Pavelec returns while Mason continues crash course in being Thrashers goalie
The fourth weekend of the Thrashers 2010-11 campaign is upon us, and with it comes the fourth straight Friday/Saturday back to backer. Tonight will see the 3-6-1 Buffalo Sabres returning to Thrasherville for the second time in a week and a half. Tomorrow night will be in St. Louis where the 5-1-2 Blues will be waiting. They blanked the Nashville Predators Thursday nigh behind Jaroslav Halak’s 24-save effort.
Halak is now 5-1-1 with an impressive 1.55 GAA and .939 SV%. He also has a pair of shutouts as well. The Blues’ netminder has benefited from playing behind a defense that has allowed a league-low 25.5 shots on goal per game.
As we in Thrasherville are painfully aware of, not all goalies are so fortunate.
With all that in mind, as the weekend’s action unfolds, one place on the ice I’m going to be paying a little more attention to than usual is the blue area just in front of the Thrashers’ goal. I’ll be doing so for two different reasons on both nights.
The area in front of Chris Mason's goal has been a very busy place this fall. The Thrashers netminder has faced an NHL-high 311 shots so far (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
First off, Chris Mason will be making his ninth start in ten games this evening. But in reality it will be his tenth consecutive game seeing how he played in all but the first couple of minutes of the season opener. He was, however, relieved after one period of play last Friday after Tampa Bay had built a 3-0 lead.
I’ve been hearing and reading concerns that Mason’s high GAA so far this season is the result of being overworked. As stated above, he has started eight of the nine games plus 57-plus minutes of the one he didn’t begin the game in. But it’s not just total ice time at play here.
The veteran netminder has had a crash course these past three weeks on just what being a Thrashers goalie can mean. Mason has had to face an NHL-high 311 shots during the first month of the season. Anaheim’s Jonas Hiller is second on that list with 294 total shots against…and he’s played in 10 games so far.
Third on the list, someone who is very familiar with this extreme SA/G dilemma…Kari Lehtonen, who has seen 283 shots so far during 531:49 TOI. His record is now 5-4-0 with a 2.93 GAA and .908 SV%.
To put the workload of Atlanta’s keeper in some perspective, facing 311 shots in 501:06 TOI is being forced to stop a puck every 96 or 97 seconds. And, if you break his ice time down into 60-minute increments, Mason has been facing 37.3 SA/G.
That’s way too many, (DUH5).
If I may take liberties with a line from the late, great Madeline Kahn in her role as Lili von Shtupp in Blazing Saddles…”Let’s face it boys, this goalkeeper is tired! Give him a break…don’t you know he’s poop?”
In contrast to Mason’s miseries, Halak has faced 179 shots during 424:36 TOI. That means he’s been called upon to kick out the puck once every two 2:25 or so, which equates to having just under 25 shots taken on him every 60 minutes worth of play.
Wednesday night in New York, though, the Thrashers did provide their goalie with a bit of relief, allowing only 28 SOG and Mason was able to turn aside 24 of them in the 6-4 win. This is made even more impressive when you considered that Atlanta was outshot 7-1 in the first several minutes of the opening period. They outshot them 26-21 from that point on.
Limiting the Rangers to but one power play chance certainly helped matters.
Then there will be Saturday night’s return of Ondrej Pavelec, who coach Craig Ramsay has said will be ‘tween the pipes tomorrow night. If so, it’ll be the first time since the young Czech fainting shortly after the puck dropped on opening night.
While very happy that Pavs is well enough to resume play, once back on the ice my focus will once again turn to his performance during games. Opie entered the season with some doubts circling around him regarding his NHL “readiness”, as his career 20-28-7, 3.32 GAA and .902 SV% would attest. But he finished off training camp/preseason on a positive note, stopping 28 of 30 he shots faced in Carolina in his last exhibition start and 29 of 31 before that in Nashville.
However, last Wednesday Opie played in Chicago during a conditioning start with the Wolves. He allowed 3 goals on 22 shots during the 4-1 loss to the Oklahoma City Barons. Not exactly the “springboard” one would want to re-enter NHL play on.
But I temper that with what the whole meaning to the start was for, “conditioning”… to see if he’s physically ready to play again.
Regardless, having him cleared to play again is obviously great news. The sooner he gets back on the ice during an NHL game, the sooner this whole bizarre fainting episode can be placed behind him and things can return to some sense of “normalcy”…for Opie and the team.
If nothing else, having Pavelec back will allow Ramsay to provide Mason with a bit of rest from time to time, as was the plan prior to opening night’s odd occurrence.
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235 comments Add your comment
suzy-q
October 30th, 2010
9:30 am
I really hate the “ole ole” song when a goal is scored. But I thought it was “allez, allez” French for “let’s go, let’s go”. In any case it is a euro-trash soccer chant…not HOCKEY!
While watching some other games on CenterIce I heard it and I think it is a NHL mandate…like changing all the hockey teams’ web sites so they look alike.
Who do we complain to STOP the OLE, ALLEZ ?
World Be Free
October 30th, 2010
9:31 am
Not sure if anyone caught the fact that Buffalo’s captain, Craig Rivet was a healthy scratch last night. They benched their leader, think about that for a moment. Odd that Lindy Ruff was scratched when he was captain in Buffalo, soon after he ended up with the Rangers.
The power of the captaincy.
StateBird
October 30th, 2010
9:47 am
I hate Ole Ole with a passion. Appears that is a universal opinion on this blog and probably with most fans. My guess is that the Thrashers maangement will ignore and do nothing about it.
On a more serious note, attendance continues to trend downward (just over 10,000 on a Friday night). I know that it is still high school football season but don’t recall any numbers this low on a Friday night in recent years. Plus the Slugs usually provide an attendance boost.
I only hope that the league will save Atlanta the same way that they saved Phoenix.
Red Light
October 30th, 2010
10:00 am
Theme for this team, mostly on the positive side, is that no lead is safe, which makes for entertaining hockey. Can’t wait to see what happens when they put together a complete effort for 60 minutes.
Ruff basically said Rivet was playing like crap, and not one of the best 6 d-men on his team right now. What was interesting about that comment was the fact he was even in a three-goal loss to Philly on Tuesday and was hurt and DNP during the Sabres 6-1 win last Saturday in NJ. Must go deeper than what Ruff intimated.
Red Light
October 30th, 2010
10:02 am
If there was more than 7,500 there last night, the other 2,500 must have been playing hide-and-seek.
R. Stroz
October 30th, 2010
10:07 am
Red Light – My BULLHORN accounted for 2,500 in fan noise.
StateBird
October 30th, 2010
10:18 am
You are both right Red Light and Stroz. Nowhere close to 10,000 last night but that was the official number, which is always inflated. Irrespective, the trends (both in seats and announced) are going down.
R. Stroz
October 30th, 2010
10:24 am
Well, what a good morning it is. A good morning is usually contingent on a great evening and what a great evening it was.
Lets see:
1) An impromptu blogger summit at the intersection of “hockey heaven” and the “Club Section” with Red Light, Joe Bob Friday, Brendan, World Be Free, Rawhide , and yours truely….PRICELESS
2) An overtime win over the Buffaslugs…PRICELESS
3) Watching the Buffalug fans slithering out of the building in defeat…NORMAL, yet, PRICELESS
Great seeing and talking to everyone last night.
And just to cap things off, sitting in a Section next to the former Atlanta Flames players…yes, you guessed it…PRICELESS.
Who says hockey players don’t like Atlanta…many stayed.
Smoothie
October 30th, 2010
10:25 am
If the Thrashers mgmnt wants more than 9,000 at a game then its time to change the team slogans around. The Thrashers are becoming a highlight factory with end to end rushes and slick skating wristers. I would say the NBA is a “brutally boring” time. Anyway, they have about 7 or 8 hi-lite reel goals to use for a new commercial spot and I suggest they start working on a new commercial featuring Dan Kamal’s goal-calls. The new campaign should be: The Thrashers Will Make You Faint!!
Smoothie
October 30th, 2010
10:29 am
The Atlanta Thrashers Are…
…Fain-tastic!!
R. Stroz
October 30th, 2010
10:32 am
Smoothie – Despite your to propensity to procrastinate, your late evening posts show you are a true genius.
BUFFALO SUCKS!
lola
October 30th, 2010
10:34 am
RStroz: Nice to see you and Mrs. Stroz — Regarding your Bullhorn: At one point I had my binoculars out to check out crowd and saw Mrs. Stroz with her fingers in her ears. Had to laugh. Good job cheering, my friend!
R. Stroz
October 30th, 2010
10:41 am
lola – Good to see you in CNN before the game. Mrs R. Stroz was amazed you remembered her from the store discussing the white jacket.
I have found that Mrs. R. Stroz places her fingers in her ears alot when my mouth is moving. I just don’t understand why she would want to block the follow of wisdom being shared.
stendek
October 30th, 2010
10:42 am
A few random images from Philips Arena.
http://stendek7.wordpress.com/thrashers-recover-from-last-second-choke-to-clip-sabres-4-3-in-ot/
stendek
October 30th, 2010
10:53 am
Congratulations Thrashers. Way to defend home ice. Rare but pleasant experience. I never cut Kari Lehtonen any slack for brainless blunders so Marshmallow Mason will receive none. A tying goal in final 10 seconds! Are you kidding me? Thrasher netminder had skated behind net then lost focus jousting with a Sabre. Too busy with girlish stick swing to bother stopping puck! Result was pity point for New Yorkers. Damn! Have toned down because old timers on this site know what I would be saying about Sori Letemin at this point! Completely unacceptable. Thrashers did erase 2-0 deficit to win in overtime. The Thrasher keeper was flawless from the second Sabre goal until the third. But…Less than 10 seconds? Hell no! STENDEK
Putting On The Foil
October 30th, 2010
10:53 am
Wish I could say the Thrashers rode into town a whompin’ and a whoopin’, but nice win nevertheless. Maybe the Dawgs will also oblige today.
R. Stroz
October 30th, 2010
10:55 am
OOPS!
Make that “flow of wisdom.”
stendek
October 30th, 2010
11:07 am
A report card:
OFFENSE – Thrashers have displayed tendency to put puck in net. Young guys should only improve over time. Nucleus solid. Several potential high scorers on roster. No super stars so team much harder to defense. More than shutting down one scorer who gets fed puck endlessly. B-.
DEFENSE – Too damn much standing around. Cannot clear puck from zone despite full possession. Far too many times Thrashers are way out of position. Penalty killing is hit or miss proposition. Enforcers desperately needed. Thrashers still not tough enough physically. D-.
GOALTENDING – Chris Mason has been man since Pavs mystery ailment. No Mike Vernon but better than average keeper. Except when he allows goals early and late. Those types of goals deflate all teams. Especially young ones! C-.
COACHING – No real complaints yet. C.
PK – B+.
PP – C-.
Management – F-. Cannot grade any lower!
GO DAWGS! STENDEK
Smoothie
October 30th, 2010
11:10 am
Stroz – I guess “Stroz Cove” sounds too cozy but its like the Thrashers, a complete oxymoron. They play just lousy enough to give the other team “a chance” (to quote C-Ram) and then we destroy their confidence and will like Lucy moving the football on old Charlie Brown! Hmmmm, C-Ram…the Thrashers Will C-Ram Goals Down Your Throat!! As for my tardiness, I was enjoying a late nite run to WH with the lovely K-belle and the Blueland Chronicle twins. As for the “flawless” one, he deserted us like Ilya Kovalsuck when the going got tough!
Spud Webb
October 30th, 2010
11:10 am
Smoothie, NO WAY MILLER was worked on that goal. He f’ed that up, that was soft. Great moves by Burmy, but Miller was on it all the way.
Joe friday, it was a pleasure to meet you.
RedLight, as always thank you. My ears are still ringing from O yelling “lets go thrashers” ahahha, to be 5 again.
Joe, you made some good points during the game, end of the 1st period, what line was that out there????
Spud Webb
October 30th, 2010
11:13 am
Oh, forgot to say this, that d&mn bird, Thrash, promised a picture with the 5 year old. Shot the tshirts out of that d&mn gun, then dipped. COMEON bird, you’re BETTER than that. Nothing like leaving a 5 year old crying over a bird, a bird in which she thought was real, not a costume, especially when she saw him in the program. hahahhahah, “look, he’s a part of the team too”, “does he play??” hahahhahha, classic.
stendek
October 30th, 2010
11:19 am
Other old time fans like myself will understand this. Teams destined for greatness always have positive goal differential! Teams which step out of mediocrity win close games. Thrashers did at Philips Arena in overtime. Despite well chronicled ice bump at 19:03 more or less mark of third period. Great teams rarely get blown out. I consider a rout to be four or more goals. Thrashers rarely have laughers. Great teams post several during a long season. Anyone tell me the last three Thrasher victories by four plus goals? Believe Fred, Barney and Wilma were in attendance at that time. Oh well. Keep on keeping on Thrashers. Where have all the flowers gone? Long time passing. But I digress. STENDEK
Spud Webb
October 30th, 2010
11:23 am
Stendek, wtf are you talking about? They won, get over it. Team destined for greatness?? Who? When and what teams??? Examples please. The Thrashers won last night, move on, doesn’t matter how, they have a winning record. The Thrashers aren’t destined for greatness, they’re simply TRYING TO WIN GAMES & go to the playoffs. All exceptable and attainable goals for this team. Not talking about other teams or times.
Sleep, eat, watch Halloween (70’s version) and get ready for the game tonight.
Curly
October 30th, 2010
11:29 am
Suz-Q and Statebird – You can email Don Waddell and let him know to dump the Ole-Ole Euro soccer song. He really does read and reply to emails (just not Sage’s).
stendek
October 30th, 2010
11:31 am
Thrashers not talented enough to win without total team commitment. Thrashers can defeat ANY team when all players are hitting on all cylinders! Thrashers cannot whip ANY team with lazy or uninspired play. Best system in universe cannot succeed if players fail to play within it! Two of Sabre goals would have been avoided had Thrashers remained true to system. One goal on netminder alone. I see all of you shaking your heads! Sigh. C. Wish this one were much higher! STENDEK
stendek
October 30th, 2010
11:33 am
FLAME ON…STENDEK
stendek
October 30th, 2010
11:40 am
Know what molds champions people? Mental attitude! Hear many on here who seek nothing more than brief playoff appearance. WTF? Sorry folks. Champions set their goals much higher than that! Settle for mediocrity then mediocrity becomes acceptable. Champions abhor mediocrity! Want Thrashers to become Super Bowl Buffalo Bills guys? Bridesmaids but never brides/best men but never grooms? Do not settle for mediocrity! Set sights much higher than that. Okay? STENDEK
Smoothie
October 30th, 2010
11:44 am
What is so bad about the Ole-Ole song, half the team is either European or black. So perhaps we should have a song by Onyx to even things out!! Cheese and rice!! It’s fine, it’s a nice change up to the usual Song 2 or the Zombie Nation song that has been played out big time across America.
Spud – we’ll have to agree to disagree. Goalies eff up to some degree on a lot of goals, but you gotta give credit where credit is due. Burmy made the extra move to freeze Miller mentally and got him to slide over to the post (he didn’t really need to since Burmy didn’t have room to cut back to the right) and opened up his legs for the five hole shot. Even if Miller did eff up, who cares!? You sound like a spurned Sabres’ fan with talk like that! The home team is ALWAYS superior no matter what!
R. Stroz
October 30th, 2010
11:46 am
Spud – Are you going to wear that jersey out for Halloween?
Why don’t you ask the wife to buy you a new, “proper”, jersey for Christmas?
World Be Free
October 30th, 2010
11:52 am
Stendek, at least the Bills GOT TO 4 consec Super Bowls. Never got the ring, but people like you fail to understand the accompolishment of getting that far every year. Just like the Braves and making playoffs so many seasons in a row. There’s no shame in having 1-2 teams better than you in a season. Those Super Bowls were 4 of the best parties I ever went to. life goes on.
The Thrashers are better coached and better prepared to adjust to their opponent’s plans which is something we have not seen in past Thrasher teams, especially John Anderson’s teams. So the coaching does deserve a better grade, Rammer called time out yesterday and got his team in the right direction.
Red Light-you can sit certain players and people rarely take notice. But when you sit your captain, everyone notices especially in hockey. Hockey captaincy carries great value in than in any other sport. And yes, the Sabres’ issues are deep. This all goes back to letting your co-captains (Briere and Drury) walk with nobody there to take their place. They elevated their #3 center (Derek Roy) to #1 center status, and so on. Darcy Regier is responsible for this no-heart team, yet he keeps his job.
Hockey Biltong
October 30th, 2010
12:28 pm
Nice ugly win!!!
D needs to clean up their act quickly.
5 on 5 leaves point men too much space to pass or shoot.
Goalies and D need to work on timing and out passes.
I cringe when I see the interceptions turn into goals.
We are thrusting the dagger deep into our chest when we have those mental lapses.
It is a matter of confidence and playing time.
The Sabres got a couple that way… Kept them in the game.
DWTOO
October 30th, 2010
12:33 pm
Wow – what a game last night. Well the Killer B’s(or whatever from the old SNL) – Bergie, Burma, Buff sent the Slugs to Buzz Off!
So as to not break the streak – Smoothie, WBF, and us will have to meet at the WOB to commiserate the poor first period. Also, the women dressed up as Abby of NCIS fame will have to come in costume again.
waffleboy
October 30th, 2010
12:48 pm
C-Viv tweeting that Little not in St. Louis with the team. Suffered concussion as well as facial lacerations.
Nate
October 30th, 2010
1:03 pm
“Ole, Ole” is NOT a European soccer song!!! It’s by the Bouncing Souls. An American Punk Band for #%# sake! It has just as much right to be played for goals by the home team as some dumb@ss Blur song.
English Teacher
October 30th, 2010
1:13 pm
Complaining about which song gets played after a goal seems a bit spoiled to me. I wouldn’t care if I had to listen to this tool ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kffacxfA7G4 )five or six times a game if it meant we were scoring.
World Be Free
October 30th, 2010
2:00 pm
Does this mean somebody is getting called up?
The Fly maybe?
Alan R.
October 30th, 2010
2:45 pm
No WBF. Modin is back in.
World Be Free
October 30th, 2010
2:52 pm
Ugh
kracker
October 30th, 2010
4:12 pm
Ole ole sucks. I thought Mason got bumped getting back into the crease, plus it was a desperation fling from the corner that ping ponged in. **It happens. As for the crowd, it looked like about 10K to me.
Hockey Biltong
October 30th, 2010
4:44 pm
I’ll take Ole’ Ole’….over rock n roll #2 any day….
Hockey Biltong
October 30th, 2010
4:45 pm
Course I’d rather hear STP or TOOL…….
Thrashers27
October 30th, 2010
6:03 pm
English Teacher,
If you ever, ever make me listen to something like that again, I will hope that my ears can recover and then find out where you live!
Cornbread
October 30th, 2010
6:10 pm
So the Thrashers are going to finish the month of October at .500 or better, most would never have predicted that at the begining of the season. They are also tied for 5th in the conference and have played more road games than all teams tied with or above them in the standings.
Last night was a big win for the Thrashers. They are starting to play with some swagger. The confidence and leadership will continue to grow and the slow starts and mistakes that lead to goals against will decrease. I’m liking what I am seeing, a smart, talented, and hardworking hockey team, a combination never seen in ATL.
Chris Thorburn had a great game last night and is becoming a specialized power forward in the league. I hope he keeps it up.
Big Buff is not moving to wing anytime soon. Good.
rob
October 30th, 2010
7:19 pm
What a game last night! For the record, I went with a group of co workers. Most from Buffalo and now living here. They all are still Buffalo fans and gave me grief to the nth degree. The crowd was decent, but DAMN!!! When Buffalo fans cheer for they team they do it with such abandon and such passion it takes me back to the Aud. Say wjat you want about how rude Buffalo people are, I agree with a lot of it, but they know their hockey and they love their team unconditionally. It got me to thinking afterwards about our attendance issues. Most of those Buffalo fans don’t come out to another Thrashers game. So, which teams have the most transplant fans down here? I think the Thrashers should focus on getting some of these fans to a few more Thrashers games and here’s how. Any fan that buys tickets to watch the same team twice (Buffalo fans and others would fit into this perfectly), can get a pair of tickets to 2 (different) SE division rivals 1/2 off. This will bring hockey fans into the arena, and may win over more of these transplants. If nothing else it gets more people into the stands during division games. If the team owners need money they need to get off their collective A$$ES and get creative. I have no stake in it other than being a fan and I can see ways to do it, so why can’t those with the money see it and ACT on it?!?! IDIOTS
Curly
October 30th, 2010
7:22 pm
English Teacher: That sounds better than Ole-Ole!
Jameson
October 30th, 2010
7:33 pm
Has anyone seen a stream for tonight’s game?
Brendan
October 30th, 2010
7:40 pm
That was a fine summit, in ‘Stroz Cove.’ Not to be confused with the Houston Astros hitting a homerun in McCovey Cove, in San Fran. Go Thrashers tonight, with Pavelec in net! I think we’ll see more than 2:38 out of him this time around.
Smoothie, I am sorry I missed you, too. I thought the Buffalo fans were plenty loud, and … how they typically are, in the 1st period. Pretty quiet 2nd period. They didn’t “wake up” until 7.3 seconds left, when Derek Roy scored on a shot from an impossible angle. Did any of you review it on the “replay” at the 2AM broadcast? Gretzky would trouble scoring from there. Truly, Mason must stop that shot. I credit Derek Roy for having the presence of mind to just “throw the puck at the end” at time was expiring.
By the way, in the 2-4AM “replay,” coming off the commercial to end the 2nd period, the voiceover says, “We now skip ahead into the 3rd period.” And guess what they skipped? That’s right!! The Bergfors goal!!! All we got to see what the replay highlight of it, not the “live action” goal. D’oh!! Gotta love SportSouth.
Derrick
October 30th, 2010
7:54 pm
Link to tonight’s game http://www.channelsurfing.net/watch-nhl-8.html
Derrick
October 30th, 2010
8:08 pm
Well that was supposed to be a link to the game but so far it’s not working.
Zoomo
October 30th, 2010
8:11 pm
Let’s hope Little bounces back quickly.
Anyone notice that prior to the tying goal last night, the shot before the shot that went in, Burmy made a nice block on the shot. Mason definitely was pushing and not getting bumped. He should’ve been focused on the puck!