Archive for March, 2011

On February 18, Mark Stuart learned that he and teammate Blake Wheeler were being traded from the Boston Bruins to the Atlanta Thrashers. The two made their way out to the Canadian Rockies where their new team was preparing to play the Edmonton Oilers the next day.

The outcome of that particular game didn’t go the way Stuart and his new team had hoped as they lost to the last place Oilers. However, it didn’t take long for the Thrashers to understand just what they were getting with this 6’-2”, 215-pound defenseman from Rochester, Minnesota as he went toe-to-toe with 6’-4”, 217-pound Jean-Francois Jacques.

Stuart’s a fighter…and he’s not afraid to stick up for himself and his new teammates as well.

As Philadelphia’s Dan Carcillo can attest to, Mark Stuart isn’t one to shy away from a fight. The Thrashers defenseman has dropped the gloves 4 times in the 16 games he’s played since coming over from the Boston Bruins (Photo by Michelle Rivers)

One other …

Continue reading Mark Stuart willing to fight for bright future in Atlanta »

When Tim Stapleton reported to the Thrashers squad last fall he knew he had a chance to prove himself. But he also knows he cannot afford to take his playing days in the NHL for granted.

After 25 games played, things weren’t going quite as he’d hoped. He had zero goals and only one assists…a secondary helper on a Nik Antropov goal during an overtime loss to the Rangers in January. Then, late last month, the Atlanta Thrashers placed Stapleton on waivers.

But the 5’-9”, 185 pound native of Illinois didn’t hang his head about the situation. Instead, after going unclaimed by the other 29 teams, he just decided to play his best and see what happened.

Tim Stapleton understands he'll have to work hard to earn a spot on this roster again next season. But he likes the Thrashers future (Photo by Michell Rivers)

“I didn’t really blame anyone for that”, Stapleton told me recently regarding being waived. “I mean, it’s part of the business. If you had to look at my …

Continue reading Tim Stapleton knows he has to keep proving himself »

Here are just a few random, passing thoughts that I have following Sunday’s 5-4 shootout win over the Ottawa Senators. I’ll just toss them out there for you and you may deal with them as you may…add yours if you’d like

First off, I would seriously like to know just what it is with the Thrashers and 2-goal leads. Yesterday Atlanta held leads of 3-1 and 4-2, but the Senators were still able to drag them past regulation anyway.

By my count, yesterday was the fifth straight time they’ve fail to properly care for that kind of advantage when they’ve had it. Twice they’ve lost in regulation, the other three they’ve won, but required overtime or a shootout.

Thrashers captain Andrew Ladd, seen here in action against Vancouver last Friday, says his team needs to learn how to play with the lead (Photo Michelle Rivers)

At least this time was one of those that we were able to celebrate a victory…and we in Thrasherville have come to know all too well that when it comes to this …

Continue reading After shootout victory Thrashers embark on last road trip of season »

I didn’t make it to last night’s game…instead I attended my son’s JROTC annual military ball. However, I have viewed the highlights and read some of the write-ups about it and from what I gather, it pretty much came down to Vancouver making the most of the chances afforded them and one Mr. Roberto Luongo.

Well, there’s a reason why the Canucks have the best record in the NHL I guess. Good teams find a way to work out Ws and make their goalie’s efforts stand up.

With the 3-1 win in Atlanta…their seventh consecutive on the road… Vancouver set an all-time franchise record with 24 wins away from home this season. Their 49-17-9 record for 107 also sets a new high for that organization.

Bryan Little streaks past Vancouver's Mason Raymond on his way to the Thrashers only goal Friday night. Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo stopped the other 30 shots he faced in the 3-1 win over Atlanta (Photo Michelle Rivers)

For the Thrashers, it was another game in which they played …

Continue reading Outside of losing to Canucks, ‘it was a wonderful game’ for Thrashers »

So, just how long do you think it’ll take for Rob Schremp to get that smile off of his face?

The former Islander has said he holds nothing against New York for cutting him lose back on February 28. “There are no hard feelings”, he told Chris Vivlamore recently. “It’s a part of hockey…I appreciate what they did for me as far as giving me a chance”.

That’s the classy thing to say of course, and I’m sure Schremp was quite sincere with his remarks. But you just gotta know that somewhere in the back of his mind as he stepped onto the ice at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum he had to be thinking, “Man…what I just wouldn’t give to be able to score a goal here tonight”.

Rob Schremp celebrates his second period goal against the Islanders with Blake Wheeler, Evander Kane and Dustin Byfuglien. It stood up as the deciding goal as he and the Thrashers knocked off his former team (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

It’s only human nature after all. Kind of like …

Continue reading Schremp returns to Long Island and helps Thrashers to first regulation win since Feb. 11 »

Even after more than four days, the stench from that big, heaping, steaming pile of FAIL that the Thrashers dropped on the ice Saturday still seems to linger in the air. Given that there has been so many days off after the 8-2 loss in Buffalo, they haven’t been able to try and freshen the air with a win…or even just a well-played game.

Tonight, however, they’ll have an opportunity to do just that if they can somehow muster a win on Long Island. But as was the case with the New Jersey Devils a couple weeks ago, seeing the Thrashers take on the Islanders again provides a comparison of two teams that have taken different paths since the last time they met.

Back on February 1 they faced off in Philips Arena for the first game following the All Star break. The Thrashers were coming off a thrilling 1-0 win over the Washington Capitals and held a record of 24-19-9. They had struggled a bit in January, going 1-4-3 prior to shutting out the Caps, but their 57 points were still good …

Continue reading Three games in four days gives Thrashers chance to clear the air of last Saturday’s smell »

In the almost four full seasons that I have had the pleasure of hosting this little blog-thingy, we’ve discussed numerous varying topics here. We’ve debated the skills and value of countless players as well as certain coaching strategies, and we’ve shared thoughts on draft picks and trades possibilities. While we’ve many times found ourselves having to simply agree to disagree on whatever the issue of the day was, there is one subject that most of us have always found common ground on.

That common ground being… our general distain for the current Thrashers ownership group.

However, as Chris Vivlamore has reported recently reported, there are as many as five entities that have express interest in purchasing the team and ridding Thrasherville of the Atlanta Spirit, LLC, (Lies, Lawsuits and Contempt) once and for all. That day cannot come soon enough…but I do believe it is indeed coming.

Young Jack deserves brutally good owners for a change. If so, his mom and dad would …

Continue reading What could brutally good owners do for Thrashers fans? »

Things could not be going any worse for the Thrashers this weekend.

First there was Friday night as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Islander in overtime and the Rangers spanked Montreal. Each moved two points further ahead in their efforts to try and procure a playoff spot. Then Saturday night…in a game called next in a series of “biggest games of the season” for Atlanta… we witnessed the Buffalo Sabres building a snowman on the Thrashers, winning 8-2.

Something tells me it may very well just be the last billed as such.

While we were having a brutally bad time watching events unfold in western New York, the Toronto Maple Leafs were busy whacking the Boston Bruins 5-1. And just for good measure, the Florida Panthers were in the process of picking up an overtime loser point by at least dragging the Islanders to a shootout.

What that all means is that instead of possible pulling to within two points of the eighth-place Sabres, the Thrashers remain at 72 points and are …

Continue reading Thrashers playoff hopes may have been buried under snowman built by Sabres »

When I returned home from last night’s thrilling shootout win over the Philadelphia Flyers, as I turned on some lights and made my way through the house I noticed something. The whole place was cleaned stem to stern. Everything was in its place, floors cleaned and vacuumed, kitchen mopped, furniture dusted…really, the place looked great.

Now normally such an endeavor is spearheaded by the Divine Mrs. R. She’s great that way…and is yet another reason why I always say that I “out-kicked my coverage” when I married her. She did have both our boys at home last night, so it just seemed natural that she led this latest house cleaning expedition.

However, much to my surprise, I found out this morning that it was actually the youngest tax-exemption that took command of the situation and enlisted his older brother in the charge. Their mother didn’t have to lift a finger in the effort.

When I asked what possible could have come over the boy, she simply informed me that he …

Continue reading Stapleton, Thrashers look motivated to compete down the stretch »

Top ‘o the mornin’ to ya, Thrasherville. Today be St. Patrick’s Day and once again it’s time to don the greens and let yer inner-Irish come shinin’ through. As I’m sure you all are already knowin’, there not be a single drop of Irish blood in me…German/Austrian is me ancestry. But it’s doesn’t make one hill ‘o beans on this day, now does it?

Aye, on this day I’m as green as a leprechaun, and as fate would have it I’m feelin’ just as lucky as one too. The reason I say such a thing is because I just got just back from a pleasure trip.

That’s right…I took me mother-in-law to the airport.

Comin’ to Thrasherville to join us in our St. Patty’s Day celebration be the Flyers from Philadelphia. And Lord knows after what happened to ‘em last Saturday up in their barn, they are sure to be as fired up as a Scotsman who just found out his favorite sheep was stolen. So the boys better mind their pints and quarts once the puck drops on this one.

Continue reading Flyers visit Thrasherville for a St. Patrick’s Day showdown »