Tonight’s game vs Lightning isn’t a ‘must win’ for Thrashers, however…
Last night I sat down at my desk and performed a little advanced math exercise. Armed with graph paper, a slide rule, calculator and a No. 2 pencil, I figure something out that just might interest you. Now, I’ll spare you the lengthy explanations nor shall I bore you by posting charts and graphs here, instead going straight to the conclusion.
If the Atlanta Thrashers do indeed lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight…whether it be in regulation or overtime…they will still have a mathematical chance to make the playoffs this spring.
Again, there’s really just not enough time and space here to explain the “whats” and “whys” involved with this finding. So, just take my word on this.
With that in mind, placing the “must win game” label on tonight’s matchup with the division rival would not be fitting, in my opinion. However, I must admit that to me there is an extra importance to this evening’s battle with the Bolts. I say that for a couple of reasons.
Evander Kane makes his way around Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman during the 2009-10 season opening game. Kane notched his first NHL point that night by assisting on a Rich Peverley goal and the Thrashers won 6-3. It was also the last time Atlanta beat the Bolts (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)
First off, it’s a matchup with the team currently atop the Southeast Division…six points ahead of and with one game in hand on the Thrashers. In between the two is the Washington Capitals, one point behind Tampa Bay. So if Atlanta is going to make any move at the division title, tonight would be a very good time to begin that push. This is especially true given that in the next four games leading up to the All Star Game, the Thrashers play those two teams three times.
Lightning will strike again for Atlanta this coming Sunday afternoon.
Now I’ll admit right here that while I do think the Thrashers will indeed make it to the postseason this spring, I don’t really hold much hope that they’ll do so as division champs.
But stranger things have happened in sports, ya know.
Tough as it might be even with a win against the Lightning tonight, it’d almost be an impossibility if they find themselves even further behind a week from now. Not mathematically, mind you…but realistically speaking.
Another reason I am placing a little more emphasis on this game versus your average, run of the mill January tilt with a division foe is because of the impact it may have not only in the standings…but between the ears as well. The Thrashers have lost nine straight against this Tampa Bay team dating back to the beginning of last season. The last time the Lightning failed to take two points away from a game with Atlanta was opening night 2009 when they fell 6-3 in Philips Arena.
They are rapidly becoming to the Thrashers what Philadelphia and Boston were for several years recently. After a while it’s only natural for coaches and players to start wondering just what in the heck it’ll take to finally beat that #$%@ team. And eventually, that sort of run starts to work against a team mentally. And if one team comes out of the locker room with any such self-doubt going up against any NHL squad, that other team has already taken the first strides towards the win before the puck is even dropped.
So with all that in mind, while it’s certainly not something I would classify in the “must win” column, a win tonight would surely go a long way to help the Thrashers situation both in the standings and psychologically. A
And that would be a very good thing indeed…any way you add it up.
New Rawhide’s Rowdies Ticket Deal – Feb. 13 vs. Hurricanes
On Sunday February 13, we’ll welcome in division rival Carolina for an afternoon matinee. The Thrashers organization has been kind enough to extend another Rawhide’s Rowdies offer for you, the readers of this blog. For this game, we’ll gather in sections 203 and 204 and the ticket price will be only $26.00.
But wait…there’s more.
For those of you who will be taking advantage of this deal, you’ll also receive a free Thrashers replica jersey like the one pictured to the left as well. It has Zach Bogosian’s name and No. 4 on the back.
Simply call Karin Beckman at 404-878-3781 or e-mail her at Karin.Beckman@atlantaspirit.com to procure your tickets and jersey today. Act quickly as there’s only a limited supply available.
Also remember that you can still get good deals on this month’s games by simply clicking —>HERE<– and using promo code RAWHIDE.
Get your tickets, get your free replica jersey and get your butts down to Blueland!
By: Bill Tiller – AJC.com Thrashers Fan Blog
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206 comments Add your comment
World Be Free
January 21st, 2011
10:28 am
Smoothie-Gagne was supposed to be Stevie “Y” masterful pickup in the off season. Nyet!
I like the idea of getting Versteeg and I have no issue giving a number one to get him. The future for this team is now, they do not have the luxery of waiting to draft another kid to bring him up too early or in 2-3 years. The size of the crowd at last night’s game should be an indicator that fans are getting weary of the situation. Versteeg and his ex-Hawk mates would get us over the top. Make the deal now and give up the whatever in the middle of 1st round pick we might have for player like Versteeg that can do alot NOW, today, next game not sometime in the future.
SomaAtl95
January 21st, 2011
10:29 am
Thanks Smoothie. To talk to a Troll you have to use language they understand. Its a lot like when I start “Baaahhhhh”-ing to sage when we are all called Sheep.
Sheeple pride, baby!
ThrasherTim
January 21st, 2011
10:29 am
I don’t know whether to be encouraged that we played a tight game with solid team play with key players out…or to be extremely ticked off that TB won a game in which we totally controlled play and they got 2 extremely fluky goals. I think the latter actually. 3 losses on home ice in a row does not help attendance issue.
We have I think, 6 OT/SO losses within the division and basically 1 SO win in the division only against FL earlier this week. Turn half of that around and we are right in the mix for the division. That’s the positive. The negative is continually not getting 2 points when we take leads to start the game and taking leads into the 3rd period.
By the way, Stewart was the worst guy on the ice last night by far, goal notwithstanding. Absolutely brutal getting pucks off the boards and out of the zone. He needs a fire under him badly.
Also, did anyone see the NHL on the FLY segment where Kevin Weekes kind of called Buff out on D and said he needs to get tougher in front of our net? I think we can settle down on the Norris Trophy talk at this point.
Red Light
January 21st, 2011
10:41 am
Smoothie:
Buff had the OT game winner in Montreal on Jan. 2.
Smoothie
January 21st, 2011
10:55 am
“I like the idea of getting Versteeg and I have no issue giving a number one to get him. The future for this team is now, they do not have the luxery of waiting to draft another kid to bring him up too early or in 2-3 years. The size of the crowd at last night’s game should be an indicator that fans are getting weary of the situation”
WBF – I tend to agree with this. This team has enough speed, grit and character to be good for awhile. But we need more skill on the wing especially and Versteeg would be a good fit with his old Hawks’ mates. We don’t have enough players with a quick trigger and I don’t see how drafting b/w 15-20 is going to help us net that immediately. Versteeg’s career shooting percentage is over 12% so he’s not a fluke. And he’s only 24/25 so we’d have plenty of time to work out a LT deal.
Smoothie
January 21st, 2011
10:56 am
“Buff had the OT game winner in Montreal on Jan. 2″
Red Light: okay, no points since January 2nd. Unacceptable.
World Be Free
January 21st, 2011
11:01 am
Smoothie-yeah he’s our guy and I think Duds knows the sense of urgency of getting a guy like Versteeg in here.
Tim-Stewart is on the top of my sh_t list, to me, the guy has little value half the time. He needs to be kicked in the buck too often. Atlanta is a second chance for him, he should appreciate where he has been enough that he does not need continual motivation. The guy is a monster, he should be body slamming the opposition. Defenseman should fear him baring down on them but that’s not the case. He has too many Todd White tendencies.
Joe Friday
January 21st, 2011
11:04 am
“contrary to Joe’s opinion, he’s been fantastic, but I have no earthly idea what he was doing on those two goals against last nite.”
Sigh. Enstrom is fine going up ice, clearing the puck out of our zone when not challenged and he’s great. offensively = good. defending in our zone = liability. As you noticed last night, he was standing there doing nothing on both goals, he is not good defensively when we’re getting rushed, he never has been. That’s why I think he’s a liability on our top line, as opposing teams have their way in our zone, especially the teams with larger forwards who forecheck and manhandle him. Mabye it’s because I watch most our games at home recorded on DVR and I always replay the goals for and goals against to see who did what. I had to replay the first Stamkos goal 5 times to figure out how exactly that went in.
Weekes called out Buf for not being tough in our zone? Weekes is a jackhole, first of all, but he also proves himself to be clueless with that comment (I’ll trust you that he made it). Refs blew another huge one when Buf almost decapitated a Tampa guy in front of our next late in the OT, thought for sure we were going a man down on that one, clearly cross checking, if not interference, if not roughing. He’s the only d man we have that throws the lumber in our zone. Good golly.
As long as I’m on a rant, I’m calling out Dudley. He’s pulling a Waddell here and fiddling while Rome is burning, we’ve seen the need for help for quite some time and this is reminiscent of Waddell fiddling away that one season when the injuries decimated us and he did nothing. Get someone in here yesterday not named Dawes, Stapelton, Machachek . . . none of them are NHL talent! And Cormier is showing not much either, he’s the key that we got in the Kovy trade? Mabye one day, but it ain’t this day . . . Joe Friday not happy this Friday, I think it’s my ire getting geared up for the Pack on Sunday.
Joe Friday
January 21st, 2011
11:11 am
“okay, no points since January 2nd. Unacceptable.”
that’s the point. Teams have figured out you shut down Buf and you shut down the Thrash. We’ve won only two games during this stretch that he’s been shut down and both against Florida 3-2 and one was that flukey one we scored twice with the goalie pulled. Why are clubs keying on Buf? Cause they’re not afraid of leaving Enstrom open, he’s not a game changer, Buf is.
We need a top line d partner for Buf that’s a threat and good in our zone, put Enstrom down on the 2nd pair where he doesn’t have to worry about defending against the other team’s top lines, and get us a forward in here, there should be plenty of cap space to make both moves.
Tom Lysiak
January 21st, 2011
11:14 am
Gotta agree on the Versteeg thing. He is young. He is a known quantity. As we saw with Boris, you never know what the next number one will become (see Anthony Stewart as well!).
Pass on Arnott. If we bring someone else in, zero in on toughness. That is sorely lacking around here. IMHO….
Last, is it purely coincendental that Buff’s slide has been going on since they announced the contract negotiations had “opened”? I know the league has made adjustments to his game, but I was just wondering if it was something besides the adjustments and small injuries?
Smoothie
January 21st, 2011
11:16 am
Joe F – Enstrom has bad games. Every D-man does. Is he the ideal Topo 2 d-man? Probably not, but he is hardly a “liability” in our D-zone. Do you not realize how many times he gets to loose pucks before the opposition forecheck ensuring that the biscuit keeps moving so we don’t get trapped? That’s as important as tying someone up in front of the net. The problem is that there are only 3 d-men on this team with the mentality of cutting the puck mover off at the wall by pinning him so the other d-man or C can swoop in and keep the puck moving: Enstrom, Meyer and Sopel. If our bigger d-man could actually figure out how to do this more consistently and use their body for leverage as well as Enstrom does, we would not be 2nd worst in the league in SA and GA. I don’t know why you refuse to admit how good Enstrom is at winning wall battles, using leverage to free pucks, absorb hits and keep the puck moving etc. Weekes is right about Buff. He needs to work harder in front of our net pushing guys around and tying up would-be rebound hawks rather than wait for the puck to appear and than bat it around aimlessly or try to scoop it up and move it out of harm’s way. How many times lately has he cost us or nearly cost us in OT by turning the puck over in front of his own net from overhandling. We’re willing to admit that Toby Enstrom is never going to be as dominant as he could be due to his size, but when are you going to concede that he is the best d-man on this roster and probably to have ever suited up for Atlanta…not that that says all that much!
Smoothie
January 21st, 2011
11:23 am
Fodder for discussion:
Record of the team when Buff scores a point versus when he is held off the scoresheet:
Scoring: 18 – 8 – 3……16 G, 25 A in 29 gms with a +13
Scoreless: 5 – 10 – 5….scoreless in 20 gms with a -8 cumulative
Interestingly, in January, Buff has been shooting more during his slump average over 5 shots per game on goal compared to his season long avg of just over 4 (4.1). Perhaps he is pressing not only for the team’s sake but to elevate his negotiating leverage even further so he can cash-in with the new LT deal. Or it is weighing on him that he doesn’t want to commit to ATL LT and we’ll be right back where we started from next winter with another failed attempt at locking up our best player.
ZAvalanche
January 21st, 2011
11:29 am
Not a bad game, just unfortunate. There has never been a player in the league that has not given up the puck at a bad moment. At least you got a point. I have said and will keep saying this, Thrashy is doing just fine. Worried about my Avs though, we just traded for “Flash” and he has been killing it but is now out for the season with pulmonary emboli, so yeah, clots in both lungs. Brutha is only 26, wish him well. So chalk that up to another addition to the league’s team with the most man-games lost, argh!
@Iron Lol, nice treatment of the troll, made my morning. And yeah, when I was playing in 4 leagues at the same time it was very tiring but damn was I in good shape and got better so much faster – it is true what they say about ice time and how important it is.
I kind of like the trolls. Gives me great pleasure to blast them.
Smoothie
January 21st, 2011
11:30 am
More fodder for the discussion mill:
When Byfuglien scores a goal, the record of the team is 11 – 5 – 0 and Buff has 6 GWG. Here is the month by month breakdown:
Oct: 3 – 1 – 0 with all 3 GWG
Nov: 6 – 0 – 0 with 2 GWG and the game-tying goal at COL I believe
Dec: 1 – 4 – 0 w/ 0 GWG and a combined score of 7 GF vs 17 GA in 4 L
Jan: 1 – 0 – 0 w/ GWG as Red Light pointed out at Montreal in OT
ZAvalanche
January 21st, 2011
11:31 am
Smoothie, Buffy is the best move the Thrashers have ever made, Pavs is a close second. Though I could argue ditching Kovy was the best move too.
Sage of Bluesland
January 21st, 2011
11:35 am
“As long as I’m on a rant, I’m calling out Dudley. He’s pulling a Waddell here and fiddling while Rome is burning, we’ve seen the need for help for quite some time….”
Here is the beginning of Joe-Bob-Friday and his knowing “all along” about our faux-GM….It feels like deja-vu all over again, doesn’t it?
Oh well, I still see this ‘tension’ in Thrashersland….I don’t know why, as you get what you certainly pay for….It’s too bad there are so many of you still paying for an inferior product run by offensively inferior leadership….
I wonder who has been saying this “all along”? Hmmm…
TrueBlue
January 21st, 2011
11:35 am
Guys, Byfuglien is obviously playing hurt…Do you all not recall, on at least 2 occasions, when he slid awkwardly into the boards?? If this wasn’t his first ever NHL all-star game, I would say that he would sit it out. Unfortunately, for him and us, he can’t. Did you all see last night how he fell at least 3 times? Also, one time he fell while backchecking a guy, he sat on the ice for a good 5-10 seconds with a look of extreme discomfort. The curse of Thrasher players playing while hurt strikes again.
SomaAtl95
January 21st, 2011
11:43 am
How about some mouthwash Sage? I can smell what you’re spewing and I have 2 words for you – breath mint.
Smoothie
January 21st, 2011
11:45 am
“Guys, Byfuglien is obviously playing hurt…Do you all not recall, on at least 2 occasions, when he slid awkwardly into the boards??”
TrueBlue – I was saying the exact same thing to my buddy as we walked back to the car last nite after the game. I definitely think he’s been hampered by this groin tweak or hamstring strain that occurred from multiple awkward collisions into the boards. However, he probably should work on getting the puck to teammates for open shots rather than continue to fire indiscriminately at the net. 35 SOG in the last 7!
Joe Friday
January 21st, 2011
11:45 am
“Record of the team when Buff scores a point versus when he is held off the scoresheet:
Scoring: 18 – 8 – 3……16 G, 25 A in 29 gms with a +13
Scoreless: 5 – 10 – 5….scoreless in 20 gms with a -8 cumulative”
exactly what I’m saying, as he goes, the club goes. Now, give me the same team record with the stats on Enstrom.
That first one was the worst, I thought our season was over right there. But I do think it’s more clubs keying on him that is shutting him down, they’re not afraid of Enstrom as they key in on Buf.
Smoothie
January 21st, 2011
11:52 am
“all along”?
I’m wondering why this is in quotation marks. “All along” you’ve been annoying with your useless rant about how privileged we are to pay for an inferior product year after year after year.
And year after year after year, I pay far below market prices to watch NHL hockey in the city of Atlanta. Not my fault our ownership sucks and won’t spend their money wisely. Instead, they invest $120 M on an aging jump-shooter who will become the next albatross around their neck in a matter of two years. Mark it down. So stop pointing the finger at hockey fans and start pointing it where it should be pointed: the ASG.
The same argument you make time and time again, on deaf ears by the way, about overpaying for an “inferior product” and “subsidizing incompetence” could be used in a lot of markets yet people keep going to games becasue IT’S ENTERTAINMENT!! If you don’t like it, fine. Go watch some movies or drop some coin on getting pleasured at a local spa for all I care, but why must you continue this tilting at windmills.
I could go to the Hawks blog and belittle them incessantly for paying to watch a team that is going to lose AGAIN in the 2nd round of the playoffs because they can’t beat Orlando or Miami in a 7-game series. But you know what? People are still going to go an watch basketball because they derive some degree of pleasure and entertainment from it. Are you over there doing the same thing? Probably not. Stop this childish message board vendetta against a guy who isn’t even making personnel decisions anymore…it’s just pathetic. Acutally, it’s not, it’s an illness because I feel no sympathy for you SOB.
GaVaHokie
January 21st, 2011
11:53 am
Little and Bergfors have quick triggers… what would be nice is someone whose highly creative like Ales Hemsky who can feed them the puck. If I’m spending a 1st round pick, I’m going for Hemsky over Versteeg.
Smoothie
January 21st, 2011
11:57 am
It’s not Enstrom’s responsibility to win games for us Joe. If the forwards can’t step up and score more, then we’re screwed. Enstrom is the “stay at home” / set-up D-man. What is so hard to understand about that? Guess who has 11 points in the last 10 games by the way? He’s doing his part. And he has 2 G and 4 A in the 4 games we’ve won during that stretch. I don’t think Enstrom is the problem. It’s the fact our forwards aren’t good enough to score more when the chips are down.
Joe Friday
January 21st, 2011
12:01 pm
Smoothie, I guess the stats don’t look good for Enstrom? So he has 11 pts in last 10 games, but our record in the last 10 games sucks. My point is, Buf is the game changer. Buf is the catalyst on the team, not Enstrom. Enstrom’s been here all along and our d has sucked. That’s not all due to Buf, it’s due to Ramsay’s system that allows Buf to attack from the blue line.
I
World Be Free
January 21st, 2011
12:03 pm
Joe Friday-I think we are all a bit surly right now, mostly because we have not seen a good Thrashers effort for 60 minutes in the month of January. Buff and Toby’s names come up, but frankly I can’t think of any Thrasher that has played really well the past few weeks. In general, what we are looking for is the same Thrasher team we saw in November and December. Now it is up to the coaches and captains to make that happen. With all the issues, I still believe we have lost any physical edge we had, the fore-check is non-existent and we cannot get the puck out of our end on a consistent basis.
I think trades for established players are going to be hard to come by. The deadline will consist of moving unwanted players in the last year of their contracts-rentals. Several of us agree on the value of Versteeg, but it Tronna really going to give him up now? If they do, they are signaling the end of their season before Feb 1. In their case, if they slip it just means Boston will have 2 higher draft picks in June. I am sure Dudley is looking, but so is every other GM since most teams are still in the hunt. I thought Buffalo would have a sell off at the deadline, but they looking more and more like a playoff team. More buyers and fewer sells means the price to improve will be steep.
Based on current conditions, I’d say the answers lie from within.
Smoothie
January 21st, 2011
12:08 pm
I haven’t run the numbers on Enstrom yet, but I’d say that he was a big reason why we even won 4 of the last 10 games, especially against BOS, MTL and FLA during the comeback. Nice try though!
Smoothie
January 21st, 2011
12:11 pm
“Buf is the catalyst on the team, not Enstrom. Enstrom’s been here all along and our d has sucked”
I don’t think we’re arguing the same thing. I’m not trying to dispute that Buff is the catalyst of our offense. But that has become the problem. What you are refusing to concede is that it is not Enstrom’s job to pick up the slack entirely, although he has done a pretty decent job during a rough ten games (one of the few bright spots IMO). For every goal that Byfuglien has, there are probably 2 instances per goal that Enstrom has saved Buff’s butt for a bad pinch and broken up a 2 on 1 or a potential odd-man rush. Enstrom can’t be as offensive minded as he’d like because Buff is still making risky plays even though he is a) hurt and not as effective and b) slumping and refusing to pass.
Joe Friday
January 21st, 2011
12:13 pm
well, if you say so, Smoothie, if must be true
)
“I think we are all a bit surly right now”
Damn straight, Skippy. But the effort was fine last night, I thought, except for the first couple minutes of the 3rd. They play that way every night and they’re fine. As long as we still have Toby, that is!
Joe McGrath
January 21st, 2011
12:19 pm
@ All Rawhiders: We was robbed. The refs blew it for us. But as I told McGrath Jr., who was snivling how unfair that game was as he headed off to slumber, “what can you do about it–what’s done is done–at least we got a point.”
TrueBlue- You’re spot-on, Buff has a lower-body injury which is preventing him from getting off his shot. His shoot-a-bility has deminished since his first spill into the boards.
SOB-Rome is indeed burning and we need a firetruck RIGHT FREAKING NOW. We can’t wait until Feb. 28, or we’ll be in 9th, 10th or 11th spot. We need a good, big tough scoring power winger and a big, mobile defenseman. But we’ll probably only get a forward. I watched a lot of Preds games last year (I’m in there market) and he’s a gamer, but we need speed and toughness that can score. I’d take Verteeg. And if I were Duds and I was on the phone with Burke, I’d ask for Kaberle…I’d mortgage the farm for both. IMHO, with those two guys, we would have a better chance of making playoffs and would probably go deep.
Speaking of defensemen, all y’all who know more about hockey tactics than me may disagree, and I’m not seeing the games live so I don’t get a lot of the action behind the scenes, but I think our D pairings last night were very admirable. Sopes was a awesome–I don’t know if he can hold up on 2nd pairing the rest of the season, but he and Johnny O looked extremely comfy together. Meyer should stay dressed, he is better than Bogo…for now. But if Kaberle were our second D man—wow.
World Be Free
January 21st, 2011
12:24 pm
Wow, we went almost an entire 1/2 day without any references to Bogosian until Joe McGrath brought him up. Bogo has the day off-until now!
ZAvalanche
January 21st, 2011
12:34 pm
Smoothie, Enstrom is WELL above the average for goals and assists. His points are almost 27 more than the average D-man, topped only by, wait for it………….Buffy. He is killing it this year. I can’t find any stats, also don’t have the time, on how often the Thrash win when he scores.
Smoothie
January 21st, 2011
12:46 pm
Z – on how often we win when Buff scores?? I just posted it above!
Enstrom vs Buffy (records when they score a point vs not scoring)
Enstrom) 16 – 9 – 3 (+7) vs 7 – 9 – 5 (-5)
BigBuff) 18 – 8 – 3 (+13) v 5 – 10 – 5 (-8) w/ 6 GWG
Obviously Big Buff is more important to our offense, but Enstrom protects against BB from being a total liability on defense. Buff plays a risky game and gets away with a lot of stuff a la Kovy due to his power, speed, stickhandles etc. But Tobes is almost always there to save his a$$ when he makes a bad decision. Since they are on the same pair, it’s no surprise that the records are similar for success when one or both of them gets on the scoresheet. Obviously this isn’t a great way to compare them. However, I’d say that the numbers show Toby is less of a liability (-8 vs -5) when either of them are not scoring. It’s a great complimentary pair, but sometimes I wonder if we should mix the pairings more to get Buff matched-up against weaker competition. Hains/Buff would work well against lower lines for sure.
ThrasherTim
January 21st, 2011
12:57 pm
I disagree with the post about “Rome is Burning”. I think Duds and Rammer had chalked up the late fade in December due to the rigorous schedule. Then we won our next 2 games as the New Year turned in Montreal and at Panters – two road wins. Not until the brutal Toronto game and the games against Philly and Dallas (two great teams as it looks now) did we start the really think things were a problem. Granted, not many regulation wins or any wins at all lately, but hanging in there despite lots of line-up changes and guys banged up.
Don’t get me wrong, none of the trends are good – PK is trending down, Man Games Lost to Injury are Trending Up, Goals Scored Per Game Trending Down. Place in standings trending down. I just don’t think some of what everyone here is asking for is realistic. There are too many teams in the mix for the same things and we don’t have a lot to give up right now. Now, if we lose at home to a depleted NYR team Sat. night and lose in reg again to TB Sunday…all bets are off.
We played a solid game last night despite not getting it done. NYR and Montreal are really banged up and have tough schedules while ours (on paper) gets really favorable in Feb. I just don’t think Rome is burning…just smoldering.
Iron League 13
January 21st, 2011
1:07 pm
Happy to make you happy, ZAv. I eat trolls, they’re tasty.
Not trying to step on anybody’e toes, but the Enstrom liability on D….(shrugs?). I’ve seen Toby deftly block plenty of shots and even maintain possession off said shot and advance the puck ON HIS STICK (of course) out of our end. I gotta say, that’s phenomenal to see. He’s a little guy on D, he plays D fitting his size and capabilities. So he’s not exactly a banger and that’s almost irrelevant when you see what he does that few others do. IMO he’s absolutely one of the best blueliners in the game worldwide. I can’t think of another d-man better than he is with the puck right now and I gotta agree with whomever said Buff has benefitted from being paired with him, cuz IT’S TRUE.
Just remember I said this…
If in ten years Enstrom has maintained his health and level of play, he will be considered a legend and a shoe in HoFer.
Iron League 13
January 21st, 2011
1:11 pm
Speaking of another phenom, how bout Smoothie? Your stats are amazing. Your like Mr. Wizard. I mean that in the nicest of ways.
Iron League 13
January 21st, 2011
1:20 pm
Well admittedly the HoFer bit is a bit of jumping the gun, but I see Toby’s play as being boss, so…I wouldn’t be surprised
Smoothie
January 21st, 2011
1:27 pm
Iron League (aka former artist known as razorneck) – thanks for the kudos. Just trying to add to the discussion and do my best to prove to Joe that Toby is one of the best in the world, not just the NHL.
Pound for pound, he has to be the best d-man in the world for sure. I’m always amazed at how good his balance is and how good he is at using his strong legs to win battles. His awareness and IQ are off the charts and his stick is extremely quick even though it’s probably taller than he is!!
Anyway, it’s nice to see Toby get the ASG recognition of his peers for being so very good at what he does. I’m doing another comparison Iron League that will blow your mind! 
Not really, but it just speaks to how valuable that pairing is to our fortunes.
Hockey Biltong
January 21st, 2011
1:43 pm
Sage, I applied for president of your fan club, but was told the position was never open. I wonder why???
Cornbread
January 21st, 2011
2:02 pm
The Atlanta Thrashers were by far the better team on the ice last night – the entire game. They lost. Get over it.
The “tension” is in the blogs and not in the locker room. Don’t give in to the hockey clueless SOB.
I can not believe there is actual talk about the Atlanta Thrashers’ two All-Star Defensemen. Let me say that again… Atlanta Thrashers’ two All-Star Defensemen. When has Atlanta ever sent a D-man to the All-Star game? Both of them would get top line minutes on any team in the NHL right now – even Chicago.
Weekes was trying to make a point about Buff having more fire around his net. That may be true, but his analysis was off on last night’s two Stamkos’ goals. Both were flukes. He’s a great player. He makes stuff happen. Buff is physical in his own end and shows that fire. Did everyone miss the play where he threw St. Louis off the puck like a rag doll? Toby does not have to be physical. He’s Lidstrom Light and the smartest guy on the ice.
The Thrashers played a great game last night. Every one of them. They played their system to a T, scored a beautiful PP goal – with an assist from Sopel! – and killed off Tampa’s numerous and lethal PP chances. They were blocking shots – did everyone miss Sopel’s on a knee slide across the ice to block a PP shot? They were dumping the puck in deep to break Tampa’s horribly boring 4 and 5 man neutral zone trap. They cycled and controlled the puck deep in the zone. Burmistrov had his best game in weeks centering Thorburn and Boulton – Greek Gods Light. Dawes, Stapleton, and Meyer all hustled up and down the ice and played great filling in. Cormier looked good on left wing. Bergfors – committed to play Ramsay’s game. Hainsey – stellar.
The Atlanta Thrashers are not very far off from where they were in November. In fact, last night they were as good if not better. Lighten-up folks the “tension” is starting to get to you!
Sage of Bluesland
January 21st, 2011
2:10 pm
“…If in ten years Enstrom has maintained his health and level of play, he will be considered a legend and a shoe in HoFer.”
Wow. Just wow.
Oh well, if the hoof, errr “shoe”, fits then wear it…
(There is no way on this earth that lil’ Toby Enstrom goes anywhere near the hockey hall of fame…well, except as a paying customer like you and me…Now take that to the bank, as it’s a real “shoo-in”…)
Sage of Bluesland
January 21st, 2011
2:10 pm
“When has Atlanta ever sent a D-man to the All-Star game?”
The first time was our first year, Petr Buzek….Learn your history, please…
Iron League 13
January 21st, 2011
2:17 pm
Smoothie, yeah I think we’ve been on the same page so far as Toby’s concerned before. He is undeniably as fundamentally sound as anybody on the Thrashers. IMO, NO ONE excels at their respective positions like he does in this roster.
As a former defensemen, I truly admire what he does and wish I could’ve come close to imitating him back in the day. Not a chance. I was a guts before skills kinda guy, which I can assure you wasn’t a matter of decision on my part. Anywho..basically, if moderately hockey knowledgable people pay attention to him in the games they would likely conclude that he is the epitome of a “all little things” kinda guy, I’m always entertained watching him do all the little things so skillfully and intelligently, the guy doesn’t have to rack up any points or make a play worthy of an On the Fly clip to have such an impact on this team. His play transcends stats (that’s not a jab at you in any way), he keeps us in plenty of games, again, with all the little things.
I really do like the statistical validation.
Matt
January 21st, 2011
2:19 pm
Holy Guacamole…just when you think the ASG is getting it together, comes this story in the AJC by Chris that the “owners” (again that term is used very loosely here) have been trying to sell the Thrash since 2005!! All those denials about not wanting to sell the team sure ring hollow today, don’t they?
And now ASG expect us to support this franchise? I’ve got tix for the Rangers game tomorrow, but I don’t know if I’ll be going again at this point given the absolute failure to support this team from ownership, i.e. extensions for Buff, Ladd etc, getting another top 6 forward or D-Man and the flat out lying from ownership.
Smoothie
January 21st, 2011
2:19 pm
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=550068
Sage – you really are that dense to deny the fact that Toby has a world-class game and HoF potential. But I don’t need your opinion as many astute observers extol praise upon the small Sweded with a big game.
Iron League 13
January 21st, 2011
2:21 pm
Sage, read thoroughly and you’ll notice that I softened up on that in another post.
Tell you what though if you wanna step on my toes before reading, go ahead. I’m hungry and I’m not doing much. Plus you seem momentarily ostentatious and full of unwarranted gusto. Wanna go?
Iron League 13
January 21st, 2011
2:24 pm
machismo, bravado, rather…whatever
Sage of Bluesland
January 21st, 2011
2:28 pm
“…And now ASG expect us to support this franchise?…”
Indeed. I suggest all of the sheep around here read that story on the front page of the AJC very, very carefully.
(and still you put your hard-earned dollar into their uncaring pocket?! There IS a word for that…but you wouldn’t like it….)
Oh my goodness, the extolling of lil’ Toby as having hall of fame potential continues…There IS a word for that, too…It’s pretty similar to the former…
Silly sheep….Do you feel at all foolish? You should.
Iron League 13
January 21st, 2011
2:32 pm
Guess not. Fine, I think I’ll take my kid to the playground since he suddenly wants to do that. My guess is you’re another trolling chickenbleep and you just pulled a David Copperfield or you’ll pull a Todd Bertuzzi on me in a sec and I’m gone. Either way, your a punk.
Iron League 13
January 21st, 2011
2:33 pm
when I’m gone rather.
Iron League 13
January 21st, 2011
2:34 pm
Anyway, you can’t see this, but I’m flicking you off.