Pavelec shutout helps Thrashers win one just in the Nik of time
Things haven’t exactly been hunky-dory in Thrasherville during the month of January.
A 3-4-3 record and winners of just one regular season game since New Years had the team clinging desperately to their eighth place position in the Eastern Conference. Key players have been bitten by the injury bug to the point that a M.A.S.H. unit could have been stationed outside of the practice facility at the Duluth Ice Forum.
Not Slater, No Kane, No Mason and most recently, No Toby. All tending to various ailments.
Players like Dustin Byfuglien and Alex Burmistrov have been mired in scoring slumps…Big Buff being held goalless since his overtime game winner in Montreal on the second of January while the rookie hasn’t dented the score sheet since assisting on Byfuglien’s goal during a 3-1 loss in New Jersey on New Years Eve.
And then there’s Ondrej Pavelec…who at times could have sued his teammates for non-support…finally fell to “human” status in the past few weeks, going 3-4-3 with a .898 SV% going into Wednesday’s game against the Washington Capitals.
There were multiple third period leads lost as well a couple blowout defeats that had many fans faces displaying that all-too familiar “Gloom, despair and agony on me…deep dark depression, excessive misery” look.
Rich Peverley congratulates Ondrej Pavelec after the 1-0 win over the Washington Capitals Wednesday night. The victory was only the second in regulation time for the Thrashers since New Years and came just when they really needed one (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Adding to the dark clouds hovering around Philips Arena was this whole mess surrounding the owner’s admission of having lied to us for six years about looking to sell the team. This last little revelation coming via “A.S., LLC Lawsuit 2011”…the latest in a string of seemingly endless legal battles The Great Octocluster has sought to venture into.
Nope…it was not a good month at all.
So, with all this swirling about, the All Star break staring us in the face and the Carolina Hurricanes ridding up our butts, if there was ever a time that the Thrashers really, really…I mean REALLY needed a regulation win, this was it my friends.
Thankfully, they got just that.
Atlanta limps into All Star weekend still sitting in a playoff position thanks to 36 save shutout by Pavelec and one, single, solitary goal by Nik Antropov. For Opie, it was the third goose egg he’s laid upon the scoreboard and the fifth of his NHL career. Antropov’s goal, which came just in the …ahem…”Nik” of time, was scored halfway through the second period and was set up by Fredrik Modin. The secondary assist went to defenseman Ron Hainsey.
That’s right, Antropov, Modin and Hainsey…three of the fastest skaters on the roster teaming up for the only score of the game.
The win gives Atlanta a record of 24-19-9 heading into the break and the 57 points keeps them one point ahead of the Canes, who were in the process of knocking off the New York Islanders 4-2. Seventh place Montreal is two ahead of the Thrashers with 59 points.
Both the Hurricanes and the Habs have played two fewer games, however.
Atlanta also concluded their six game series with division foes Washington with the 1-0 win. They’ll finish with a 4-1-1 record against the three-time Southeast Division champs, including a 3-0-0 record at Philips Arena. The last two home games were shutouts victories by the Thrashers.
One last bit of good news coming from this win…Atlanta’s penalty kill unit continued to shows some signs of improvement. In killing off three Caps’ power plays, Atlanta has successfully worked their way though 12 of the last 14 PK situation over the course of the last five games since allowing 4 power play goals to the Dallas Stars.
There is a lot of work this team has facing it after they return to action next week…and there’s a lot of work the front office needs to do to help them as they continue to battle for a playoffs birth this spring. But these two points earned tonight not only go long way towards that goal, it also ends a very rough month of January on a winning note.
The team needed that…and so did we.
By: Bill Tiller – AJC.com Thrashers Fan Blog
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185 comments Add your comment
Jerome Howard
January 28th, 2011
8:54 am
Kindly drop the vernacular.
That’s not a vernacular that’s a Deurby.
Judgie Wudgie!
World Be Free
January 28th, 2011
9:03 am
Jerome-Without a doubt the best Stooges film.
“Raise your right hand, take off your hat”
LAC
January 28th, 2011
9:13 am
When I even think of asg, it reminds me of a locomotive trying to pull a train without and engine or traction motors… AKA, car without engine/transmission. How far will you go ?
With the LIES they have told, How can they even afford to be seen in public ?
As for team, Modin has been in on two specific wins, In Florida, when Mason stopped something like 50 shots, Modin got two BIG goals for a 4-3 win… And he WAS the reason Anto scored Wednesday night. While he has been average at best, he has had some moments where he has helped us WIN. Hainsey is playing well, has one more year, I say keep. Antro has two years left, and would be expendiable at the right price.
Just need to tighten up and win against NYI/Flames. Those are two very winable games, with Kane back, should help. Lastly, Kudos to Freddie Meyer, he has played very well when he plays and should not be forgotten, he made a great poke check against Oveckin the other night to prevent a
2 on 1, Good pickup.
Buff-n-stuff
January 28th, 2011
9:45 am
Brendan – If ASG paid 80M for the Trashers, I bet they would take 75M to be done with them.
On another note – FEBRUARY is make-or-break month for us. We play nearly all of our games against teams with fewer points than we currently have (9 out of 11 w/other 2 teams being Coyotes and Rangers). If we can go on a run, we could set the table for the home stretch run to the playoffs.
Jerome Howard
January 28th, 2011
10:07 am
Tarantula?
You just shot five holes in a divet.
Who killed Kirk Robin?
Buck Wing
The Gentleman are timeless!
Curly
January 28th, 2011
10:19 am
“She was bre(a)d in ole Kentucky but she’s only a crumb up here, she’s knock-kneed and double jointed with a cauliflower ear!”
Joe Friday
January 28th, 2011
10:27 am
“When I even think of asg, it reminds me of a locomotive trying to pull a train without and engine or traction motors”
To bring a couple themes together from this blog, mabye we can break out the hookah and gather down in the gulch all singing this when Levenson/Waddell et al are gone:
Like a steam locomotive
rolling down the track
He’s gone
He’s gone
and nothing’s gonna bring him back
He’s gone
Or how about Waddell as the monkey in this one:
One day the engineer wanted a bite to eat,
He left the monkey sitting on the driver’s seat,
The monkey pulled the throttle, the locomotive jumped the gun
And did 90 miles an hour down the mainline run.
Big locomotive right on time, big locomotive coming down the line.
Big locomotive No. 99, left the engineer with a worried mind.
Further is coming to the Fox in April, and I’m going to be out of town, bah!
Tom Lysiak
January 28th, 2011
10:36 am
WBF – Huge fan of the Three Stooges here too! Got all of the DVD collection for the years 1934-1954. Great stuff!!
Related observation, the ASG is proof that more than three Stooges is not a better thing.
JB
January 28th, 2011
10:58 am
I’m imagining Disorder in the Court with the ASG clowns playing the roles of the stooges and laughing out loud at my desk. Thanks y’all.
Alan R.
January 28th, 2011
11:24 am
Joe Friday – After Waddell is gone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHhrZgojY1Q
Curly
January 28th, 2011
11:31 am
One of my best performances ever…Slowly I turned
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yJBhzMWJCc
World Be Free
January 28th, 2011
12:14 pm
Jerome/Tom/JB/Brendan and all-
“See the deer, does the deer have any doe? Yeah, 2 bucks”
“We’re trapped like rates; speak for yourself, rodent”.
“Moe, Larry cheese, Moe Larry cheese.”
Tom-1934-54, that has to be quite a collection.
Two of my buddies saw Larry and Moe when they were appearing as a promotion for a new shopping mall in Buffalo. Moe was still slapping Larry even as an old man.
World Be Free
January 28th, 2011
12:18 pm
LAC-the locomotive man
I wish Dawes would have played a bigger part in the season, he hasn’t ciontributed much so far. Modin is what we thought he’d be-a pro at the end of the line, contributing where he can. Always like Freddy, though I would really like to have Matt Walker here too for depth.
JB
January 28th, 2011
12:21 pm
WBF – Man, I bet those two looked ancient and pretty sorry by that point given their age and the punishment they put each other through by then.
Never was the same after the Curly & Shemp eras though…
Tom Lysiak
January 28th, 2011
12:57 pm
WBF – agree on the Matt Walker idea. We could use some toughness. Hell, Moe, Larry and Curly were tougher than some of these guys!!!
Jerome Howard
January 28th, 2011
1:05 pm
Hey Curly – Niagra Falls!
Buff-n-stuff
January 28th, 2011
1:30 pm
Slowly I turn, step by step, inch by inch !!!
Tom
January 28th, 2011
1:41 pm
Interesting article on teams that get the most bang for their bucks. Thrashers are 3rd. Devils are 30th.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hruby/110127_nhl_payrolls
Another interesting fact is the Islanders payroll is only 33 million. They are still carrying Yahin’s buyout on their books. I wonder if Kovy will be the Devil’s Yashin?
Jerome Howard
January 28th, 2011
1:49 pm
Gearon – Am I umday in pig language?
Levenson – You’re umday in any language.
World Be Free
January 28th, 2011
1:51 pm
JB-even after Curly left, never a Shemp fan. Curly could not be replaced.
Tom-wish I was there to see those guys, interesting bio on the Howard family and Larry Fine.
LAC
January 28th, 2011
1:58 pm
Joe… Steam locomotive ? 90MPH ??????????????????
That could never happen in today’s railroad world, Believe me.
Hockey Biltong
January 28th, 2011
2:41 pm
LAC-Downhill grade with a tail wind.
Tom Lysiak
January 28th, 2011
2:45 pm
WBF – Couldn’t agree more. That would have been hilarious even to see an old Moe slap Larry. Also, with you on the Shemp thing. Curly ruled!!!
On the Thrash, I can imagine how hard it is to find the right trade. It worries me that Dudley is even more hog-tied by the less-than-truthful owners. I can’t picture Dudley, Rammer or Torch coming into this situation as bad as it looks with ASG, without some sort of assurances. If not, they’re more screwed than we are as fans.
Brendan
January 28th, 2011
3:18 pm
WBF, maybe Tom Golisano could buy the Thrashers?
Buff-n-stuff, $75 million is an intriguing price. Maybe someone will bite?
Red Light
January 28th, 2011
4:05 pm
Lets see. Buy an NHL team for $75 million, then lose another $21 million per year for the next six years? Where do I sign?
Smitty
January 28th, 2011
5:02 pm
Brendan, Be careful; If Golisano comes here, you get Larry Quinn. No thanks.
Brendan
January 28th, 2011
6:05 pm
Red Light, you buy HERE, on the dotted line. Mwahh, hah, hah. I mean, by that, you’ve made a very fine purchase. You are familiar with our state’s stringent usury laws, correct? Oh my. I seem to have made up a word that doesn’t exist. Just sign here, and the franchise will be yours.
Smitty, EGADS!! If there’s a name that could make me want to hug Bruce Levenson, it’s Larry Quinn! The suggestion of Golisano is OFF THE TABLE.
glovesave29
January 28th, 2011
6:09 pm
Brendan – nice obscure Monty Burns referrence!
Brendan
January 28th, 2011
6:18 pm
Red Light, the way that it’s been explained to me … is … that you “make your money,” (See “profitablity,”) on the re-sale. Generally speaking. So, you buy low and sell high. For the AS, LLC, it’d be buy low, sell even lower, before it gets worse.
General question out there … if a team CANNOT be profitable while fielding a salary at BELOW the FLOOR of the cap, doesn’t that SCREAM for another lockout and/or an AUDIT (Sage of Bluesland, I’m looking in your direction,) of the NHL’s books? Stay with me on this one. Seriously, how do teams lose money, spending at the floor of the cap? Either the fanbase is wildly outraged, screaming for change but not getting any … or the tickets are priced too high … or there’s just no interest in the product. Or some combination thereof.
I can totally see … that with travel budget, advertising, admin staffers, rent, utilities, equipment, facilities, coaches, scouts and players salaries at MAX CAP situation … and no playoffs … that an NHL franchise could lose of tens of millions of dollars in any given season. The owner should be mad, if he’s greenlighted maxed cap, but gotten no playoff money in the return. But barring that situation, shouldn’t there be profit in owning a hockey team? Especially, if it makes the playoffs?
Barry Melrose once said, “The GM has one (1) job in hockey: To make money for the owners. If he doesn’t, bam! He’s gone.” I’m not too sure that’s still the rule around the league. So many teams are seemingly losing money, that it cannot be that most of the league’s GMs just, simply put, “suck.” It’s got to be … that the salary cap is too high. And, that the floor of the salary cap is too high. Or, am I completely wrong?
Brendan
January 28th, 2011
6:19 pm
Glad you caught that, Glovesave29.
Hokie P. Clisters
January 28th, 2011
9:25 pm
My friend Elrod always makes me laugh when he dresses up formally (which ain’t too often). He always called his attire a “lawsuit.” Yesterday I spotted Elrod dressed up again and he called out – hey Hokie, check out the new “lawsuit.” It’s just not funny anymore…………….
ASG’s new law firm is Pitts, Love and Hale. Better known as the Pits of Hell.
Curly – “I got sick of the dough and decided to become a loaf.”
Rawhide
January 29th, 2011
7:42 am
Good morning gang! All Star weekend is upon us, so I decided to take advantage of the break in the schedule to calculate just what the NHL standing would look like if only wins and losses were counted. The results might just surprise you.
Curly (The Original)
January 29th, 2011
1:55 pm
This is the real Curly here. To the fake Curly…. Please come up with an original “Handle”.
R. Stroz
January 29th, 2011
3:16 pm
LAST!
Rawhide
February 4th, 2011
10:58 am
R. Stroz – NNNNnnnnnnnnnnnnnope.