they build it, they will come. Egg. Chicken.
Brendan
October 21st, 2010
3:48 pm
Look, I can’t honestly tell you what happened. But if it was some “Love-in” reunion between Lindy Ruff and Craig Ramsay & Ric Dudley in the pre-game hallway, I can see how something like that would make the players feel like this game was more of a “social gathering” than a game.
I doubt that was the case, however. And it damn sure won’t be the case the next time around. Craig Ramsay has pride. Ric Dudley has pride. And the last thing any of them really want to do … is make a mockery of themselves in front of their former organization (Buffalo). Buffalo, if you keep up with them, began the year with 5 straight losses. For them, a bad loss at Atlanta might just result in some roster changes. The Sabres got their much needed win, and Atlanta got a reminder that every game counts in the standings. Let’s see how it all turns out at the end of the month, when they meet again.
Folks, give this team until Thanksgiving, or Veteran’s Day at the earliest, before you decide that it’s some utter waste of time. Truthfully, the Thrashers are AHEAD of where I had them, after six games. I had them with five points, at this juncture. They have six. Obviously, the shots against is still a problem … and Byfuglien, for the 20th time, needs to be playing forward, not defense. All in due time.
Smoothie
October 21st, 2010
3:50 pm
Makes sense for the NHL to value the sports telecast distributor (FOX) more than the carrier / provider (in this case DISH), but the failure lies in their unwillingness to value the end-customer MORE. Anyway, thank goodness SS is broadcasting 65 games this year in HD. Almost makes up for the loss of the other 16 games (1 on VS).
Zombie Steve
October 21st, 2010
3:52 pm
My beer league team could’ve taken the Thrashers last night. Pick it up, boys!
Brendan
October 21st, 2010
3:53 pm
JR, that was some sort of political spin, by NHL TV. They should contact FOX SportSouth to tell them to lift the ban on Comcast, which has nothing to do with their dispute with DirectTV or Dishnetwork or whomever.
Brendan
October 21st, 2010
3:55 pm
For me, I enjoy Center Ice, even when the Thrashers aren’t playing. (I watch the Oilers, Canucks, and Kings during late nights.) So, unless I want to ditch Comcast altogether, I’m stuck with missing out on 27 Thrashers games this year.
JR
October 21st, 2010
3:57 pm
i agree and will contact fox. my experience with them in the past is that they put forth a lot of spin, much bordering on untruth.
EA
October 21st, 2010
4:00 pm
I asked this on the other blog, but did not receive an answer. Does anyone know anything other than speculation about a bad attitude as to why Bergfors has not been playing? I feel like I missed something.
Red Light
October 21st, 2010
4:12 pm
It was simply a coach’s decision not to play Bergfors, pure and simply.
Since Comcast, Dish and DirectTV pay a lot of money to Fox Sports, ESPN, etc. etc. to broadcast the games to which the networks own exclusive rights to broadcast, something must be amiss in terms of the amount Fox Sports wants from the providers.
Brendan
October 21st, 2010
4:17 pm
JR, I am going to write NHL Commissioner Bettman. If he’s not aware of this problem, it should be brought to his attention.
Russ
October 21st, 2010
4:23 pm
EA – Unless Bergfors is becoming a problem because he is unhappy about his contract he needs to be in the line-up IMO. He is one of the more skilled players on the team and from what I have seen this season he hasn’t looked any worse than someone like Little who has had very little production for someone expected to be a top six forward. I think they need to exercise a little more patience than to make someone expected to be a a key player a healthy scratch after just a couple of games. Again, that is unless he has made it clear he is unhappy and doesn’t want to be here. In which case, they need to shop him around and get what they can for him.
English Teacher
October 21st, 2010
4:29 pm
Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.
Flames
October 21st, 2010
4:33 pm
The team had a real work out at practice today. They got their A$$e$ handed to them by the coaches in their team meetings. Jobs were threaten and one was lost…Sorry Dawes…It was real attention getter to some of the players…. Ramsey told them that there is no super stars on this team and no one is untouchable.
timthebrave
October 21st, 2010
4:38 pm
I’m going to my first Thrashers game of the season. I expect a better effort than they gave yesterday. I usually go to about 10 games a year but if they keep playing like yesterday that number will be about 2 or 3 games. That was just fugly.
Poor Ol' Family Man
October 21st, 2010
4:40 pm
I hate to be the one to say this, but the Thrashers Office REALLY SCREWED UP when they eliminated the Travel Zoo $8 300-level seats promotion this year (along with other POPULAR single game ticket promotions). They don’t seem to “get it” that IT’S THE ECONOMY and regular family-types can no longer drop $150-200/game…..Even if the tix are “On Sale” for “45% Off”. (LOL)
That Arena is going to be EMPTY, except for the Hard-Cores….Especially during the week on school nights. Who can AFFORD to pay $25 or $31 a seat (on sale) + $10-15 parking + $60 concessions to take the family to Philips? I mean, we have the second lowest payroll in the League….So we must be paying for that idiotic Joe Johnson contract! I’m serious…..$150-200 PER GAME and that’s “ON SALE”???
They’ve already lost us for this season. We attended a dozen games last year and sat in the 300s for $8 a seat……But we just won’t be going back to Philips until they bring back that promotion. MAKE IT RIDICULOUSLY AFFORDABLE if you want people to show up. There is no Kovalchuk to sell tickets anymore and overpriced tickets won’t bring people in. It’s as simple as that. Perhaps someone in the ASG will wake up and realize that…..Then again, I’m not holding my breath.
We’re going to high school and GT football games instead of Thrashers and Hawks games this season. Soon it will be high school and GT basketball games…..Etowah football games are FUN and $7 a ticket + $2 parking. For college games, you can pick your seats on StubHub. We paid $13 each for 100 level seats to last weekend’s GT/Middle Tenn St game. It DOES make a difference in sucky economic times like this.
We also got a brand new Sammy 50″ Plasma ($499 @ Fry’s last week) and Fox Sports South on HD. When a complete, embarrassing collapse like last night happens, we aren’t trapped in Philips Arena with nowhere to go. It’s a lot easier to just pick up the remote…..{click}
Really, now…Single game seats On Sale for 45% OFF and they’re still $25-31 each? Are you kidding me? ASG: Stop drinking your own Kool-Aid. The Thrashers/Hawks aren’t the only game in town. Perhaps the highest priced game, but not the ONLY one.
See how that works, ASG?
Rawhide
October 21st, 2010
4:47 pm
Flames – First off, it was great to meet you and your son last night!
Coach threatening jobs? No one is untouchabe? What is that…this “accountability” thing I’ve heard of?
Fascinating.
Smoothie
October 21st, 2010
4:51 pm
Flames – indeed! The pleasure was ours! Nice to finally meet you and your hockey-playing son. Enjoyed the conversation and look forward to sitting with you again in the future. And thanks for the report.
Spud Webb
October 21st, 2010
5:13 pm
Mass Dawg, uga rap sheet, uh, uga blog is on another page. Stay there, it’s safer.
I love the negativity on these blogs. Good grief, 82 game season boys & girls. Stinker or steamer (as bill says!)…move on. Ramsey will address it! The doom & gloom is just too much sometimes. Stop writing…stop watching…stop going…write in your journals, go to the gym, get the aggression out!
The rest of you I’ll be seeing at game 3 of the opening round of the playoffs as the 8th seeded thrashers!!!!!!!! wooooooooooooooooooooooo
RedLight, thank for very much!!
BlueSpark
October 21st, 2010
5:14 pm
Whoever asked about why no Thrasher dropped the gloves to motivate the team – I think Eager tried but didn’t have a willing partner. Rightfully so, because the Sabres had 100% control of that game. From their perspective, it was “let sleeping dogs lie.”
glovesave29
October 21st, 2010
5:26 pm
RL…how do you know Bergfors is in Rammer’s doghouse? If so, I can’t recall a player ever getting there so quickly as to get 3 consecutive healthy scratches for a talented offensive player on a team that will find it hard to find the back of the net this season.
My gut says he’s injured.
Truest test of a team is to see how they respond to adversity. Let’s see what happens to the boys Friday against Tampa to erase the bad taste of both the Buffalo loss, and the poor effort for the first half of the last Lightning game.
Spud Webb
October 21st, 2010
5:36 pm
Blue Spark you’re correct about Eager, but he was trying with Stafford.
Flames
October 21st, 2010
5:38 pm
The pleasure was all mine. You guys were the best. To bad the game wasn’t so good. I look forward to the next time.
Spud Webb
October 21st, 2010
5:39 pm
I did enjoy McCormick and Kaleta bouncing off of Buff numerous times in the first.
Stat Man
October 21st, 2010
6:14 pm
The only good thing that came from going to last nights game for me was, it will be a while before I waste any more money to go to a game.
Seriously, fans should get a rebate when a team plays like that. Too bad Ted Turner doesn’t own them, or that’s exactly what would happen (and what DID happen back in the ’70’s with the Braves when they comatosed their way thru a game).
Christy
October 21st, 2010
6:19 pm
Good evening all. I needed a full day before I could face any articles or blogs on the disaster that was last night.
That said, DWTOO, I would not call that one of the 10 worst games of the Thrashers. Our expecations have been raised to high if we qualify last night as such. pick any 10 games in any season prior to the lockout and they would qualify. Last season, a game last night would have been delivered to us every 5th game or so.
LAC – I don’t know if it’s just the perspective I had, but I thought the arena was surprisingly full for a Wednesday night in October, as opposed to other years. there was a buzz in the building and it did not seem to be supplied exclusively by Buffalo fans – at least not until the game began for the Sabers and the Thrashers decided to give them a 25 minute head start.
While most of the team was putrid, I thought the Eager, Thorburn Burmistrov line was actually pretty good overall. Nor did I think Hainsey stunk. In fact, compared to Meyers and Buff I thought he was good – not great maybe, but good. May be a bias, but if People were bouncing off of Buff last night it was usually because he was in the right place at the right time completely by accident because he blew another assignment somewhere else on the ice.
I was surprisingly disappointed by Slater – I thought he did not play well at all, not his style, nothing. Did not even look like him on the ice. When Mason was called for the penalty, I didn’t expect Kane to serve it, I was thinking Dawes, Slater, Modin or Meyer could have all done with 2 minutes away from it all.
Christy
October 21st, 2010
6:33 pm
Please note – that I do realize lower bowl mostly empty – again – compared to recent years though….
alex
October 21st, 2010
7:14 pm
again, dud and ram hockey experts, i am not, but this is obvious, thrashers weakest link is offence. first, on this team even bad berg. better almost everyone. why he is out? could be conflict with coach(remember kozzy last year) if so trade him. second, plug the hole with buff and bring kulda back. he is as good as anybody on thrashers defense. arguable better than hansey, duff, meyer and bogosian. why they don’t do it. for me only one answer saving money. this team in the bottom on cap room but asg like the bottom to be not 43 mil but 5 – 10 mil. can you imagine what dud. talking about asg when he relax and got few shots with close friends around.
Red Light
October 21st, 2010
7:17 pm
Glovesave29
I never said Bergfors was in the doghouse, I said that he was a healthy scratch and that it was a coach’s decision. That’s it.
Sage of Bluesland
October 21st, 2010
9:41 pm
“The only good thing that came from going to last nights game for me was, it will be a while before I waste any more money to go to a game….”
Indeed. There is more wisdom in this very statement than all of the tripe issued by clowns such as Smoothie in all his years here…The truth is illuminating, isn’t it?
Welcome to reality, folks. I don’t think the old guy (our coach whose name I’m not bothering to remember as he won’t be here three years from now) or the guy with what looks like a rug-toupee (our GM whose name I’m not bothering to remember, either)…
It’s all about ownership. Everything else is peripheral. Yet you continue to subsidize their incompetence?! Wow.
glovesave29
October 21st, 2010
11:23 pm
RL – don’t think he’s a healthy scratch. I think he’s injured. When a player of his talent is sitting in the pressbox for a team that is offensively challeneged as we are = coaches doghouse.
Brendan
October 21st, 2010
11:35 pm
It ISSS really easy to get down, after a horrible game. When you pay good money for an evening’s entertainment that doesn’t go as well as planned, you feel dissapointed. Angry, maybe. Discouraged from attending future games. You might start to wonder how many times “you’ll get fooled, again.” But what about the good times? You’ve experienced them, too. Who went to Opening Night? Aside from the Pavelec dramatics, that was a pretty good game. The drive home was a good one, filled with inspiration for the coming season. Washington is a really good team. (Took it on the chin, tonight, 4-1 at the hands of the Bruins, however. Moving right along ….)
It’s never good to lose a game in this manner, like we did vs. Buffalo. It’s WORSE to lose it, at home, where your revenue stream is. Perhaps that’s why the team was probably put through the paces, today. I’m sure the GM feels badly about it. The Team President, I cannot say. If he felt remorse about anything, he would have resigned years ago. The Coach … he won’t support efforts like this often. We’ve already seen Dawes waived. Boris was demoted, clearing waivers, to some people’s surprise. Hopefully, we’ll see Kulda called up, and Byfuglien moved to forward, if things don’t improve soon.
Look, I’ll admit it. I have egg on my face. In the budget contest, I actually had the highest guess … at $51.4 million. I thought, “okay, we’re in the fourth (4th) year removed from the NY Rangers playoff sweep (2007, this is the 2011 season). Conceptually, this ought to be a year where we push seriously towards a playoff berth. Even this Octocluster HAS to be within $8 million of the cap limit. Never would I have imagined they’d be BELOW the floor, which is somehow NOT a violation of the CBA, apparently? The floor is $43.4 million. The Thrashers are somewhere in the $42 million range. It’s mind-boggling just HOW LITTLE … they regard the Thrasher fanbase, to set a budget like this. Let’s face it, folks. This team has PAID for a 29th place finish. Perhaps, 28th. And yet, the Thrashers will finish, in my view, somewhere around 22nd to 24th, well OUTSIDE of the lottery draft. And they’ll dance “The Charleston” for having had such success. And they’ll retain Waddell, renewing him, if they haven’t already. I just can’t understand the intent of it all. Surely, this Octocluster could have at least TRIED to give Ramsay and Dudley a mid-level cap, $8 million shy of the limit. But no, they got “the cold shoulder” treatment. As did the fans, if you really think about it.
But, they’re making due. They’re managing. At .500 through six games, that’s MORE than what they paid for, at this point.
R. Stroz
October 21st, 2010
11:36 pm
Evander Kane and Anthony Stewart spotted attending Hawks vs. Heat at Philips Arena.
Tony C
October 22nd, 2010
12:04 am
Bergfors needs to play even if it’s just so other clubs can get a look-see before we pull a trade.
Hainsey and Sopel need to be our 3rd D-pair and Byfuglien hopefully had some video “homework” if he wasn’t at practice….too many times this season I’ve seen him drifting back into our zone like a forward-keeping an eye on the puck, looking to break it out (which yes, I understand that’s something you want to do) rather than making sure his man is checked-witness the 2nd goal by Anaheim last week-Buff had his back to his man as they entered the zone, making it easier for the Ducks’ forward to pull up a little bit and create the needed separation to shoot the puck in.
Not that Buff’s alone on this-spacing in general is probably our biggest area of poor execution. Look at the Sabres game and you see pucks being put to areas just out of a guy’s reach, opposition players got plenty of room entering our D-zone, etc. This tells me that guys are still having trouble applying what Coach is telling them-which is why I’m puzzled Buff was given the day off (unless he’s closing on a place to live or some such). They get this area tightened up and I think you see a marked improvement.
But if they come out flat like Wednesday, well a good team from the W would probably win.
I like the Dawes move, but do hope he clears waivers.
Brendan
October 22nd, 2010
12:43 am
Lee Stempniak has a 1st career hat trick in a 4-2 win over Los Angeles. Jovocop had 3 helpers, in his return to the NHL. Lee loves it in Phoenix! What a tear this guy’s been on, since being traded there. Maybe it’s the time zone??? He’s happier out west.
Southeast division rivals Florida, Washington, and Tampa Bay all lost tonight. But the Bolts pick up the “pity” point.
Marty Brodeur picked up shutout # 112 for his career, in a 3-0 Devils win over Montreal. Montreal didn’t lose any ground on the Northeast Division leading Maple Leafs, as the “Buds” lost to the NY Rangers, 2-1. For the much maligned Rangers, sans Gaborik, Drury, and Frolov, they’re at .500, 2-2-1. Nashville is now 3-0-3, after an overtime loss to Pittsburgh. “Red hot” Dallas is 5-1 now, and in 1st place in the Pacific Division, thanks to the Kings loss at Phoenix. Needless to say, it’s another win, for Kari Lehtonen. Ya know what? Good for him. I’m happy to see him experience some success in this league. If the Dallas Stars make the playoffs, he’ll have his chance to erase the memories of that 7-0 thrashing, in Game 3 of the 2007 playoffs.
The NY Islanders are 4-1-2, for 10-pts. That’s not a typo. The Penguins are 5-3-0, tied with the Isles, in the Atlantic Division. Pittsburgh seems to have righted their ship, after a “rocky” start.
Brendan
October 22nd, 2010
12:46 am
Who the HECK is Taormina, for the Devils? I’m seeing his name a lot, now, in boxscores. Where’d they find this guy? Red Light, what’s the story on this guy?
Brendan
October 22nd, 2010
1:06 am
Apologies, folks. Frolov did play for the Rangers. Here’s the boxscore. http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2010020083
Didn’t feel like clicking on it? Okay, it says Todd White played 7:42 and Erik Christen played about twice that in the Rangers win over the Leafs. Looking at the Leafs lineup … it’s not nearly as bad as I thought. Can’t believe some people have the Leafs pegged for dead last in the NHL or 2nd from the bottom. I’m not saying they’re out of the lottery draft, but … I could see them becoming a more difficult team to play against.
Bruins goalie Tim Thomas … seems to have returned to form. When does Tuuka Rask get his next start?
Rawhide
October 22nd, 2010
7:30 am
G’morning gang. The Thrashers take on two division foes this weekend in what could be a couple of defining games for them after last Wednesday’s craptacular effort against Buffalo.
Players and coaches alike have expressed the fact that they are accountable for that loss, now let’s see if they’ve taken responisbility and are prepared to come out tonight and play.
R. Stroz
October 24th, 2010
11:02 am
LAST!
Rawhide
October 24th, 2010
4:55 pm
R. Stroz – Nope.