Wait........What Got Into Atlanta?

The Atlanta Thrashers have certainly had an eventful week. They have won three games over that time, including shutouts against the Canadiens and the Avalanche.

There were also several articles of note about the Thrashers that fans should be made aware of.

With that goal in mind, here we go with this week in Thrashers.

Friday 3/6

In front of nearly 15,000 people at Phillips Arena, Atlanta shut out the Montreal Canadiens 2-0. Bryan Little scored early in the first period, and that was enough for goalie Kari Lehtonen.

Kari saved all 25 shots Montreal fired at him in earning the shutout. He looked very calm and comfortable in goal.

Ilya Kovalchuk assisted on the first goal of the game, and also assisted on the empty net tally by Rich Peverley that iced the game for the Thrashers.

The three stars of the game were Ron Hainsey (1 A), Ilya Kovalchuk (2 A), and Kari Lehtonen (25 saves).

It was a game loaded with penalties, with the Thrashers taking a total of 56 PIM, and the Canadiens took 42 PIM.

Sunday 3/8

The Thrashers continued their winning ways at Phillips Arena, beating the Calgary Flames 5-2 and playing well once again.

Ilya Kovalchuk scored a goal and added an assist, and Bryan Little scored two goals in the victory. Kari Lehtonen also made 27 saves in the game.

New Flames acquisition Olli Jokinen managed a pitiful minus-three in the game, and Jordan Leopold, another trade deadline acquisition, also managed a minus-three and had one shot in 23 minutes of ice time.

Calgary captain Jarome Iginla had some complimentary words for the Thrashers after the contest.

"Determination has to be from the start," Iginla said. "The Thrashers were hungry tonight, and we were not competitive enough to create enough chances."

It was a splendid game all around for Atlanta, and the team continued its hot play of late in a big way, in a victory Bryan Little said was "for the fans."

The three stars of the game were Bryan Little (2 G), Tobias Enstrom (1 G), and Ilya Kovalchuk (1 G, 1 A).

Tuesday 3/10

In a game that was eerily similar to the game they played on Friday against the Canadiens, the Thrashers came out, played stiff defense, and shut out the Colorado Avalanche 3-0 at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

The game was 0-0 for the first 38 minutes of the contest, until Zach Bogosian scored off of great passing from Kovalchuk and Bryan Little to make it 1-0. Then, less than two minutes later, Todd White struck gold on the power play and the Thrashers went into the break with a 2-0 lead and a tidal wave of momentum that overcame any resistance the Avalanche could put up.

With Colorado coming off a huge win against the Blackhawks on Sunday, there was a definite letdown in the way they played the game, and Atlanta took advantage by continuing their solid play up the middle and their ability to generate offense quickly.

Rich Peverley further cemented the similarities between this game and the Montreal game by adding an empty net goal to complete the festivities and send the Avs faithful home cursing existence once again.

Kari Lehtonen stopped all 35 shots he faced in getting his second shutout in three games.

The three stars of the game were Ilya Kovalchuk (2 A), Zach Bogosian (1 G), and Kari Lehtonen (35 Saves).

Articles to Check Out

-The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published an article talking about what has caused this new-found skill and zeal for playing. It is an interesting piece and worth your attention.

-Here is a Q and A with Bruce Levinson, a co-owner of the Thrashers who represents the team to the NHL Board of Governors, in which he praises coach John Anderson and provides some insight into how the team is run. You can check it out here.

-The Thrashers' next game is tonight against the Edmonton Oilers at 9:30pm EDT. The game can be seen on Sports South, and the recap can be found here afterwards. Good night (or I guess I should say good morning) Blueland!

As Deadline Draws Near, the Thrashers May Move Significant Pieces

With less than a week to go before the NHL trade deadline, the Atlanta Thrashers are continuing to look for ways to improve their team.

Having already moved Mathieu Schneider, the Thrashers are still interested in moving Ron Hainsey and his contract, which will pay him $4.25 million for the next five seasons, and Niclas Havelid, who will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end.

Rumors are also swirling today that the team is having difficulty in its negotiations with the agent for netminder Kari Lehtonen, and are seriously considering moving him before Wednesday's deadline.

"In my opinion, I'd like to re-sign him," Thrashers coach John Anderson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I've seen what he can do. That's more of (Lehtonen's) decision than ours. I can't speak for (GM Don Waddell). I haven't sat down particularly to talk to him about Kari. I'm sure Don would love to re-sign Kari."

Teams rumored to be interested, according to the report on espn.com, include the Senators, the Flyers (but probably only if they can move Martin Biron), and the Red Wings (the most likely destination according to a couple of sources).

The reason for the trade rumors is based on Lehtonen's contract status, which makes him a restricted free agent at season's end. He also would be arbitration eligible, and negotiations have not been going well up til this point.

The natural pick to replace Kari in goal should he be traded is youngster Ondrej Pavelec, who at the age of 20 just won AHL Player of the Week, going 3-1 with a 1.25 GAA and .963 save percentage for the Wolves.

This comes on the heels of a stretch where Lehtonen has played some of his best hockey of the season, beating the Ducks in Anaheim and holding teams like the Blackhawks and Sharks in check in the process.

Random Notes:

-Read an interesting article about Tobias Enstrom replacing Ron Hainsey on the Thrashers' first power play line. My initial thought is that this was a subtle signal that Atlanta is close to moving Ron. Judge for yourself by clicking here.

-Another interesting profile from the folks at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about youngster Colin Stuart, who is racking up short-handed goals for Atlanta as of late. Here's the link: "Stuart, Thrashers Thriving Short-Handed"

-In about 20 minutes, the Thrashers are taking the ice against the Washington Capitals in the nation's capital. Stay tuned to the blog for the game recap when the final horn sounds.

Thrashers Today: A Preview of Avs-Thrashers, and Some Links to Enjoy

To kick off the links portion of the blog, we will start with some trade rumors involving the Blueland Baddies. As you can see from my Twitter update from earlier today, the Atlanta Thrashers are rumored to be shopping a couple of their key defensemen.

According to the Ottawa Sun (not exactly the most reliable source of information) league sources are indicating that the Thrashers are looking to move Niclas Havelid and Ron Hainsey before the trade deadline. There isn't any more really listed on the site in terms of details, but if you want to check out some of the other rumors, feel free to check out the full article.

-The Thrashers are getting ready to play five games in their next six in the cozy confines of Phillips Arena. This should be good news for a team getting back from a long road trip right? Well, maybe not. A couple of good articles deal with this issue.

First, from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, we have Mike Knobler's take on the return of the Thrashers to Atlanta ice. He cites some scary stats and gives the players' perspective on the situation as well.

Second, from The Hockey Writers, we have, well, my take on the situation. This was inspired by the AJC article, and I included a lot of stats to back up the assertion that the Thrashers are better off away from Atlanta this season, and I also threw in a little of my sarcasm for effect.

-Finally, the Avalanche are coming a-calling to Phillips Arena to take on the Thrashers. According to the game preview on the Thrashers' website, Peter Budaj is expected to be in goal for the Avs, and he is a terrible 0-7-1 in his last 8 road starts. Hopefully Atlanta can get on him early.

For all the news regarding this game (including whether Paul Stastny will play), go right on ahead and click here.

Well, that's that for now. If any news breaks on the Thrashers, be sure to check back for my take, and a game recap will be up within an hour of the final horn at Phillips tonight, so stay tuned for that. Go Thrashers!

What Made News This Week: A Recap of the Week in Thrashers

Good morning Thrashers fans! There are a few articles here and there that I feel like you should check out. So, in the spirit of Puck Daddy, here are today's headlines in Thrashers that you guys should check out:

-For an interesting article on Zach Bogosian and Nathan Oystrick that I just read in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, click click here

-Sad about the departure of Mathieu Schneider? Well, Mike Knobler of the AJC wrote an interesting blog about the trade to the Canadiens, and said that the Thrashers actually got the better end of the deal. It focused mostly on salary cap relief, but there's other good stuff there too. Some of the comments at the end are surprisingly astute.

-One last piece from the AJC: they apparently have elected a fan to write about the team for the newspaper online site. This pieces has the most random ramblings you are likely to find (outside of my diary of the Thrashers-Yotes game) about the Thrashers, and also provides some solid insight in the process.

-Interesting fan site that links directly from the Thrashers website. It's called I've Become One and it is a fully interactive website where you can scratch your itch for all things Thrashers.

-Finally, from the Blueland Blog, Ben Wright posted interviews with the players concerning their current four game West Coast swing. Several players provided unique perspectives from the battlefield (of course most of them are enjoying going to new cities).

That should keep the fans busy until the game tomorrow against the Sharks, which will wrap up the trip for the boys. It will be on TV at 4pm EST on SportsSouth. Enjoy!