According to Chris Vivlamore, who doth tweeteth this morning, Thrashers' D-man and resident blueline-bully, Zach Bogosian, will make his return to the line-up this evening w
hen the red-clad Thrash clash sabres with the Buffalo Slug-a-nuts at the Bulb at 7:30 EST. The man whose hair is starting to resemble that of actor Curtis Armstrong -- widely known as "Booger" from Revenge of the Nerds -- makes his triumphant and much-overdue return tonite to bolster a defensive corps that has been coming apart at the seams lately due to injuries, tentative play and poor chemistry (outside of the top pairing of Dustin Byfuglien and Tobias Enstrom). Resultingly (is that a word?), the Thrashers will have their top six defensemen in the line-up for the first time since the Kings' game on October 12. The happiest man in Blueland to celebrate the news of Bogey's return must be Johnny Oduya, who has had what seems like a different defensive partner just about every game since Zach's shoulder injury felled him.
hen the red-clad Thrash clash sabres with the Buffalo Slug-a-nuts at the Bulb at 7:30 EST. The man whose hair is starting to resemble that of actor Curtis Armstrong -- widely known as "Booger" from Revenge of the Nerds -- makes his triumphant and much-overdue return tonite to bolster a defensive corps that has been coming apart at the seams lately due to injuries, tentative play and poor chemistry (outside of the top pairing of Dustin Byfuglien and Tobias Enstrom). Resultingly (is that a word?), the Thrashers will have their top six defensemen in the line-up for the first time since the Kings' game on October 12. The happiest man in Blueland to celebrate the news of Bogey's return must be Johnny Oduya, who has had what seems like a different defensive partner just about every game since Zach's shoulder injury felled him.Additionally, tonite marks the return of James "Jimmah Skandalous" Slater to the line-up after a one-game absence. He replaces struggling veteran winger Fredrik Modin, who gets his first visit to the press-box "buffet line" (all rights reserved, Bill "Rawhide" Tiller). I do hope he enjoys the delicious fare in the press-box as I would prefer that he stay there more often than not when injuries are not depleting our group of forwards. I had high hopes for Mr. Modin, but his last game, a disastrous -2 performance in which his passing gaffe led directly to the Rangers' 3rd goal thus sparking their late rally, sealed his fate for the time being as a healthy scratch. The Rangers game marked the 5th straight game for Modin in which he was on the ice for at least one goal against without the benefit of being present when the Thrashers actually score one themselves. Not to mention his slow reactions and poor decision-making of late has contributed directly to several costly goals that have handed momentum to the other team like a charitable gift to a homeless pan-handler outside of Philips.
The return of Slater is the only notable change to the line combinations up front. Slater will assume the role of tenacious, hard-checking right-winger on a line with goal-scoring sniper Evander Kane and pint-sized, puck-handling wizard Alexander Burmistrov, who will play his 10th game of the season at the NHL level, thus making him a full-time Thrasher for the foreseeable future -- by not returning to Juniors, the clock starts ticking officially on the first of his 3-year Entry-Level Contract. And the natural-born center deserves the chance to continue his growth and development in the NHL; his slick skating and deft passing makes him the perfect potential set-up man for the lethal sharpshooting Kane. Hopefully, the addition of the physical force that is Jimmy Slater will help them gain frequent possession of the puck and open up ice in front of the net for the two more-skilled players to operate. The other lines look like this for the rematch against the Sabres: Eager--Antropov--Thorburn, Boulton--Peverley--Stewart, Ladd--Little--Bergfors.
To me, this current line-up is a much more dangerous line-up as it is currently constructed compared to the one that got its collective ass handed to them by the Sabres nine days ago. There is size and speed across all four lines and Nik Antropov seems to be skating much more fluidly and effectively after getting a healthy scratch against Washington and
a couple of extra days of rest before Wednesday's game against New York. There is no reason for the Thrashers to play like they did the last time Buffalo visited the Bulb when they were completely out-skated, out-hustled and out-worked the entire 60 minutes. And the thought of revenge for that resounding 4 to 1 (it could have been a lot worse!) thumping will surely be dancing in their heads when they take to the ice tonite. Nothing else matters in my mind, but working as hard as possible to exact revenge. That is the only key to the game that matters when the puck drops at roughly 7:37 "Bulova time". The Thrashers must come out hitting hard and then continue to pound the smaller, less physical Sabres into submission, for if they get the Sabres out of their game early, then the potential for a dominant dismantling of the Sabres is a very real possibility. So without further ado, it's time to strike up the band and sound the "battle cry of (REVENGE!!!)"....so let it be written, so let it be done.LET'S GO BOYS!!! LET POINDEXTER'S GROOVE MOVE YOU!!!
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