Semin-chanted evening as Thrashers fall to Caps in OT
If you’re a Washington Capitals fan, you no doubt enjoyed Saturday night’s outcome against our Atlanta Thrashers. It was quite a game, quite a night and quite a win. Truly it was some enchanted evening in Washington D.C.
Or, should I say, it was…ahem… Semin-chanted evening.
The Thrashers gained a consolation point on the road, losing in overtime 4-3 on Tomas Fleischmann’s goal 1:37 into the extra period. But is was Alexander Semin’s hat trick in regulation that got the defending Southeast Division champs into overtime in order to win it. Semin’s third, fourth and fifth goals of the season tied the score at 1-1, 2-2 and put Washington up 3-2 in the third period.
Evander Kane took a Rich Peverley pass from behind the goal to put the Thrashers up 2-1 in the second period. Kane had two goals in the 4-3 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
There were several turning points in the game, but none bigger than the one that left Atlanta a player down with over a period left. With Atlanta up 2-1, Dustin Byfuglien was tagged with a game-misconduct charging call. He was whistled for skating into Caps keeper Michal Neuvirth following as rush up the right side with about two and a half minutes remaining in period.
Atlanta missed Big Buff in the third period as they were outshot 18-5 in those final 20 minutes of regulation while down to five defensemen. The Capitals then outshot the Thrashers 6-0 during 97 seconds of overtime.
Following the Thrashers’ third straight loss, coach Craig Ramsay commented, “Your sad when you lose in overtime, but what a battle”.
Andrew Ladd scored a power play goal to opening the evening’s scoring while Evander Kane potted two and now leads the team with five goals.
Kane put the Thrashers up 2-1 in the second by way of a nice behind the goal feed from Rich Peverley, who had two assists in the game and was a +1. Kane’s second tally came with just under 33 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into OT.
“You have to get those wins”, the Thrashers’ first-round draft pick in 2009 lamented. “But at the same time, that point could be huge down the road [when it comes to making the playoffs]. Every point you get means a lot”.
To that point, Atlanta picked up 3 of a possible 4 points from the Caps over the last two weeks. There’s my “silver lining” comment of this post.
As was the case in the two previous defeats earlier this week, Atlanta was undone by some sloppy play in their end of the ice as turnovers led to the first two Capitals goals. Semin scored the first of his three when he intercepted a Chris Mason wrap-around attempt from behind the goal. Semin then blasted home a shot from the right boards before Mason could get back into proper position. Then in the third, Washington was once again the beneficiary of a turnover when Ron Hainsey and Freddy Modin seemed to get their wires cross as Atlanta attempted to clear the zone. The gaff led to Semin’s second goal of the night.
Dustin Byfuglien knocks over Caps goalie Michal Neuvirth on his way past the net. Byfuglien was then taged with a game misconduct penalty on top of the charging call (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
The choppy internet feed I was following made it hard to tell which one was at fault, but the Caps play-by-play guys pinned it on Modin, so I’ll go with that.
Modin is now a –7 on the season with just one goal and no assists and has so far been a major disappointment.
Speaking of disappointments, Bryan Little and the score sheet continue to be distant friends. He has but 3 assists on the season, has been held without a point in six of the eight games and has but 13 shots in eight games played. He has no points, 3 SOG and is a –3 during the last three games.
Little is rapidly moving to the front of the milk carton photo line.
Overall, Washington got off 44 shots on Chris Mason while the players in the visiting white jerseys mustered 32 of their own.
Mason turned aside 40 shots on the night in taking the loss. So far he’s been the goalie of record in all eight games and has a 3.54 GAA and .908 SV%. The veteran netminder is certainly getting a good taste of what it’s like to play behind a Thrashers defense, facing 283 shots in 441:06 TOI. That’s the equivalent of facing 38 and a half shots for every 60 minutes played.
And that, my friends, is un-good.
As a team, the Thrashers are allowing a whopping 37.6 SA/G, only Anaheim’s 40.0 is worse. We can gripe and moan all we want about certain players and their performances so far, but to me this is the root cause for most of what ails this Thrashers team eight games into the season. That’s a team stat and all are responsible for it.
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128 comments Add your comment
World Be Free
October 24th, 2010
7:03 pm
If Little would have hit the net from 10 feet in front of Mike Smith, Friday night’s game would have been totally different. He takes too many shifts off. Trade him to Western Canada, send him home.
Joe Friday
October 24th, 2010
7:04 pm
Waive Modin and skate Buf with Little and Bergfors and watch the space open up for their games and this offense to take off. Put him in front of the goalie as well and watch that take off. Bring Kulda up. When Cormier is ready, find room for him.
goose
October 24th, 2010
7:30 pm
I would love to se modin waved (though it might just be a little early to judge) and petterson brought up, or maybe they are giving Modin till Cormire is healty to get his act together. But this is A$G they are not just going to throw away 1 million dollars just because it is under performing.
alex
October 24th, 2010
7:31 pm
breaking news: asg, llc. send memo to coach ram. not to develop e. kane to star status otherwise they couldn’t afford his future salary because of shortage money. just kidding, but seriously when i see young players with potential on other side i see asg cheap.
Brendan
October 24th, 2010
8:16 pm
Alex, Waddell said we couldn’t re-sign Kovalchuk because we HAD to keep E. Kane and Z. Bogosian. Hmmn, interesting premise. He couldn’t re-sign Kovalchuk if he’d offered the MAX for 12 years. But when the UFA contracts of these two come due, watch Waddell “spin” it that we’re better off without them. I still hold out hope that this team will be sold to a local interest in the Spring of 2011.
Zoomo
October 24th, 2010
8:22 pm
Boy, Modin’s turnover was horrid!
Not an awful game, but certainly not one to make me feel like this team can be a playoff team. Like everyone else, I’m hoping that we’ll gel and get on a roll.
Chris16
October 24th, 2010
8:37 pm
Well speaking of Kovy,He got to be feeling like he is playing with thrashers,the way the devils are doing right now. But he does have alot of cash slowing him down on the ice.
AtlFlamesFan
October 24th, 2010
8:47 pm
GWG was a result of a juicy Mason rebound. He seems to have an issue on controlling rebounds, but not as bad as Lehtonen’s.
joedaiceman
October 24th, 2010
8:55 pm
The 1st game of the season the Thrashers looked every bit the playoff bound team. Crisp passes, dominate in the offensive zone, great D. Now I do not think they could beat a good AHL team. It is really pitiful. Dudley the genius was oversold as the answer to the problems for this team. Hopefully a miracle occurs, or exit the Thrashers from Atlanta.
R. Stroz
October 24th, 2010
10:22 pm
I figured out why the Thrashers haven’t put Antropov on IR, if they do, they’ll fall even further below the salary floor.
At this pace, the Thrashers will have to trade for Redden just to reach the salary floor.
Brendan
October 24th, 2010
10:30 pm
R.Stroz, how is it that the Thrashers have not been penalized a draft pick and a hefty fine for being UNDER the floor of the cap? I cannot understand how this situation is permissible under the CBA.
Hockey Biltong
October 24th, 2010
10:41 pm
Moriarty, what’s with the negative waves????
Tom
October 24th, 2010
10:48 pm
Hey, life sometimes sucks to be a Thrashers fan, BUT…
it is better than being a Devils fan these days. I just spent some time on one of the Devil’s fan blogs and they are sounding suicidal. They do not understand why the team is losing and Kovy got benched and are calling for the head of the coach.
Reminds me of old times…
litz
October 24th, 2010
10:54 pm
Glovesave – a significant chunk of Fox’s hand evaporated with the New York Yankees …
A Texas-Giants series just doesn’t have the numbers pull a Yankees-Giants one does.
In fact, any time you remove any of the big east coast markets, the Series numbers drop like a rock.
Now … the NFL on the other hand … you’re right on the money there …
Sage of Bluesland
October 24th, 2010
10:56 pm
“…Dudley the genius was oversold as the answer to the problems for this team….”
Isn’t that the truth?! Too bad he hasn’t worked for the other 30 or so teams in the league, as all he can do is trade for folks he’s particularly familiar with….Great…
It’s not going to work, folks. It ALL starts at the top, despite the cheerful bleating emanating from the ignorant…All of these “moves” are merely rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic…
Book it, sheep.
docsbro
October 25th, 2010
7:07 am
Anybody else notice Modin looks a little bit like Dexter? Anyway, I think my biggest gripe with the team so far has been the inconsistent effort. You can say all you want about what player is not scoring or how many shots and so forth. But the team does not always even show up. You can fix “positioning” and strategy but you can’t fix effort.
I was hoping this team would at least always come out skate around and HIT people!! I thought these guys where going to make themselves a team that would leave an impression on other teams and they have not. Let’s start with finding guys that will give max effort the whole game, Boulton has many deficiencies in his game but effort is not one of them. Lets get out there and HIT somebody, make them not want to play against us.
jimbo
October 25th, 2010
7:45 am
Little was OK on the wing with a center to set him up. He appears to be trying too hard to make plays. Just skate and shoot, man. Use your talents. But for Freddy Slo-Mo, the wheels are gone and when is his supposedly “great shot” going to be on net? Get him outta here!
glovesave29
October 25th, 2010
7:55 am
Litz…good point about the Yankees hurting Fox’s cause. A Texas / San Francisco WS will still likely pull a larger audience than any show going up against it.
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Rammer is a respected hockey man – who left a pretty good team to take this opportunity. Same with Torch. Results are certainly disappointed so far, but I have hope for the future.
HP Drifter
October 25th, 2010
8:21 am
Never thought I’d see Thorburn getting almost 18 mins a game, oh right. . . .he is now one we are expecting to score goals. Who’d thunk it ?
Flagstaff
October 25th, 2010
8:33 am
docsbro– I saw a bit of Regis Philbin in Angel Soft.
World Be Free
October 25th, 2010
8:47 am
Joe Friday’s 7:04PM post from sunday night hits the nail right on the head. I could not have said it better.
Paminski
October 25th, 2010
9:00 am
Does it mean I’m completely disillusioned when I start looking forward to posts from stendek and Sage?
TrueBlue
October 25th, 2010
9:45 am
The signing of Modin was the most pointless event of the entire summer. A professional tryout? Maybe. A full-on signing? NO SENSE. He has not only been injury plagued his entire career but it is obvious he has lost a step…or a mile in his game. He is slow and does absolutely nothing for this team. I’m sorry, but Dudley was 100 percent wrong in signing him…I kind of see this signing as “trying to help out an old friend” kind of signing. What a mistake.
World Be Free
October 25th, 2010
10:01 am
Modin would have been a good depth player, but not a regular.
sisu
October 25th, 2010
10:25 am
The team is inconsistent to say the least but it is early in the season. I have no idea why they play like crap at home? Maybe they need to stay at a hotel on game days?
Zombie Steve
October 25th, 2010
10:56 am
The Modin signing is beginning to look more and more like cronyism….
GaVaHokie
October 25th, 2010
11:02 am
Mannino, Meyer and Burmistrov not at practice today, according to Viv’s tweet.
Let the speculation begin… Mannino is confirmed, sent to Chicago AHL.
No word on the other two yet.
Mikey
October 25th, 2010
11:03 am
Take a look at this
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/FoxCablevision-Dispute-May-nytimes-56894097.html?x=0
NYC may not get to see the World Series? Even with the Yankees out, I would think this would get some attention to this whole mess.
World Be Free
October 25th, 2010
11:27 am
sisu-you are correct, very early in the season. There are a number of teams playing poorly at home this season, don’t know why.
Darkhorse
October 25th, 2010
11:32 am
Still plenty of time to turn the page and have a great season, but w/o the consistant effort and more than a “head barely above salary cap sea”, this won’t be close to a playoff team.
I just don’t get why there is a lack of trying on half the roster so far.
Zombie Steve
October 25th, 2010
12:32 pm
LOL at Koval-ho getting shown the bench by NJ.
World Be Free
October 25th, 2010
12:32 pm
The turmoil in New Jersey makes me very happy, especially for Alexi Kovalchuk.
GaVaHokie
October 25th, 2010
12:41 pm
Kovalchuk isn’t the problem in NJ… he’s the hardest working player on the team. It’s believed he was scratched to motivate the other players to step it up.
… but yes, it’s very very funny.
GaVaHokie
October 25th, 2010
12:47 pm
Burmistrov missed practice today to deal with personal issues, per C Viv… he’s not going back to Juniors.
Still no word on why Meyer was missing from practice.
kracker
October 25th, 2010
12:58 pm
Hokie…you are thinking that the other NJ players are not suitably motivated? I don’t recall player motivatiion generally being thought of as a problem on the NJ Devils team. Hmmm….what is different in NJ this season from the previous years….?
JB
October 25th, 2010
1:01 pm
I’ve read the theory about motivating the other devils too, but you don’t bench a marquis player that costs that much for motivational purposes unless he’s the one that needs motivating. Kovy screwed up off ice in some manner.
kracker
October 25th, 2010
1:03 pm
I’m pretty sure….well, Trixie isn’t missing (is she?) but, for sure, Trixie gets my vote for going on the milf carton. Call it sort of a test drive.
ThrasherTim
October 25th, 2010
1:07 pm
Tom above said it well. A great effort in D.C. undermined by mind-boggling mistakes in our own zone that led to all 3 Semin goals. We had zero shots in OT – well, we had a 2 on 1 but Meyer totally missed the net while someone else (I think Thorburn?) drove the net. Nice work Freddy.
I am most frustrated by the defense so far. Bogosian shouldn’t be missed this much – he hasn’t played well in awhile. But Johnny O and Hainsey are turning the puck over way too much and Hainsey needs to work on his “slap” shot from the blue line. Every time he shoots, it gets blocked and cleared the other way.
While it’s too early to get panicked, we have got to figure out the defensive situation. You know what else is ‘off’ from last year? Face-off wins. It seem we are a full 6-10 percentage points off to-date on our winning % — or am I dreaming?
Maybe Pavs coming back will really fire up this team. I still think Ramsay/Dudley know what they are doing and won’t let laggards like Modin play this poorly for long without taking action.
And finally — Direct TV coming today to put Dish out of their misery. No effective response from them for a 6-7 year customer. I’ll save $300-$400 over the next 12 months too. Too easy to change over Dish. You will be out of business or bought out in a few years.
Thrashers27
October 25th, 2010
1:12 pm
I believe Wednesday night’s game should begin with Boults promptly grabbing Avery by the collar and pounding him to a pulp. That will take him right out of the game and he won’t have it in him to pester anyone. I’d rather see Kane pound the little turd, but wouldn’t want to risk losing him for the entire game.
World Be Free
October 25th, 2010
1:12 pm
Kovalchuk is the hardest working individual on the Devils. Not sure if his individual hustle translates to team wins. For once, I’d like to see him take a check to make a play that assists on a goal instead of one that results in another Kovalchuk shot.
I don’t hate Kovy, I just like to see the “first class organization” in disaray. The team concept has taken a holiday in New Jersey.
Poop Head
October 25th, 2010
1:16 pm
Look, we all know Koval-choke held the Devils hostage for a big contract, the problem is chemistry between the blue collar workers on the team vrs the one prima donna they have.
The More Things Change…
October 25th, 2010
1:17 pm
• Peverley, Little, Antro and Bergfors without a goal so far.
• Ladd leads all forwards in points and time on ice.
• Thorburn leads in plus/minus rating
• Kane refuses to pass the puck
• Hainsey’s minutes down by 7 per game from past two seasons
• Modin on pace for a -82 plus/minus rating
• Shots against up 4.5 per game (29th in the NHL) and PK percentage (27th overall) with defensive guru behind bench
• Outscored 10-3 in first period of games
• Tied for 27th in goals allowed
• Have yet to out-shoot an opponent
What, me worry?
Zombie Steve
October 25th, 2010
1:18 pm
Thrashers27 – Boults jumping Avery in itself would be worth the price of admission.
The Devils' Advocate
October 25th, 2010
1:23 pm
“the problem is chemistry between the blue collar workers on the team vrs the one prima donna they have.”
Then, kindly account for the 6-1 loss to Buffalo without Kovalchuk at home, and a much better performance with him last night at MSG, when he scored the lone goal?
Zombie Steve
October 25th, 2010
1:26 pm
Jaromir Jagr almost killing Sean Avery –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B53W-7tk4Uw
GaVaHokie
October 25th, 2010
1:32 pm
And finally — Direct TV coming today to put Dish out of their misery. No effective response from them for a 6-7 year customer. I’ll save $300-$400 over the next 12 months too. Too easy to change over Dish. You will be out of business or bought out in a few years.
Yeah, I feel your frustration but I looked at the math too… I’m afraid during months 13-24 you’ll be paying all that $300 back to DirectTV.
I pay $54 a month for Dish Network HD Silver package… it was about $81 for the same program line-up with HD/DVR set up for DirectTV. That’s just for the Digital Starter package, adding HD and DVR.
For about the same price ($84), I could have every channel Dish Network has to offer… I’m waiting it out. As long as I have the games online, I’ll live.
I probably won’t reconsider switching until AT&T U-Verse becomes available in my area. I’m not getting myself locked into anymore 2-year deals.
FormerIslesFan
October 25th, 2010
1:40 pm
GaVaHokie: Just be aware that U-Verse does NOT have Center Ice. It’s my only complaint with that system thus far.
BlueSpark
October 25th, 2010
1:59 pm
Could it be the “activate the D” system this (and the previous) coach employ are leading to turnovers, odd-man rushes against, and out-of-position players? And too many men penalties?
Trixie (Rawhide's Secretary)
October 25th, 2010
2:12 pm
Mr. Kracker – It is very flattering to be remembered and mentioned that way. Thank you, you’re very sweet.
However, I no not meet the maternal and/or age requirements needed to officially be placed into that “classification”.
Hockey Biltong
October 25th, 2010
2:14 pm
Direct Tv has center ice, but it too has been foxblocked….fyi!