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!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thrashers Lose to Sharks 3-1 in Duel in Tank
The Atlanta Thrashers wrapped up their four game West Coast road trip with a game against the West-leading Sharks, and they put up a fight that even the Sharks weren't expecting.
Unfortunately, the team went down 3-1 to the Sharks, but in the process, they showed some true grit.
Bryan Little scored a power play goal in the contest, and Kari Lehtonen made 28 saves in the loss. Ilya Kovalchuk's goal streak also came to an end in the contest.
The game featured several questionable calls and no-calls that went against the Thrashers, including a bogus hooking penalty against Bryan Valabik that led to the Sharks second goal of the third period and ended up being the game winner.
The first Sharks goal also came on a no-call, with a Thrasher catching a wicked cross check in the back that wasn't called and enabled Ryane Clowe to score. Aggravating all around for Thrasher faithful.
If you want a more complete recap of the contest, and also are interested to know my opinion as to what we learned about the Thrashers on this trip, feel free to check out my piece on The Hockey Writers. I always appreciate feedback, so feel free to email me.
The Thrashers are next playing Tuesday night against the Avalanche in Atlanta. The game starts at 7pm and can be seen on Sports South. Until then, enjoy the rest of your weekend, and I'll keep you updated.
Unfortunately, the team went down 3-1 to the Sharks, but in the process, they showed some true grit.
Bryan Little scored a power play goal in the contest, and Kari Lehtonen made 28 saves in the loss. Ilya Kovalchuk's goal streak also came to an end in the contest.
The game featured several questionable calls and no-calls that went against the Thrashers, including a bogus hooking penalty against Bryan Valabik that led to the Sharks second goal of the third period and ended up being the game winner.
The first Sharks goal also came on a no-call, with a Thrasher catching a wicked cross check in the back that wasn't called and enabled Ryane Clowe to score. Aggravating all around for Thrasher faithful.
If you want a more complete recap of the contest, and also are interested to know my opinion as to what we learned about the Thrashers on this trip, feel free to check out my piece on The Hockey Writers. I always appreciate feedback, so feel free to email me.
The Thrashers are next playing Tuesday night against the Avalanche in Atlanta. The game starts at 7pm and can be seen on Sports South. Until then, enjoy the rest of your weekend, and I'll keep you updated.
Thrashers-Sharks Preview Highlights
Was just checking out the Thrashers' website, and the preview for the game tonight against the Sharks has a lot of bad omens for the game tonight. I'd say that the Thrashers don't have much of a shot against San Jose, but if you had told me that the Thrashers would be on a five game points streak on the road, I wouldn't have believed you. Enough about me though. Let's get to the good stuff.
Note: If you want to read the entire game preview, you can visit the Thrashers' website.
-The Thrashers are 0-4-0 with a tie all-time at HP Pavillion. The Sharks are also ridiculously good at home this season, having only lost twice in regulation at home this season.
-Bryan Little has six points in his last three games, and Ilya Kovalchuk has scored goals in six straight contests coming in to this one.
-The Thrashers have only beaten the Sharks one time in their ten all-time meetings in an overtime game in 2002.
-In the last 22 games, Kovalchuk has 19 goals and eight assists. He's taking this "captain" thing really seriously.
The game starts at 4pm EST on Sports South, and is available on NHL Gamecenter. Go Thrashers!
Note: If you want to read the entire game preview, you can visit the Thrashers' website.
-The Thrashers are 0-4-0 with a tie all-time at HP Pavillion. The Sharks are also ridiculously good at home this season, having only lost twice in regulation at home this season.
-Bryan Little has six points in his last three games, and Ilya Kovalchuk has scored goals in six straight contests coming in to this one.
-The Thrashers have only beaten the Sharks one time in their ten all-time meetings in an overtime game in 2002.
-In the last 22 games, Kovalchuk has 19 goals and eight assists. He's taking this "captain" thing really seriously.
The game starts at 4pm EST on Sports South, and is available on NHL Gamecenter. Go Thrashers!
Friday, February 20, 2009
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!
-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!
Thrashers-Coyotes Recap: Atlanta Loses Duel in the Desert
For a less traditional recap of this game, check out the running diary that I wrote about the game on The Hockey Writers (my other website):
"Thrashers Invade Desert, Lose to Coyotes"
The Thrashers went in to Phoenix looking for a franchise record fifth straight road win, and the Coyotes were looking to avoid a seventh straight home defeat, which also would have been a franchise record.
In a game that featured its fair share of physical play and questionable officiating, the Coyotes beat the Thrashers in the shootout by a score of 4-3. The shootout, which lasted eight shooters on each side, finally ended when Daniel Carcillo made his first career shootout goal to get Mikkel Tellqvist the win.
Erik Christensen got the scoring started six minutes into the contest with a power play goal. The hero of the Los Angeles game, Eric notched his fifth goal and continued his solid production of late. Perhaps he's auditioning for other teams to try to trade for him? Stay tuned on that front.
About three and a half minutes later, Joakim Lindstrom scored to tie the game at one on another power play goal. The Coyotes ended up outshooting the Thrashers in the period, with Atlanta only getting three shots in on Mikkel Tellqvist.
Phoenix struck twice to start in the second period, with Viktor Tikhonov and Steven Goertzen scoring goals for the Coyotes.
Just when it looked like the Thrashers were in for a long night, they struck with eight minutes to go in the period, when Ilya Kovalchuk found Bryan Little on a fantastic centering pass to make it a one goal game. It was Kovalchuk's eighteenth point since being named captain of the Thrashers, and it was Little's 24th goal of the season.
The third period was a defensive struggle throughout, with the teams trading scoring chances that their defenses snuffed out. The Coyotes did an especially good job of shutting down a lot of Atlanta's offensive attacks, and I was impressed with their effort throughout the period.
Just when it looked bleakest, Kovalchuk did what he does best: he took the game over. With 53 seconds left, Kovalchuk pounded home a juicy rebound off the blocker of Tellqvist to tie the game at three apiece. As the Coyote crowd groaned its disapproval, the Thrashers ensured that they would get at least a point in a game that they had trailed in for 37 minutes.
The overtime was a physical battle that saw few scoring chances, and the defensive struggle continued even into the shootout, as both goalies exchanged save after save, before Daniel Carcillo finally scored to give the Coyotes the victory.
It was a good physical game for the Thrashers, who are playing some of their best hockey of the season right now. It may be too late for them to salvage a run at the playoffs, but they are setting themselves up in prime position to make a good run next season.
The Thrashers' next game will be on Saturday at 4pm EST against the Sharks. It can be seen on Sports South.
"Thrashers Invade Desert, Lose to Coyotes"
The Thrashers went in to Phoenix looking for a franchise record fifth straight road win, and the Coyotes were looking to avoid a seventh straight home defeat, which also would have been a franchise record.
In a game that featured its fair share of physical play and questionable officiating, the Coyotes beat the Thrashers in the shootout by a score of 4-3. The shootout, which lasted eight shooters on each side, finally ended when Daniel Carcillo made his first career shootout goal to get Mikkel Tellqvist the win.
Erik Christensen got the scoring started six minutes into the contest with a power play goal. The hero of the Los Angeles game, Eric notched his fifth goal and continued his solid production of late. Perhaps he's auditioning for other teams to try to trade for him? Stay tuned on that front.
About three and a half minutes later, Joakim Lindstrom scored to tie the game at one on another power play goal. The Coyotes ended up outshooting the Thrashers in the period, with Atlanta only getting three shots in on Mikkel Tellqvist.
Phoenix struck twice to start in the second period, with Viktor Tikhonov and Steven Goertzen scoring goals for the Coyotes.
Just when it looked like the Thrashers were in for a long night, they struck with eight minutes to go in the period, when Ilya Kovalchuk found Bryan Little on a fantastic centering pass to make it a one goal game. It was Kovalchuk's eighteenth point since being named captain of the Thrashers, and it was Little's 24th goal of the season.
The third period was a defensive struggle throughout, with the teams trading scoring chances that their defenses snuffed out. The Coyotes did an especially good job of shutting down a lot of Atlanta's offensive attacks, and I was impressed with their effort throughout the period.
Just when it looked bleakest, Kovalchuk did what he does best: he took the game over. With 53 seconds left, Kovalchuk pounded home a juicy rebound off the blocker of Tellqvist to tie the game at three apiece. As the Coyote crowd groaned its disapproval, the Thrashers ensured that they would get at least a point in a game that they had trailed in for 37 minutes.
The overtime was a physical battle that saw few scoring chances, and the defensive struggle continued even into the shootout, as both goalies exchanged save after save, before Daniel Carcillo finally scored to give the Coyotes the victory.
It was a good physical game for the Thrashers, who are playing some of their best hockey of the season right now. It may be too late for them to salvage a run at the playoffs, but they are setting themselves up in prime position to make a good run next season.
The Thrashers' next game will be on Saturday at 4pm EST against the Sharks. It can be seen on Sports South.
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