Thrashers Look to Spay the Kitties in the Season Premiere of "The Price is Wrong Pussies!"

Tonite. At the Bulb. Where Marietta Street crosses Centennial Olympic Blvd. Passers-by may hear some hair-raising hisses, gnashing of fangs and mee-OWWWs of terror as the Atlanta Birds of Prey forcibly spay the visiting Kitties just like our esteemed and venerable pal, Bob Barker, advised us to do for 35 years on the Price Is Right. Unfortunately for the Florida Pussy Cats, there won't be any nice parting gifts or door-prizes for their troubles.

In the first installment of 6 games pitting the Brown-headed Thrashing Birds and the Hissing Panther Pussies this season, the Thrashers look to continue their winning ways and extend their current streak to four. Doing so would extend the Panthers' recent string of frustration to five games and deliver a real blow to their surely feeble collective pysche. Give them pardon or mercy and you give them hope and confidence for the return affair in Sawgrass, FL this coming Saturday, December 5th. The Panthers were trying to turn their season around in November, but have recently hit the skids with a 4-game losting streak in which they have not only struggled to score goals -- only 11 goals in their last 5 -- but also failed to dispose of a wretched Maple Leafs squad in a game that saw them surrender 6 goals.

HOWEVER, the Panthers are a division foe who can be a pesky, determined bunch against which to play. The Thrashers must be willing to match their intensity level as they will be desperate for a win and the spoils of a 4-point swing in the bunched Eastern Conference standings. Just 10 short days ago the Panthers were able to outlast their prey with a hard-fought 2 - 1 OT win against the Red Wings. And in the game before that, they completely tore apart a very stingy defense with an eye-opening 6 - 2 ass-thumping of the Sabres, who have cooled off considerably themselves lately. Regardless, a win tonite over the slumping Kitty Kats would mean more than just 2 points in the standings.

As for Mr. Barker, we can only wonder if Bob's Beauties are ever-longing for their Big Daddy Lion to return to the pride.

Thrash Knock Out Flyers, End Philly Curse

It only required a blemish-free, 34-save shutout effort by goalie Johan Hedberg to FINALLY end a 4-year streak of frightening futility against their Northeast Division nemesis, the Filth-adelphia Flyers. Almost 4 years to the day ('twas November 18, 2005 the last time the Thrashers managed to defeat the Flyers), Atlanta summoned enough fortitude, will and barely enough energy to kill off a couple of key third period penalties, stymie an attack that produced 13 shots on goal and win countless loose-puck scrums in front of the focused and impenetrable "Moose" Hedberg. Luckily, a very steady and relentless offensive effort in the 2nd period, coupled with some determined team defensive play throughout the game proved to be enough to score one more goal than the Flyers on this historic night. Rich Peverley scored his 10th goal of the season, as a 2nd period 5 on 3 power play expired, to provide the necessary margin of 1 - 0.

On this night the Thrashers drew upon their mettle and character to thwart a very good Flyers team in a regular season battle that resembled an intense mid-April early round playoff contest. For the Thrashers, it was their third straight victory and fifth on home ice bringing their home record to an even 5 - 5 - 2 and their overall record to 13 - 7 - 3. In addition, this pivotal win, which makes them an impressive 7 - 1 - 2 since Ilya Kovalchuk returned from injury, gives the Thrashers sole possession of 7th place in the Eastern Conference with at least one game in-hand on every team, save for Buffalo, ahead of them in the standings. For Rich "Pevs Dispenser" Peverley, the lone goal was the 5th game-winning goal, his 2nd in two nights, he has dispensed into enemy nets this season. Not too shabby for a guy who only makes $475,000 per year. And speaking of financial coups, Dicky Pevs and rejuvenated right-wing Maxim Afinogenov have now combined for a total of 50 points in 23 games, all for the bargain-basement price of $1.275 million!!

Even more impressive than that was the stellar net-minding provided by the "Moose!" Hedberg, who has been fantastic this season in his role backing-up # 1 goalie Ondrej Pavelec, was the starting goalie the last time the Thrashers so much as earned a point from the Flyers (November of 2006 I believe), but wasn't even the goalie of record as deposed Head Coach, Bob Hartley, made the mind-boggling decision to yank Moose in favor of the glass-groined wunderkind, Kari Lehtonen, for the shoot-out, which Lehts than proceeded to lose. But there would be no overtime or shoot-out on this night as Moose stood tall "like a stonewall", with the exception of the occasional cross-crease dive or poke-check, for all 60 minutes of regulation play. His defensive mates on the blueline provided stellar support in the blue paint with several heady clears of the puck to safety when there was a rare rebound opportunity or funny hop that Hedberg could not corral himself.

All in all, it was a very solid and mostly disciplined team effort to notch the four-point standings swing on the Flyers. There were still a couple too many brainfart plays leading to either a Flyers odd-man rush or power play, but the team managed to overcome them without it costing them a goal. However, I will say that the extra penalty time doled out as punishment for Colby Armstrong's message-sending charge and battery of Flyers rookie James van Riemsdyk was short-sighted (in other words: TOTAL B.S.) on the part of the officiating crew.

Before the puck had even been dropped at center ice, JVR was quite guilty of cross-checking Armstrong not once, but twice thus prompting Colby to take honor code-enforcement measures into his own hands when the puck was put in play. All the while, Aaron Asham was taking liberties during the face-off trying to provoke Thrashers rookie Evander Kane, who was having none of it. But then after the charging ambush by Army, Asham jumped in to pummel Army down to the ice. However, it was Armstrong who got extra "sin-bin" time for a fight he did not participate in willingly. Meanwhile, JVR went unpunished, but left the ice after a valuable lesson had been imparted by the justifiably angry Armstrong.

Nevertheless, the victory was all the more sweet knowing that the Thrashers stood strong in the face of adversity and despite a relentless effort from a playoff-caliber team in the Flyers. The Flyers play a physical brand of hockey and usually succeed at "getting in your kitchen" with their push-the-envelope style of play. But the Thrashers didn't back down at all. In fact, Eric Boulton made a triumphant return to the line-up with a first period statement fight in which he renewed hostilities with regular foe Riley Cote. Setting the tone early, Boulton made good use of his off-season MMA training and beat the living daylights out of a tough S.O.B. who never quits. Cote got off a couple of lefts late in the long fight, but could not inflict any damage on Boulton who pounded him flush in the face with several devastating rights.

You can view the bout here at hockeyfights.com: http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/89276

Now its a day of well-deserved rest as the Kitty Kats from Sawgrass, FL come to town to kick-off a week of games against 4 inferior opponents. After Florida visits Monday night, the Islanders come to Philips for some payback (for a 6 - 3 drubbing of the Thrash on Long Island in early November) on Thursday, then its back on the road for the back end of a home and away tilt versus the surging Panthers -- the lovely K-belle and I will be in attendance at the beginning of our week-long vacation in south Florida -- and then a visit to hockey's mecca of Toronto for a visit with GM Don Waddell's best buddy, Brian Burke, and old friend Garnet Exelby, who was traded to the Leafs for D-man Pavel Kubina in the off-season. I reckon Donnie Dubs will be treating Mr. Burke to a lavish dinner and perhaps a trip to the local, ahem, adult entertainment venue in downtown Toronto, eh? Oh yaaaaa! You 'betcha! Thanks Burkie for giving up too soon on Kubes, who has been an anchor on the blueline thus far!!!

Quit Playin' Games With My Heart!!

I really don't have many words (edit: okay, perhaps I have a few) to describe how I feel right now in the wake of the Thrashers' dramatic, roller-coaster ride of a comeback against the team formerly known as the Cardiac Canes. After playing about as bad as a team can play for 40 minutes, with a few exceptions such as Evander Kane, Ondrej Pavelec and the tandem of Kubina and Enstrom, the Thrashers' alarm clock finally rang much later than usual, but a with a resounding jolt to the previously zombie-fied Thrashers players. In a span of about 14 minutes, the Thoracic Thrashers scored 5 highlight reel-quality goals to completely shock the you-know-what out of the Hurricanes by turning a 4 - 1 deficit into an improbable and ridiculous 6 - 4 win! (Author's Note: my girlfriend K-belle actually predicted a final score of 6 to 3...go figure!)

Three of the goals, including the game-tying goal -- a nifty between-the-legs backhander whilst skating against the grain by Maxim Afinogenov (who else?) -- came in a shocking span of 2:39. And then the guy we have all come to love and adore as much as the Backstreet Boys at their pinnacle of fame, Ten Gallon Dicky Pevs lit the lamp with a sweet top-shelf wrister to the stick side of Manny Legace, who is probably going to need shock therapy to survive a frightful night of trembling, night-sweats and horrible dreams in which blue and gold Thrasher birds swoop down from the heavens like the angel of death to poke his mask-covered eyes out with their long beaks.

Other than that, I've got nothing but stunned brain-freeze and some shaking of the head. Until I can collect myself and drink some more bourbon to calm my nerves, I leave you with this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1KdkQv0FfI

Thanksgiving Holiday Review....continued:

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hope all of you have had a safe, peaceful and, of course, tasty day of delicious food with family and friends. And now that everyone is sufficiently stuffed with turkey and enjoying late afternoon, tryptophan-induced hallucinations of hat-tricks, miraculous saves and a deep, satisfying run into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, let me bestow unto you a delectable dessert to devour with your eyes and mind.

As a scrumptious, belly-filling chaser to the glorious main course that was the Thrashers 2 - 0 Thanksgiving Eve dismantling of the 2009 Western Conference Champion Detroit Red Wings, I give unto you my own personal quarter-season review of the Atlanta Thrashers in the form of the the "Ham-tastic", the "Medi-okra" and the down-right "Cran-cid-berry". Who's still hungry? Uh, make that "who's still awake??"

THE HAMTASTIC:

Goaltending - As if a shutout on Friday the 13th against the Kings wasn't enough, our baby-faced netminder from the Czech Republic, Ondrej Pavelec gave us all an early holiday treat to savor with the second shutout gem of his young career. Which provides the perfect introduction to my first "ham-tastic" point of this blog entry.

After Pavelec's sensational, 40-save effort last night, the tandem of Ondrej the Giant and Johan "Moose" Hedberg now sports a sterling save percentage of 92.1%, which is second only to the notoriously stingy New Jersey Devils goaltending led by some French Canadian guy by the name of Brodeur. What's even more impressive is the fact that the Thrashers give up a league worst 35.6 shots per game, which will be featured below in a category that you can surely guess. Anyway, if anyone had told you that the Thrashers would sport the 2nd best save percentage in the league at the quarter-pole, you would have thought they were certifiable for sure. (Photo Courtesy: Kevin Cox, Getty Images)

Goal Differential - While the Thrashers have the highest incidence of shots allowed in the entire league, that statistical reality is belied by the following anomaly: a positive goal differential of +13!! Believe it or not, your Atlanta Thrashers are third in the East behind only Philly (+15) and division-rival Washington (+14) as of the time of this writing. Quite a nice change from our not-so-nifty goal deficiency of -11 after the first 20 games last season. At this point in time, I'm still not completely convinced this isn't a mirage of sorts just a quarter of the way in, but our stellar goaltending, surely impacted in a positive fashion by better team D and a much improved Penalty Kill unit, is slowly making me a believer.

Special Teams (especially Penalty Kill) - Perhaps the most reaffirming evidence of an improved, playoff-caliber team is the Thrasher's re-tooled and more effective penalty killing unit. Led by the indefatiguable Marty Reasoner and the exuberant and quick Evander Kane, the Thrashers have risen from the depths of P.K. futility to the heights of the NHL Special Teams' high-rent district with a fifth-best 83.3 % efficiency rate. Most impressive might have been the team's second penalty-kill effort against the Red Wings in which the unit of Reasoner, Chris Thorburn, Ron Hainsey, Christoph Schubert and of course Pavelec, fought and scrapped for the entire 2 minute sequence to keep the puck out of their net. And doing so for over a minute's time without the benefit of a full complement of sticks -- Pavelec lost his goal-stick and had to resort to using Reasoner's blade while Marty went diving and sliding in front of would-be slapshots --was nothing short of remarkable. A truly heroic, if not heart-stopping effort by the quintet.

Emergence of Rick Peverley - The story of Rick, "don't call me Rich", Peverley has been well-documented in many media outlets over the last few weeks. And the praise being heaped upon the man known widely throughout Thrasherville as the "Pevs Dispenser" has been well- deserved as Pevs still leads the team in scoring with 8 goals, 16 savvy assists and 24 points in just 21 games. So to this point, if my math is correct, Mr. Peverley has maintained a point per game pace for 60 games now. Okay, so he's a shade below a PPG now with ONLY 59 points in those 60 games. Most impressive is the fact Dicky Pevs has been able to maintain his production no matter what line he's been asked to bolster with his presence. While he's been most effective playing with young Kane and road-roomie Colby Armstrong, Peverley has managed to find scoring success no matter what line permutation John Anderson can conjure up.

Also Ham-tastic Worthy: Evander Kane's defensive presence has been quite remarkable despite his inexperience, which is a nice bonus on top of his impressive scoring prowess (7 G, 12 pts & a +7) as an 18 y/o rookie; Pavel Kubina has been a welcome addition to the blueline as his size and skill have buoyed a defensive unit that has now recorded a stunning 19 goals thanks to Anderson's razzle-dazzle system; the Power Play success rate has been very good at 23.5% and despite a recent slump of sorts (only 2 goals in the last 16 attempts) is still rated in the Top 5 of the entire NHL; Mother Russia's (apologies to Kazakhstan) sons have gelled nicely to form a line as formidable as the ones iced by the Soviet Red Army at the pinnacle of Cold War hockey glory with both Nik Antropov and Maxim Afinogenov maximizing the ASG's bang-for-buck-spent by racking up 42 points in just 21 games (21 points each which makes Mad Max's resurgence worthy of his own blog very soon).

THE MEDIOKRA:

Home Record - Ugggh, yes...the most maddening "statistic" of all is the team's less than acceptable home record of only 4 wins - 5 losses - 2 OT or S/O losses. What is even more galling is the fact that all 5 regulation losses have come by only one goal. This is particularly disheartening because most of the damage has been self-inflicted with lethargic 1st period starts, lackadaisical play and eye-popping turn-overs resulting from poor concentration. Anyone who follows this team knows they possess the talent and skill to play better at home as a 7 - 2 - 1 road record is far from a fluke. If this team is truly playoff-caliber, then this is an issue that must be rectified immediately as the schedule-makers were unkind to the Thrashers in December with only 5 home games and 10 road games.

Lack of Scoring Depth - On the surface, with four PPG players (Kovy, Pevs, Nik & Max) and a bevy of high-scoring D-men, it would appear as though the Thrashers do not have any issues with scoring as evidenced by their robust, league-leading 3.38 goals per game avg. However, 77% of the scoring from their 12 forwards comes from just 4 players. And if it weren't for the efforts of stud-in-training Evander Kane, that percentage would be even higher. Bryan Little (2 goals), Slava Kozlov (3 goals), Armstrong (2 goals) and Reasoner (0 goals) all need to find a more consistent scoring touch soon to help the team weather the scoring draughts that will surely hamper our top scorers in the coming months. If they don't, the Thrashers will be hard-pressed to maintain that stellar 3.4 goals per game scoring average.

AND FINALLY...THE CRANCIDBERRY!

Shots Allowed & Brutal Schedule - Every good team, even Stanley Cup Champions, have some kind of flaw or weakness that need to be addressed for that team to take the necessary steps towards becoming a truly formidable opponent on the ice. For the 2009-10 Atlanta Thrashers, that weakness happens to be the scariest one of all: shots allowed. One by-product of their more exciting and aggressive style of play is the inherent risk involved. By taking more chances to produce offense, a team will inevitably give up some juicy Grade-A chances during the course of a game. Luckily for the Thrashers, the overall team defense (clearing pucks, moving bodies etc.) and fantastic goaltending have limited the potential damage.

As mentioned above, Atlanta gives up a gaudy 35.6 shots per game, worst in the NHL. On top of this, the team's shot differential has widened to an alarming -6.9, its biggest gulf yet under the tutelage of John Anderson. To paint the picture a bit more dramatically, imagine that this trend were to continue over the course of the entire season. Over 82 games, the Thrashers would yield an absurd 2,920 shots on goal. Chances are, over the span of the season, the goalies will not be able to maintain such high save % (currently north of 92%). Even at a very respectable .910 for the whole season, the team will end up yielding 262 goals. If you subtract out the 61 goals (including shootout gimmick goals) already allowed, that means the Birds will give up 201 goals over the remaining 61 games or a sobering 3.29 GAA!!

No matter how good your offense is, it is damn near impossible to outscore your opponents by a score of 4 to 3 almost 60% of the time. This is an issue that MUST be corrected soon as the Thrashers' schedule gets increasingly difficult in the month of December. With 22 of 36 games on the road starting December 1st, the Thrashers risk wearing down to the point of surrendering too many goals on a regular basis. Sure their road record has been great thus far, but the amount of time they spend on the road will certainly take its toll eventually. Thus, it will be important for JA's team to find that special balance of dynamic, risk-taking offense and solid, two-way team play that can limit the shots allowed to a number closer to 30 and, in the process, take a bit of the pressure off the goaltending duo of Pavs and Moose.

To this point, the Thrashers have played well enough to position themselves for a strong run to the playoffs, but there is cause for concern despite the wealth of positive statistical support. The biggest weakness is a potentially dangerous one that could deal a serious blow to the Thrashers' prospects for success this season if not corrected soon. One thing that John Anderson and his staff has shown thus far is that they are more than capable of making the necessary in-game adjustments to either mount a comeback after getting down early or protect a lead that they've achieved and kept through 20 minutes of play (Atlanta is 7 - 0 - 0 leading after 1 period). If Coach Anderson can figure out the requisite IN-SEASON adjustments to sure up their sometimes shaky team defense and shrink that miserable shot deficit, the Thrashers may just find themselves battling for a playoff seed rather than playing for pride in a another season lost.

Turkey Bone of Contention: Turkey Stuffing versus Turkey Dressing

A Thanksgiving Holiday Review of the First 20

Games: Serving Up for You a Robust Turkey Stuffed with Analytical Dressing, Succulent Commentary and Slathered Generously with a Large Bucket of Statistical Gravy Sauce!!!

Frenchy's Crazy Cousin Decked Out in a Turkey Dress


As we approach the American ritual in which we celebrate the bountiful harvest of blessings bestowed upon us, I thought it would help if I used a slightly different motif for my "quarter-pole" of the season review and analysis of our beloved Atlanta Thrashers. So instead of the typical presentation of the "good", the "bad" and the "ugly", I will give unto you the "Ham-tastic", the "Medi-okra" and the "Cran-cid-berry" just because I absolutely despise cranberry sauce.

In the paragraphs below, I will provide a season-over-season juxtaposition of the first 20 games played much like Wall Street delivers corporate earnings reports. In addition, I will provide for you a comparison of this season's first 20 games with arguably the best stretch of 20 games the Thrashers cobbled together last season in which they gobbled up 13 wins against only 6 losses and 1 shoot-out OT loss.

That stretch, if you're wondering, started during the West Coast road-trip in mid-February and finished on April 1 against the Buffalo Banana-Slugs. However, to get a clean sample of 20 games with the most wins and fewest losses, I threw out the 2/15 8 - 4 drubbing of Anaheim and the 3 - 1 win in Florida in which "Deadeye Dick" Peverley hit the Daily Double with 2 goals including the GW. (Author's Note: I chose to drop the AHM game despite the offensive explosion because the roster still included the Hebrew Hammer, Mathieu Schneider who was traded the very next day to Montreal). Okay, onward ho with the numbers!!!

Category.......Current Yr......Beg. 08-'09......Best 20 in '09

Record (Pts)......10-7-3 (23).......8-10-2 (18)..........13-6-1 (27)
Goals Scored......70 Goals............58 Goals.................71 Goals
Goal Differen.....+11 (no S.O.).........-11 (no S.O.).............+ 6 (no S.O.)
Shots on Goal.....578 Shots..........554 Shots..............565 Shots
SOG Allowed......708 Shots..........661 Shots.............676 Shots
Shot Diff / Gm....-6.50 Sh/G.......-5.35 Sh/G...........-5.55 Sh/G
Save Percent.......91.8 SV%..........89.6 SV%...............90.4 SV%
Goals Against......2.95 (3.05)......3.45 (no S.O. losses).....3.25 (3.30)

Interpretation of numbers, quantitative analysis and the Ham-tastic, the Medi-okra and the Crancid-berry to come after "the jump"....whatever the hell that means.

Yep...Another Dramatic, Yet Wildly Exasperating Come-from-behind, Get-your-hopes-up, Let-down of a Buzz-Kill

Let me see...how can I adequately express in words how much I detest losing to the Tampon Bay Dolts?? Hmmm, on second thought, pictures always capture emotion better than words:

(Photo Courtesy of Scott Cunningham, Getty Images)

Roll Up the Red Carpet Cuz' the Party's Over!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPiPsy-P-Cc

Okay, so...

...I'm a bit tardy to the party...but they call me J-Barty and my posts are always hearty!

Well, most of the time that is!!

I just wanted to get something new up on the site and I figured why not play on the "late to the party" theme. Lo and behold, and on the first click, I was lucky to find this short, little "oh snap!"-worthy link in which some Hollywood wisen-heimer cracks a dirty joke at the expense of Lindsay Lohan. And what could be more appropriate than a red carpet wise-crack since the boys over at the legendary Blueland Chronicle have already taken the time to crap all over the Thrashers red jersey -- and rightly so I might add -- which make the boys look like a drunken and deranged misfit militia attempting to overthrow the Colombian government regime because the State failed in its promise to build more hockey rinks for the public at-large.

Anyway, on to the hockey part of this blog entry that very few people will read; I wanted to give some props to "Mad Max" Afinogenov for coming through in the clutch at the end of the game last night. Over the last 5 games, Crazy Legs has gone from inducing Maximum Frustration and realizing his unfortunate nomer of "Afino-skatearound" to Maximum Effectiveness and the height of "Maroon-land" Madness with his well-placed (and well-timed) snapshot laser around the Human Eclipse, Zdeno Chara and past the helpless and, up-til-then, unflappable Bruins netminder, Tuukka Raaskk (I know it's Rask!) with only 41.2 tics of the clock remaining in regulation. (Note: that was an absurdly long run-on sentence!!) Finally, with the man advantage and the Bruins defense in scrambling shambles, it was the Mad Shooter who was taking Rask to task and not the other way around.

Too bad the puck rolled on Peverley before his wrister attempt and the almost always Slava-matic forgot to shoot the puck during the shootout stanza of the game. Bygones.

More importanly, we can only hope that the Thursday night "Maroon-land" Jinx has been partially neutralized and next time the Thrashers will seal the deal and earn both points...or else just give up on the vomit-inducing jerseys and burn them like 1970's neo-lesbian feminists!!

Comcast Sux and It's Time for Hockey!!

Well, it's been nearly 90 hours since the last Thrashers hockey game concluded on Sunday, November 15th, when the T-Birds burned the Oilers with a gritty, never-surrender, come-from-behind victory. Luckily for this dedicated fan, I've had plenty of packing, organizing and moving to keep me pre-occupied during this long stretch between games. K-belle and I are moving into our new palacial digs this week and we could not be more excited as we look to fuse our talents into one unstoppable blogging juggernaut! But alas, the brainstorming "war-room" is far from ready as we still have quite a bit of work ahead of us.

The good news is that we WILL have one of our flat-screen TV's ready to go for tonite's contest against the Boston Bruins. The cable is hooked up and the SportSouth channel is active (as it should be) on the cable dial. HOWEVER, those fools at Comcast have figured out yet another way to try my patience and make life difficult during a stressful week of moving and unpacking. All I hoped for was to enjoy the soothing sights and sounds of the best channel in all of cable broadcasting, the NHL Network!! But somehow, those douchebagging sons of bitches have figured out a way to grant me access to "free" HBO, the MLB channel, the NFL Network and even the NBA channel (AS IF!!) without granting me the privilege of watching my new favorite channel in the universe. My distaste and enmity for Comcast has peaked as a result of this latest episode of ineptitude and customer DIS-satisfaction. It's just another chapter in the long running book: "How to Aggravate Your Customers and Make Them Suffer - A Monopoly's Handbook for Losing Market Share to Satellite TV."

Anyway, back to hockey. At least we can all be thankful that this recent 4-day hiatus between hockey games marks the final instance in which the Thrashers' fans must endure a long 3 or 4-day layoff between games, save for the Olympics, but everyone shares equally in that regard. To this point the Thrashers have persevered their long, slow journey and have arrived at a very respectable 10 - 6 - 1 record. Even more remarkable has been their ability to overcome the vagaries and trials of lonely life on the road in racking up 6 wins to only 3 losses away from Philips Arena. And what earlier seemed like a House of Horrors for our boys in Blue now seems like an oasis of hockey happiness in the wake of 3 straight wins at home.

But just like Kristen and I have much work ahead of us to get our new home in order before Thanksgiving, so do the Thrashers have a tall mountain to climb in order to reach the pinnacle of success known as a playoff berth. So far, a points-earning percentage of nearly 62% is certainly cause for optimism, but the team has only climbed 20% of this season's tortuous and rocky path. Going forward, they will need to be even better -- especially on home ice -- and even more resilient as they continue climbing towards the heights of hockey success.

The best news though is that this team has already demonstrated the ability to win in the face of adversity. And they also avoided slipping into an icy abyss during a gut-wrenching and maddening 4-game losing streak in which the puck would simply not bounce their way. The bad news is that the Thrashers are only 1/5 of the way into their journey and we're still holding our collective breath awaiting word that Ilya Kovalchuk has signed a contract extension to keep him in Atlanta for a Stanley Cup quest this season and beyond. However, hope continues to float as the Thrashers look to continue their winning streak tonite against the erratic Bruins and, in so doing, further convince Kovy that he is not the Captain of a sinking ship.

We all want THIS! So....LET'S GO THRASHERS!!!

Slava Spikes Monkey, Drinks Merlot

In an unusual fit of scoring aplomb, Vyacheslav Kozlov finally managed to solve the persistent monkey that was doggedly perched atop his shoulders. And with one glorious swipe of the puck, Slava felled the insidious beast to punch his ticket off of Schnide Island and, in the process, propel his Thrashers mates to victory for their fourth straight win in less than 7 days.

HOT off the Panini Press!!

This just in from Blueland: Rich Peverley doesn't like cold sandwiches! The nerve of this guy!


http://thrashers.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=656&id=51416

HOWEVER, the man known 'round these here parts as Ten Gallon Dicky Pevs did admit to having a secret love affair with a warm, cheesy concoction known as PANINI!!

You heard it hear first folks! Peverley's Pastrami Paninis will be flying off the shelves and for that we should all stand up and rejoice lustily with a barbaric yawp from our yearning bellies:

WOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!

Kovy is a Cheatin', Schemin' Russian and Afinogenov is a Big Puck Tease

Ilya Kovalchuk once again proved to the NHL world why he is one of the best in the universe by stealing the show on Broadway with a dazzling 1 goal, 2 assist performance in the most historic building in all of sports. Not to be outdone, young gun Evander Kane got his team off and rolling with a spectacular net-drive and adroit feed to the crashing Colby Armstrong who jammed home the first goal of the game just 19 seconds into the game. Kovy took it from there and sparked his already motivated mates to victory in an exciting game of breath-taking saves and high-octane back and forth hockey.

After the game, the Thrashers captain was spotted wearing his newest fashion statement, the walking boot, most likely for precautionary reasons. Asked how he felt by the Associated Press, Kovalchuck had this to say: “They told me I couldn’t hurt it any worse, so I decided to go. It’s part of the game: You get hurt, you’re wearing those weird shoes." Well, Thrashers fans would have to agree that Kovy's stellar play last night is proof of the old adage: 'if the [skate] fits, wear it!' And wear it he did!

Despite the long absence, Kovy and his Russian linemates did not miss a beat. In fact, the line seemed more in sync than ever last night showcasing its play-making skill with several flamboyant tape to tape passes and captivating speed. “Our line was clicking real well,” said Kovalchuk. “We all speak Russian, so it’s kind of cheating because they can’t understand what we’re saying.” Perhaps it is only fair that the Russian Roulette line failed to capitalize on some of the grade-A chances they created with their fancy wheelin' and dealin' considering they were resorting to "cheating" to do so!!

We here in Blueland can only hope this chemistry continues. But if the Comrade Connection line is truly to be feared, the ultimate "puck tease", Maxim Afinogenov (or is it "Afinogetnone"?) needs to stop performing like the human version of a Wagnerian Opera -- one that most often fails to deliver any kind of satisfactory payoff!! Luckily for Thrashers fans there is a man by the name of "Ten Gallon Dick" Peverley who never fails to deliver the goods as he continues to shoot-up the bad guys with his unique brand of gun-wielding wizardry! With another three points on the evening, the "Pevs Dispenser" has now dispensed points at a clip of at least one per game for 55 games as the Deputy Chief of Blueland!

Antropov Looks to Impress in His First Return Trip to Gotham

Can the "Big A" find his scoring touch in his first trip back to the Big Apple and, in the process, earn his ticket for a one-way flight off of Schnide Island?

Before embarking for his team's trip to New York yesterday afternoon, Coach Anderson shared some of the sage advice he imparted on Nik Antropov with ajc.com beat reporter Chris Vivlamore: "We talked to him about shooting more. He had like six or seven shots on net last game. His total [for the year] is 18. That’s my point to him. I think he got the message. The other thing we talked about is he’s a little stationary in front of the net. I want him in front of the net but a little bit more mobile so that any pucks that kick out, he’s not starting from a standing stop; he’s got a little movement so he gets to loose pucks first.”

Thrashers fans everywhere can only hope that the monstrous center of the Atlanta Thrashers takes Coach Anderson's advice to heart and applies it wisely tonight in his first game against his former mates at Madison Square Garden, where he managed to pot 3 goals and dish out 4 assists in only 8 games as a Ranger. Antropov has been a very welcome addition to Atlanta's potent attack and he would probably like for nothing more than to score his first goal of the season at the famed Garden: “It’ll be something special,” he said on Wednesday. “I played with those guys and we had a pretty good end of our season and made the playoffs. [This game] will be a special game for me.”

Antropov may have a few more juicy goal-scoring chances as superstar Ilya Kovalchuk did in fact travel with the team to NY and hopes to play in tonight's contest. With Kovy on his LW creating havoc just inside the blueline, Antropov may have some extra time and space with which to operate in front and around the goal-mouth. His first deposit of the year in the enemy cage would surely be a catalyst for a team looking for a spark on the road.

But more importantly is the potential stability Kovalchuk's return would mean for the team's line-up. With Kovy, and hopefully rookie Evander Kane, the Thrashers have a much more balanced and dangerous attack in which 3 of the top 4 lines are a threat to score at any time. Hopefully, the overall team defense will get a boost as well since the Thrashers have been yielding an average of 3.57 goals per game in the last 10 games.

Luckily for the Thrashers, the Rangers have suffered some recent injuries (Gaborik, Dubinsky, Drury and stud goalie Henrik Lundqvist) and have lost some of their early season mojo struggling to a 3 - 6 - 1 record over their last 10. In those 10 games, the Rangers have surrendered 35 goals to opponents while only netting 24 of their own. The Thrashers hope to exploit the vulnerable Rangers on the road where their record is an impressive 5 - 2 - 1 thus far.

Johan Hedberg hopes to continue his stellar play from Sunday, 11/8, in which he made 30 saves in regulation and played like a Moose-possessed in the shoot-out win. Moose has always excelled in shoot-out games and just so happens to sport a stellar 8 - 3 - 2 career record against the Rangers, not to mention a sensational 2.02 goals against average. Quick, someone find me a chicken and an altar so I can make a jinx-removing sacrifice for the benefit of our goalie!!

To play, or not to play? That is THE question.

Should Ilya Kovalchuk play against the New York Rangers on Thursday at Madison Square Garden??

Or do you give a big thumbs down to that idea??

**UPDATED** Apparently, this question has already been answered as our team doctor has wisely advised Kovy to sit this one out against the hated Rangers. As a source, I give unto you:

http://www.bluelandblog2.com/2009/11/11/kovalchuk-and-kane-updates/

Earlier this morning at Philips, Kovy skated during the warm-up portion of practice, but suddenly left the ice after apparently aggravating the soreness in his injured foot; as he made his way off the ice, he was shaking his head and mumbling some things in the general direction of the team's Assistant Trainer.

Now we are left to wonder if Kovy jumped the gun in returning to the ice too soon. We probably should not expect him to play in the game Friday either, but as we know, Kovy is a true warrior and he will look to return perhaps as early as Sunday against the Edmonton Oilers. As I explained before this blog post was updated, I see no reason for the Kaptain to rush back into service when there is a full slate of home games, 5 in a row post-Big Apple romp, at the Bulb starting Friday, the 13th against the LA Kings.

Since hockey players are generally superstitious, I would think that Kovy prefers returning to action on a date other than that of 11/13. And while most accounts say that no further damage can be done to this non-weight bearing bone, why risk it? I say let him play on Sunday after a few more days of rest in the comfort of his own home IF AND ONLY IF there is no swelling in the foot and minimal pain after skating again on Friday or Saturday. But then again, I am no doctor and I can only refer you to the expertise and wisdom of Dr. Razor Catch Prey at The Blueland Chronicle ---> http://bluelandchronicle.blogspot.com/2009/11/update-on-czar.html

In the meantime, I reckon it might be a good idea to call-up the irrepressible Joey Crabb. Why do you ask?

Jus' cuz I feel like gettin' "crabby" wit it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyYvf5RY3Ls&feature=fvw

And the Sheriff Skates Back into Town...Duluth, GA that is...

Our fearless leader and inspirational force, Ilya Valeryevich Kovalchuk, has returned to the ice at the Ice Forum, practice home of the Atlanta Thrashers, per ajc.com journalist Chris Vivlamore: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-thrashers-blog/2009/11/10/valabik-back-skating/comment-page-1

Needless to say, the denizens of Blueland "are very exciting" upon receiving this news!

BREAKING NEWS FROM DOO-LUTH:
http://bluelandchronicle.blogspot.com/2009/11/update-on-czar.html

As if there were any doubts, it appears as though our uncanny Kaptain Kovalchuk is skating pain-free and will join his comrades on Thursday at MSG to renew hostilities with the most insolent of all hockey pests, Sean Avery, and the New York Ranjerks.

Major tip of the hat to Dr. Razor Catch Prey (whose clairvoyant powers astound) and Big Shooter (a man who needs no title) who scooped the entire blogosphere (well, besides C-Viv of the ajc.com) with this report from Le Forum d'Ice!