Saturday, October 30, 2010
Young Thrashers Head West: In Search of Winning October Record
Friday, October 29, 2010
Booger, um, I mean Bogey IS BACK & You're Gonna Be In Trouble!
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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
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LET'S GO BOYS!!! LET POINDEXTER'S GROOVE MOVE YOU!!!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Berg-force One to the Rescue in Rangers' Romp!
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Monday, October 25, 2010
Thrashers By the Numbers...Eight Is...Not Enough?
Goal Differential __________ (-6, 23 vs 29) _________ (-4, 23 GF vs 27 GA)
SOG Differential _________ (-67, 234 vs 301) ________ (-40, 250 vs 290)
Average Shots Diff. _______ (-8.1, 29.3 v 37.4) ________ (-5.0, 31.3 vs. 36.3)
# Times Out-shot ________ (7 times , even 1x) _______ (7 times, even 1x)
Shooting Perctge. _________ 9.40% (22 goals) ________ 8.80% (on 22 goals)
Save Percentage _________ .909 (adj for ENG) ________ .907 (zero ENGA)
As you can see from the presentation above, there are some eerie similiarities between that miserable season 2 years ago and the start of this one under Coach Craig Ramsay. That's not to say that this current team won't improve as the season unfolds; Anderson's team played much better in the second half of the season after the early January acquisition of Rich Peverley off of waivers. JA's crew rallied from ten games under .500 to win 21 of its last 39 games to finish 35 - 41 - 6 overall. Hopefully, Craig Ramsay's system will prove to be much more effective over time so the Thrashers not only compete hard on a nightly basis, but also give themselves a chance to win most games.
The biggest difference for this current iteration of Thrashers' teams is the sheer number of new players from last year to this one. Of the current 22-man roster, only 13 players return from last season. And of those thirteen, two of them -- Johnny Oduya and Nicklas Bergfors -- have a mere 38 games under their belts as Thrashers. So essentially, Ramsay is faced with the daunting task of trying to meld 11 new faces with 11 "old" ones into a single cohesive unit. In addition, Ramsay, unlike Anderson, did not have the luxury of coaching any of the younger Thrash players in the minors as a coach for the AHL affiliate in Chicago. But regardless, the transition to a new coach and new system is always met with its fair share of hiccups. Unfortunately for the 2010-'11 Thrashers, the first 8 games has been marred by a recurring case of acid reflux!!
For example, the Thrashers have yet to finish a game with more shots registered on goal than their opponent. The closest they have come was on Opening Night when their 31 SOG matched that of a befuddled and somewhat sluggish Washington Capitals team. Moreover, out of 24 full periods of action, the Thrashers have failed to record more shots on goal than allowed in fifteen of them. And in those 15 periods, they were out-shot by a whopping 94 SOG!! That number jumps to 100 if you include the 6 shots to zero O.T. domination imposed on them by the Capitals this past Saturday. No matter how you slice it, the Thrashers can ill-afford to get out-shot by an average of more than 6 SOG in 2/3 of the periods they play. Overall, they are giving up an average of almost 2.75 more shots than they are landing on net themselves.
Of course, in order for things to improve, the coaching staff must figure out a way to make this team gel not only defensively, but also on offense. Through 8 games, the forward line combinations have been jumbled like ping-pong balls in the NHL Draft lottery hopper. There have been some flashes of offensive cohesion on a couple of lines, but for the most part, results have been spotty at best. As a result, this general lack of chemistry and cohesion on offense has been leading to more zone time for the other team in the Thrashers' defensive zone. To reverse the startling trend of a lopsided shots-on-goal tally, the Thrashers must improve defensive zone break-outs and take better care of the puck when attempting to clear it out of the zone.
When the puck is in their zone, they must demonstrate a more aggressive pursuit of the puck to prevent the seemingly harmless perimeter shot. Afterall, the more pucks that get to your netminder, the more bad things that can result at the goal crease. Hopefully, a more aggressive mindset inside the defensive zone will develop over time as the players' confidence within the new system framework grows to match and complement the already improved commitment to blocking shots and clogging passing lanes. But no matter how well their goaltenders play, the Thrashers will have a hard time winning more games than not if they don't learn how to be stingier in preventing the number of pucks that are fired toward their net.
In simplest terms, Coach Ramsay's philosophy begins and ends with controlling the puck and occupying the other team's zone more than they occupy your own. Thusly, he is working to to re-program his player's mental approaches and habits so that they keep their shifts short and tidy with crisp line changes to hopefully maintain a cycle of fresh legs on the ice. Too often a line is getting trapped in the defensive end after an unsuccessful rush in the offensive zone or a poor clearing pass inside their own blueline. Ramsay is trying implement a system in which all 4 lines play nearly the same amount of time at even strength to keep the other team off balance and exploit teams that may rely more heavily on only 3 lines. So far, his efforts have been met with mixed results and the next 20 games or so will surely test his coaching mettle and resolve.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
What The Hell Was THAT???
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Slug Post-Mortem and Gameday Preview Tantalizer
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I do recall going to at least one Sabres game at Philips Arena and secretly pulling for the team in red and black (uggh!). But something happened in those first few forays into Thrasherville, and the allure of live hockey in my back-yard transformed me into a fan of the T-birds. The post-lockout season clinched my allegiance to Atlanta's Thrashers. And in 2006, I then pledged to remain forever steadfast in my support of this underdog franchise -- one that eveyone thinks will eventually defect to Winnipeg or Hamilton in Canada. But I will always look back fondly to my childhood love affair with the Buffalo Sabres, who showcased so many wonderful players, but yet left their fans lusting for more wonderful results in the playoffs. Until 1999 when Eddie "the Eagle" Belfour out-lasted "The Dominator" in a goaltending duel to the death. The sting of that Game 6 Stanley Cup Finals defeat might as well have been death as I sulked for weeks after it ended.
Okay Buffalo, you've had your fun, NOW PICK A DAMN LOGO AND STICK WITH IT!
While the Buffalo Sabres commemorate their expansion team entrance into the NHL franchise fraternity 40 years ago, I have enjoyed looking back warmly to all of the cold winter nites of my youth when I would count the minutes before puck-drop on those rare occasions in which the Sabres would appear on my TV set against the Rangers or Bruins, who were both broadcast locally. As I look back over my 30-something year fascination with the game of hockey, I can only hope that the Sabres organization allows this 40th anniversary season to serve as the beginning of a new era in which the original logo is preserved as the only image to represent the franchise going forward.
That means no more "pissed-off bison" logos like the one from the "red and black" era despite the franchise's solid late 90's run of playoff success and close-call with the Stanley Cup. At least with the "R&B" period, you could still identify the mascot as an actual 4-legged creature that used to roam the western plains in great abundance. A mascot doesn't know that Sean Avery is a prick and shouldn't have a glowing red eye like the Terminator. And those unis were almost as hideous as the ones unveiled in the fall of 2006 when the bizarre lurching horned slug was introduced into the logo lexicon of shame. But alas, that confused phase has co
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Now, here it is nearly 27 years later and I'll be donning not a vintage Sabres jersey tonite, but my cobalt blue, Marty Reasoner Thrashers sweater to rally 'round the flag of Blueland for a game that should prove to be quite entertaining, as most clashes with the Sabres usually are. When the players take the ice tonite, there won't be as much at stake as a Game 7 playoff game, but pride will most certainly be on display on the ice as well as off it when thousands of Buffalo transplants, who refuse to give up the sword, descend upon Philips Arena to party like it's their, well, 40th birthday!! And that's perfectly fine as they bring an unabashed passion that is universally loathed by Thrashers' fans, who always seem to get their dander up for games against the Sabres. Regardless of location, home or away, most Sabres vs. Thrashers games are high-octane, high-energy affairs in which the action moves non-stop up and down the ice.
The Sabres bring their normal cast of characters into the game tonite, but with a few additions both new and old. Coupled with some fresh, young faces like Tyler Ennis and Tyler Myers (I think two Tylers is over the threshhold for good sense though) are older veteran faces like Tomas Vanek, Derek Roy and of course, perennial All-Star netminder, Ryan Miller. They are even recycling one familiar face as Mike Grier returns to the Sabres for his second tour of duty under Head Coach Lindy Ruff. The Sabres still like to get up and down the ice, but seem to be putting a greater emphasis on tightening things up defensively compared to recent years when they've possessed more skill and firepower along the front line. Now they boast more explosiveness from the back line thanks to 2nd year phenom Myers as well as Steve Montador and Jordan Leopold (my g/f K-belle will certainly love to learn this as she loves to hate on this "cat") who can skate as well as any D-man in the league.
However, the Sabres have struggled mightily to find consistency with their offensive attack. They have only scored 12 goals thus far in 6 games and many of their key offensive contributors have found it harder than usual to hit the back of the net. Forward Derek Roy is the only player who has enjoyed a fast start to the season with five of the Sabres' 12 goals. But popular goal-scorer Jason Pomminville is still out with a concussion and the Sabres are having a rough time filling the void with only 4 goals scored in their last 3 contests. Unfo
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In all likelihood, tonite's game will be a tightly-contested one in which both teams create good chances from aggressive back-checking and forced turnovers in the neutral zone. I suspect the Sabres will forecheck ultra-aggressively in the early going to get the upper-hand and hope that the law of averages for goal-scoring helps an offensive attack that has succeeded in putting an average of 32.5 shots on goal over their 6 games. If the Thrashers can withstand the early assault and remain cohesive defensively -- thus helping clear the crease of juicy rebounds -- then they should be able to mount plenty of pressure on the Sabres, who are generally a bit smaller and less physical than previous Thrashers' teams. Of course, this year's installment is much bigger and faster thanks to the additons of Ben Eager, Andrew Ladd and Anthony Stewart. Hopefully the success of our bottom two lines will continue against the Sabres' struggling bottom lines and end up being the difference-maker in a close game. Either way I think the outcome will feature a 3 to 2 score.
In the end, I believe the Thrashers will prevail because these Thrashers aren't the Thrashers the NHL has become accustomed to playing in the last couple of years. Surprise, surprise!! Sorry Sabres fans to further spoil your Happy Birthday and blow the candles out on your anniversary cake!! It's time to slam your collective face right into the sheet of icing!!
Then It Comes to Be That the Soothing Light at the End of Your Tunnel
IS JUST A FREIGHT TRAIN COMIN' YOUR WAYAAAAAAAYYYY!!!
Citizens, friends, Bluelanders...."pay no mind to the distant thunder" of hooves you will hear as the congregating herd of Buffalo Sabres' fans attempt to seize your Arena and make it theirs. We're on a "crash course" with the struggling Sabres and it just "feels right this time"; come around tonite and find "new high-lights" of your Thrashers taming these "suckers for the quick reward." Tonite, it shall prove to be a "good day to be alive"...yes it shall. Go Thrashers!!!
Monday, October 18, 2010
There Stands Mason Like a Stone Walll!!
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For a time Saturday nite, the Thrashers' goal-mouth did seem to resemble the "Triple H" in Manassas, V
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Sunday, October 17, 2010
Sharks Sniff Bait But Can't Catch Thrashers Ridin' Dirtay!
Earlier tonite, okay, this morning, the Thrashers somehow managed to play their best period of hockey of this young season on their way to shocking the Sharks and their San Jose faithful with a 4 to 2 victory on Opening Night in the Silicon Valley. The win marked their first ever triumph at the "Tank" in San Jose, and they even did it without any scoring contributions by the red hot Chris Thorburn, who saw his 3-game goal-scoring streak chomped by the Sharks. They certainly were "ridin' dirty" on the bus from Oakland to San Jose as whatever drugs they took before the game finally kicked-in and jump-started their legs for a dramatic and dominant 3rd period performance against the Sharks.
Early on it seemed as if the boys from Blueland would drown in shark-infested waters, but the goaltending of Chris Mason would prove to be the life-preserving force they would need on a night in which nothing seemed to go their way in the early going. Working to overcome an early two-goal deficit, the boys must have been uplifted by Mase's superlative stone-mason efforts as they rallied to score an early 2nd period goal on a short-handed bid by Andrew Ladd (set up by a whirling Bryan Little), and a mid-period goal on a blast by Anthony Stewart from the lower right circle. And I'm not sure who was more stunned: the Thrasher faithful or Sharks' netminder, Antti Niemi!
After two miserable, yet fortuitous, periods in which the Thrashers were blitzkrieged by a battery of Shark-shots -- San Jose outshot Atlanta by a whopping 30 to 13 margin in the first 40 minutes of action -- Coach Ramsay's charges came out of the locker room with their guns a-blazin' and opened up a powder keg of intensity to besiege the Sharks' goal with an onslaught of shots. However, Niemi would prove impregnable until the Thrashers earned their first man-advantage of the nite. On the ensuing power-play, Dustin Byfuglien would swoop down into the heart of the slot to prey upon a loose puck that resulted from a timely Toby Enstrom point shot. "Big Buff" took dead aim and flicked a hard wrist-shot that would easily elude a scrambling Niemi, who could not recover in time after the initial save.
Just prior to that key PP, the Thrashers nearly lost the ground they worked so hard to conquer in the early stages of the third when one of their D-men fell down at the blueline. Sharks' forward Logan Couture would escape his end with the loose puck and a break-away into the Thrashers' zone. But Mason would again save his team by stopping the streaking Couture as he attempted a quick move to his fore-hand only to be thwarted by a pin-balling pad. Later, after the PP goal and momentum was recaptured, Rich "the Pevs Dispenser" Peverley would connect with a hard-charging Evander Kane on a perfect pass through the slot for a slam-dunk deposit of the frozen disc into the Shark net. From there, the two-goal margin would stand as the Thrashers dug in deep to stymie a desperate Sharks' surge over the final 3 minutes of the game.
Now it's back to the bus so they can get on down the road to the airport and a triumphant return to the ATL. Something tells me that a lot of the boys will be hummin' this tune in their heads as they shuffle off from the Shark Tank in San Jose. Can you hear it? I can.
Friday, October 15, 2010
If We Only Had a Marty Reasoner!! "The Party" Doin' Work...
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Just think how things might be different if Marty Reasoner were still in the line-up for the Thrashers. It would free up a player like Bryan Little to play the pivot on one of the top two lines instead of Nik Antropov, who continues to struggle in the face-off circle, thus hurting puck possession for his more plodding line. Or it might allow a guy like Andrew Ladd, who has top six potential and the skill-set to thrive alongside mates like Rich Peverley and say, Evander Kane playing the off-wing. Then you could reunite Bergfors with Little (at center though) and Antropov as they were, without a doubt, our most effective offensive threat in the final 22 games last season.
No offense to Nigel Dawes, Anthony Stewart or even Jimmy Slater, but Marty Reasoner would provide more veteran leadership and on-ice savvy to a line-up that is struggling to find its identity. The only line to have gelled just yet is the 4th line, but that is more a by-product of superior players (Eager and rookie Alex Burmistrov) playing against weaker players in favorable match-ups. Chris Thorburn deserves much of the credit as well, but that's a separate entry for another day. After seeing Freddy Modin play 5 games so far in person or on TV, I'm not convinced he should be blocking guys like Ladd or Little, and especially Bergfors, from playing more minutes on a "scoring" line. And right now, having a 32 year-old Marty Reasoner looks a heckuva lot better than an aging Freddy Modin, who recently turned 36 and hopefully received a clean bill of health -- for the first time in 3 years -- as his birthday present.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Yay! Ron Hainsey Is About to Have a Bab-ey!
Hainsey leaves team as wife goes into labor
2:49 pm October 14, 2010, by Chris Vivlamore
"Thrashers defenseman Ron Hainsey left the team Wednesday night after his wife went into labor. Hainsey did not travel with the team to Anaheim for Friday’s game against the Ducks. He returned to Atlanta. It’s the couple’s first child. I will update with more details and who might take his place in the lineup as they become available."
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
A Thrashers Hang Over...
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First and foremost, our power play has pretty much sucked worse than a vacuum cleaner with a busted belt! Thus far into the new campaign the Thrashers are a measly 1 for 14 with the man-advantage. Last nite was particularly galling as they struggled to gain entry into the offensive zone let alone maintain possession within it. As Coach Ramsay pointed out, the PP units did not show enough commitment to gathering the necessary speed with which to penetrate LA's stack of players on the blueline. And beyond that problem there wasn't much else good about the PP as they managed just 2 shots in 5 opportunites. Oh yeah, and they shot themselves in the foot twice with bad penalties to negate the advantage. But you gotta give a great deal of credit to the Kings' men for doing everything possible to frustrate and disrupt the Thrashers on the PP.
Secondly, the T-birds could not muster, nor sustain, a high enough level of energy for this game. They knew going in that the Kings would be amped up for their home opener and they should have been ready for a physical affair. However, the boys didn't seem up to matching neither the Kings' intensity nor their overall aggressiveness. The Thrashers were good at times, but extremely erratic in both executing transition break-outs and establishing any semblance of a sustained forecheck. But a lot of that was due to the Kings simply out-hustling and out-working them; in short, the Kings just seemed to possess more pep throughout the contest and as a result, won the majority of puck battles along the boards and in front of the nets.
Lastly, the Thrashers seemed to lack any cohesive chemistry whatsoever beyond that of the "4th line", led by the efforts of RW Chris Thorburn and buoyed by the slick skating of C Alex Burmistrov and hard-nosed efforts of grinding LW, Ben Eager. Although the other three lines seemed out of sorts and suffered many fits of the "foops", the efforts of the 4th line were nearly enough to pull out a win last nite! The "Thor-Burm" line provided the lone goal (Thorby's 2nd of the season and second goal in a row for the team) as well as two power play opportunities, if not three, for their mates. But alas, the power play wasted the chances it was given. At some point Coach Ramsay is going to have to shake things up, but outside of moving Dustin Byfuglien back to a power forward role, I'm at a loss right now as to how I think this shake-up should occur. Not to mention I feel breaking up the 4th line at this point would be a big mistake, even if C/W Jimmy Slater is ready to play Friday nite. Then I came across this gem on the Thrashers' team site message board, posted by Brice Zimmerman, who goes by "Zim" on zee twitter:
And your editor concurs wholeheartedly about Freddy P!!
Eager - Burmistrov - Thorburn -- If it ain't broken, don't fix it... especially when everything else is spare parts. This is the only line that has consistently generated scoring chances, established a cycle, and gained offensive zone entry on a regular basis (both by chip-and-charge as well as carrying the puck in). I'd rather see this trio get more ice time than be broken up.Also, I wouldn't mind seeing Eric Boulton get into the mix in favor of Dawes or Stewart, which might give Thorburn a chance to move up (wouldn't look bad on the RW of Kane and Peverley...eh?)."
Editor's Commentary: If you're not already following Zim on twitter, shame on you!!
I had been wracking my brain all morning long and well into lunch wondering what would be the best course of action for Rammer (perhaps the real cause of my aching head!!), and this by far makes the most sense AT THIS JUNCTURE. My gut tells me that eventually Big Buff will have to move back to forward out of necessity. Freddy Meyer is too good for this style of play (speedy puck mover with a great shot from the point) to be rotting up in the press-box! And Arturs Kulda -- currently with AHL affiliate Chicago -- is more than capable of stepping into the 3rd pairing role with Brent Sopel or Ron Hainsey. And the results from last spring's playoffs don't lie: Byfuglien is a big-time difference-maker (to piggy-back on what Kevin Weekes of the NHL Network told us last nite) who is too valuable on the front-end clogging up the middle of the ice where games are won and lost.
Can Thrash-Kings Hold on to a Precarious 1-goal Lead?
-- GAME ON!! Remember the Thrashers will be going on the penalty kill shortly so this could get very interesting quickly. Man this FS-West analyst is very chatty, but he's usually right on point...Kopitar shot wide. Oh shit, phew, I think Laddy got away with a hook on Doughty. DD is definitely the better (well, at least more dangerous offensive) player tonite. So much for Armenian pride! ANOTHER POST SAVE by the goal apparatus...sheesh!
-- Penalty summarily killed by the skin of the goal post as Mason was screened on a point shot that was just wide enough for the Thrashers. Here we go back to full strength and Hainsey fans on a point shot, but the Thrashers retreat is an alert and effective one so far. Gotta get this puck out and it is cleared by guess who, Thorburn!
-- Big Buff boxing out in front as Dawes and Enstrom go to work...puck cleared but no real offensive attack as the Thrashers make a line change. GOAL KINGS as Ryan Smyth gets an easy back-hand put-back since Bogey was busy tying up Dustin Brown. Support from the wing was non-existent and Mason hung out to dry. 1 to 1 now with 16 mins left.
-- Little and Oduya with back to back one and done bids, but Quick calmly redirects the puck out of harm's way. Looked as though the tempo was going to get ratcheted up but Kings love to slow it down. Thorburn overskates a pass and the Kings go back the other way...fingers crossed! Who the hell is Jake Muzzhin? Shit, another scrum in front of Mason but he scoops it up.
-- One thing is sure: both me and the Thrashers will be quite tired after all of this non-stop action...GOAL KINGS as Mason allows his first real softy of the season...I think Hainsey got a piece of the puck which turned the wrister into a fluttering, wounded duck that quacked its way to the right of Mason who was moving left. I guess that was Lady Luck paying back the Kings for all of their pipe-shots. Damn. Now the Thrashers will need to raise their game, if they can.
-- 13 minutes left in this tilt and the Thrashers will need to check their guts once again in the middle of the final period. Problem is they can't seem to hold onto the puck very long as the Kings are aggressively pursuing the puck at every turn. Little tries his best to gain an advantage but can't muster much of a shot on the backhand side. Mason with another tricky save and pucks are barely missing LA sticks and goal posts. Christ our goose appears to be cooked!
-- Who will step up and be our Chris Thorburn??! Why Chris Thorburn of course! He creates a chance for Burmy in the slot whose stick is chopped in half by a would-be Kings defender. The referree did not approve of this tactic and has whistled play dead for a Thrashers PP!! Oh boy, here is the litmus test for your early season coaching adjustments...will they get some looks?
-- Kings outshooting Thrashers 9 to 3 in the 3rd period as my battery is about to die...good nite folks! Check back tomorrow to see if we won!! Okay, just kidding as I'm back in business. Thrashers got a couple of decent looks but Ladd was stopped on the doorstep and Buff's big blast went wide...sound familiar? God bless hit the net son for a rebound! PP killed by Kings and the Thrashers need a miracle down one with 8 minutes left. Johnny Burma, come save us please!!
-- Thrashers finally mount some offensive pressure and get a great look on a 2 on 1 break with Bergie waiting and waiting before feeding a streaking Little who tried to one-time the puck, but didn't catch it cleanly and Quick was able to get there in time sliding to his right. Then all hell brooke loose in front of the net as the puck was dancing around the offensive zone with Thrashers swooping in from the point to keep it alive and attempt to score the equalizer. But to no avail the puck just wouldn't cooperate and the Thrashers will have 5 minutes to get it done.
-- Well, the Thrashers come up empty despite a frenzied and furious offensive attack in which they had several grade-A looks from the slot and close range. Burmy had a wrister from the high slot that was deflected just high over the crossbar; Kaner had a sweet rush in which he adeptly snapped a wrister through a D-man's legs only for Quick to trap it between his legs. Later, Kaner would re-direct a Toby Enstrom wrister from the left point that would take a big hop down onto the ice but alas, the hop was too big and it bounced right into Quick's belly rather than through his legs.
-- The Thrashers did not relent and kept coming in waves, but their final goalie-less push could not deliver as a loose puck was pushed out of the zone into the neutral zone where Toby Enstrom could not corral the bouncing bean which shuttled down the ice into the Thrashers' empty net.
-- Thrashers lose 3 to 1 as the Kings rally in the 3rd period to win their home opener. An empty feeling for sure as the team defense was very good for the most part, but it could not hold completely in the face of staunch Kings pressure in the middle portion of the final stanza. Now it's onto, well, bed first, and then down the road to Anaheim for a showdown with their feathered friends, the Ducks Friday night.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The Black Kings V. Thrashers: Second Period
-- Bryan Little with a nice burst of speed (what else?) and a slick wrister that is staved off by Jon Quick...Doughty regroups with token pressure.
-- I hope the Thrashers are as re-fortified as me after my bowl of cereal...apparently not as another close call post-ringing save by the goal apparatus!
-- GOOOOAAAAALLLL CHRIS THORBURN!!! Off his own shot, the rebound comes right to his stick and he swipes it home!! I guess Craig Ramsay was right as he looks like our best player.
-- More pressure from the Thrashers as a shot from the blueline is bobbled by Quick but Stewart can't find the loose puck between his pads. Peverley with the one-timer. Now the Thrashers carrying the play in the Kings zone with more pucks in front, but no payoff.
-- Heavy pressure from the T-birds as they have amped up their intensity thanks to the goal...line change gives LA a chance to regroup, but they're offside on the play. Something puzzling me is the fact that the statman for the game has us winning 74% of the 1st period F/O, HUH?? Seems like we lost every offensive zone F/O when we did force a draw. Oh well, we're winning them now and now the Kings look a bit stunned. Early shots are 6 - 2 ATL thru 5 mins.
-- Buff with a good hit behind his own net, but Thrash struggling with break-out once again and it nearly costs them...luckily Mason was there to stymie the shot.
-- Hey boys! When you chip the puck off the boards and try to gain the zone, go to the inside and not the outside! Guys are getting plastered by Doughty & Johnson when they try the outside along the wall, which is un-good for Burmy's health. Good pressure from Kaner & Pevs but again, nothing but weak shots on net.
-- Thrash elude disaster as Dustin Brown shoots wide from the low left circle on a pass from behind the net...too much standing around watching on that one by the D. Thrashers can't seem to mount much of an attack now as the Kings have recaptured some momentum.
-- 10 minutes left and the Kings are dictating again...thankfully, Mason seems very sharp and has made several good saves in the last five minutes...Thrash seem to be tempting fate here. Need the TV timeout in the worst way!!
-- just got to see a guy puke in a recruitment commercial for the Marines! Yeah, I'm sold! Speaking of things that rhyme with Modin, it would be nice if both Antropov and Modin were kind enough to join the fray tonite...they have been conspicuously absent so far.
-- Kings commentator is sounding the fans' lament about needing some goals! Welcome to our pre-season LA!! How do you like being stuck in the past?? Enjoy our former misery. Of course, the Kings have struggled to score so far this season, but I'm not sure how...they seem more than capable to me!
-- the Kings seem to be having way too much open ice with which to operate as they keep crusing into our zone without little duress or resistance. Here comes Bogosian! Not really.
-- Good hustle play by Oduya to chase down a deflected shot that got loose in the neutral zone...saved an odd-man rush opportunity. Thrashers are having no luck getting their forecheck going right now and ice the puck.
-- Somehow shots are now in favor of Thrashers by the count of 20 to 17 with 5 minutes remaining in the 2nd...Kopitar and the boys trying to get the cycle going...no luck. Kane with a rush the other way but no one home on the doorstep as he flings the puck through the crease. Kings back the other way and a long wrister is deposited into the belly of Chris Mason. TV T/O.
-- Mace with a good save on a bid by Handzus off the clean F/O win for the Kings...Burmy now throwing his 175 lbs around and the Thrashers get out of their zone only to turn it over...Kings are tough in the neutral zone...long shot by Burmy is blockered away. Here comes big Wayne Simmonds! Blocked by the D...we are blocking a lot of shots...practice makes perfect!
-- Another good save by Mason at the 2:45 mark as the boys are getting pressed pretty good by the Kings again...icing ATL. Sopes & Hains stuck out on the ice? Antro loses the draw, again. Sopes Star working his tail off and the Thrash get the puck out for a line change. Here comes the Little Ladd Nicky line, but just not very much in the way of shooting lanes right now.
-- Mason stones Smyth and keeps his team in the lead...Kaner trying to do to much on his own and the puck is stripped along the boards...35 seconds left and Scuds accidentally flips the puck out of the "playing domain" and the Thrashers get an abbreviated POWER-LESS PLAY!
-- LA commentator making a good point about the Thrashers generally playing good positional hockey and with discipline...until Kane retaliates on Doughty and gives Drew the Randy Orton TKO takedown! What was that about discipline?? Can't really blame Kane as it looked like interference when Kane chipped the puck and tried to go around DD...guess Murray did a nice job on the scouting report. Gonna have to kill the short PP in the early 2nd and hopefully cling to this one-goal lead as I don't see the offense creating many chances in the 3rd.
L.A.'s Fine, Sunshine Most of the Time...But You Know I Keep Thinking About...
FIRST PERIOD OF ACTION:
Thrashers Make a Rare Visit to Los Armenians, I mean Los Angeles
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Monday, October 11, 2010
Thrashers Charge Runs Out of Juice Against Bolts
Although the box score would indicate differently, the Thrashers actually started out pretty strong in their first road test of the season. Unfortunately, Nigel Dawes' quick release from the high slot wasn't quick enough to beat goalie Mike Smith in the early going and a botched line change gave the Bolts their first real opportunity to score with a man-advantage. The bench minor for "too many men on the ice" cost the Thrashers in the form of an early 1 - 0 deficit just five minutes into the game. On the goal play, Zach Bogosian was guilty of trying to corral the loose puck rather than mark the pesky Steve Downie, who was there on the door step to deposit the loose change with relative ease. Goalie Chris Mason tried his best to take away the open net but Downie deftly slid the puck through his legs to give Tampa an early lead as well as the momentum.
That lead would quickly go to 2 goals when free-agent acquisition Dominic Moore would become the beneficiary of a loose puck in front of the Thrashers' cage. This time, a defensive breakdown off a face-off, would cost the Thrashers as D-man Dustin Byfuglien got caught taking a poor angle off the draw leaving Toby Enstrom to fend for himself in front of the net as Lightning forward Teddy Purcell got free to put a puck on Mason's pad. Unfortunately, the rebound would carom right to an unmarked Moore, who easily wristed the biscuit into a gaping basket. However, Byfuglien wasn't the only Thrasher guilty of a poor decision as both wings drifted too far up the ice in anticipation of a would-be breakout when Rich Peverley's won draw took a weird bounce off the heel of his skate.
The 2-goal deficit at the end of one period quickly grew to four as a sluggish Thrashers team gave Tampa's lethal power-play another opportunity to do damage just a 1:21 into the 2nd period. And damage they would do as two failed clearing attempts by Fredrik Modin and rookie Alex Burmistrov would lead to yet another choice chance for the Bolts. This time Vinny Lecavalier would slip one just inside the post past an unwitting Chris Mason who was screened on the play because Ron Hainsey was busy checking his hair in the reflection of the glass nearby. Seriously though, a flat-footed D-man would once again contribute directly to a goal allowed. Three and a half minutes later, Steven Stamkos would get his first goal of the game re-directing a Pavel Kubina shot from the point. But it was Downie who "earned" the goal with his efforts along the wall where he outworked both Dawes and Nik Antropov to free up the puck for Kubina's shot.
After the 4th goal, Coach Craig Ramsay called a time-out to calm his troops. And the simple, direct message he delivered of "play your game" was taken to heart by his loyal subjects, who slogged mightily through an irascible 1 - 2 - 2 Lightning trap to find open ice and rare scoring opportunities. But alas, the Bolts would be their own worst enemy and their careless and sloppy play would afford Atlanta several power-play chances and over 8 minutes of man-advantage hockey. Finally the Thrashers would break through on a Toby Enstrom rocket launch that was strategically fired to the right of Mike Smith, who was screened effectively by Andrew Ladd. The puck rang off the pipe and it was "game on!" It only took another 1:42 before Atlanta would cut the lead to 2 when Ben Eager beat Smith on the blocker side with a deft wrister that also "ting-ed" off the right-side post.
Eager's goal was the immediate by-product of tireless work by he and his trio-mates, Chris Thorburn and Burmistrov, who was a perpetual thorn in Tampa's side the whole game. Burmy's fleet-footed rush up the right-wing side, coupled with his proper read of the play in the corner, paid off handsomely in the form of a bad pass off the stick of D-man Brett Clark, whom Burmy unceremoniously planted in the glass. And Eager did not hesitate to feast on the loose table scraps at the top of the circle. In a span of less than 2 minutes, Atlanta had recaptured the momentum as well as a ton of positive energy, energy that they would carry into the final stanza of play.
The Thrashers relentless pursuit of Tampa bore early fruit in the 3rd period when Lecavalier was charged with a high-sticking infraction during a battle along the wall with Ben Eager. Unfortunately, the resulting power-play was squandered when Enstrom's attempted wrister into an open net would instead fly errantly towards a helpless Smith and into his backside. But the Thrashers did not back off. The "Eager Thor-Burm" line would strike again as Ben Eager made an adroit pass to himself off the left boards around a hapless defender. Once he regained control, Eager shoveled the puck through the crease to a streaking Thorburn, who used a full-extension reach of his stick to redirect the puck up over the outstretched glove and leg of Smith. The goal was surely a satisfying reward for Coach Ramsay, who had been hammering into his charges' heads the execution of such a play throughout training camp.
The comeback was nearly completed a little over 3 minutes later when the scrappy Burmistrov would find himself loose in the mid-slot with a chance to tie the game, but his quick wrister along the ice to the left of Smith, who was sliding to his right, would betray him as the puck slid just wide of the goalpost. On the ensuing rush down the ice, Tampa would regain a choke-hold on the game's outcome with a crafty deflection off the stick of Stamkos. The 5th goal would prove to be the final nail in the proverbial coffin for a Thrashers team that had more than its share of chances to steal a point in Florida despite an erratic and sometimes very sloppy effort, especially in the defensive zone. Overall the effort was constant and the attitude was that of a winner as the team did not allow its collective "chalupa to lose its crunch!"