Eff Yeah! Thrashers Earn Dramatic Victory Over Capitals

It didn't take a professional lip-reader to figure out Kaner's impassioned exclamation after he potted a thrilling penalty shot to give the Atlanta Thrashers a key 2-goal lead at the end of the 2nd period in their Opening Night victory over the Washington Capitals. In the not so family-friendly words of Evander Kane: FUCK YEAH!!! The hockey gods imparted their special brand of hockey justice Friday nite as Atlanta was awarded with a penalty shot when Mike Green of the Capitals used his hand to clear a puck that was sitting precariously inside the blue-painted crease of the goalmouth. But the fitting twist of hockey fate was moreso a reward for an unyielding and steady 60 minutes of hard work that produced several great scoring chances as well as a goal off the stick of Rich Peverley that was nullified by a premature referee's whistle.

But Kane capitalized on the just cosmic reward by beating goalie Michal Neuvirth low to the stick side and triggering an electric eruption of elation from the 15,000-plus of Thrashers' faithful, who were craving the adjutication of justice on Philips Arena ice. The goal provided the necessary emotional fuel to sustain the Thrashers on a nearly tragic nite when starting goaltender Ondrej Pavelec succumbed to some mysterious affliction and collapsed motionless to the ice in the early stages of the 1st period. Somehow the boys in cobalt blue found a way to muster the courage to overcome the disturbing sight of their comrade laying prone and unconscious on the ice for nearly 20 minutes before doctors and team trainers wheeled him off the ice on a stretcher.

After a quick Capitals tally against an obviously still shell-shocked Chris Mason on a perfect tic-tac-doe passing play, the Thrashers responded with even harder work and determination to produce a turnover that landed directly on the stick of a charging Evander Kane, who then toe-dragged to his right and then snapped a hard wrister past the stick arm of Neuvirth. More importantly, the timely play recharged a confused crowd whose thoughts were understandably somewhere else in the wake of the Pavelec collapse. Kane's goal was just the dose of hockey "juice" the Thrashers needed as they went on to carry the play in the first period out-shooting and out-chancing the Capitals until the horn sounded.

The second period went back and forth for 15 minutes as the teams traded blows and both goalies stood strong in the face of heavy pressure. The play was a bit more sluggish as each team struggled with break-outs and zone clears because of the "long change". Eventually, the Thrashers mettle would prevail as the line of Ladd - Little - Bergfors hustled and worked their way to a goal by Andrew Ladd, who had just seconds earlier been stoned from the door step by Neuvirth. But Nick Bergfors won a race to the puck along the wall, shuttled it to Johnny Oduya, who then wasted no time in snapping a waist-high wrister that connected with the stick of a well-positioned Ladd and ricocheted up under the crossbar above the glove of a stunned and helpless Neuvirth.

Kane's penalty shot goal came with about 2 minutes left in the 2nd period and gave the Thrashers the comfort cushion they would need to continue their aggressive assault in the 3rd period. But an ill-timed boarding penalty by Zach Bogosian stole the momentum from Atlanta and Washington was able to capitalize on the gaffe with a post-powerplay, odd-man rush in which Russian star Alex Ovechkin found a streaking Mike Knuble on the right wing for a quick wrister over Chris Mason's outstretched glove. But Atlanta's ensemble cast of gritty warriors weathered the tempest and regained the momentum halfway through the period. The blue-clad contestants continued to churn their legs and burn up their opponents' will with their never-say-die efforts.

Eventually, the preserverance of the Thrashers produced an offensive zone face-off to the left of Neuvirth in which Nik Antropov secured the puck, shielding it long enough for Fredrik Modin to swoop in and shoot the puck through a small seam in traffic. The puck hit either a defensemen's stick or leg and caromed diagonally to the opposite right pipe past a dumbfounded and frozen Neuvirth. As the goal-lamp swirled bright and red, the Bulb erupted with a collective sigh of relief and joy. From that point forward, the Blueland denizens would cheer loudly and lustily in the waning minutes for their T-birds, who worked tirelessly to preserve the 2-goal margin in a game that set the perfect tone for a new era of Thrashers hockey -- an era that will hopefully bring a lot more hockey that is characteristic of the indomitable spirit and unrelenting effort on full display last nite at Philips Arena. Indeed Friday nite was a very proud nite to be a Thrasher and a fan of these adopted Sons of Blueland!