Tonite at Philips Arena we welcome in a rare visit from the mighty Red Wings, who fly in from Detroit with the top record in the tightly bunched Western Conference and, mathematically, the best points-earned percentage in the entire NHL. Obviously, this will be the sternest test for a Thrashers team that is still in the process of establishing, and hopefully, maintaining an identity that breeds more wins than losses. At 13 - 3 - 2, the Red Wings boast a league-leading goals against average of 3.67 and have won 7 of their 9 games in November. Usual suspects Pavel Datsyuk, Hank Zetterberg and Nik Lidstrom have had great starts, but their success has been buoyed by the surprising starts of Danny Cleary (9 G, 14 pts) and Todd Bertuzzi (15 pts & a +11 rating).
If there IS anything negative one can point out, then it would be that the Red Wings' record MAY be a bit inflated due to 4 of their 7 November wins coming against Edmonton and Calgary, both of which have struggled mightily this season. Also, the Wings played their last 6 games at home and have only ventured out on the road a total of 6 times. But Detroit has certainly taken advantage of the recent home cooking to the tune of 27 goals and 5 wins on the homestand. Unfortunately for the Thrashers, the Detroit road record of 4 - 2 - 0 is hardly any consolation for what will surely be a difficult game against one of the league's best. While two of their three regulation losses have come on the road, that is hardly evidence that Detroit is vulnerable, but it does give this humble writer hope that Coach Craig Ramsay can exploit the right match-ups at home and give the boys in blue a chance to win.
If that is to happen, the Thrashers would be wise to score first and hopefully maintain pressure on the Red Wings in the 1st period, forcing them to play in their own end more than they would like. Also important is for the Thrashers to limit their penalties and try to win the battle for power play opportunities. On the season, the Thrashers are 9th overall in penalties drawn -- thank you Alex Burmistrov!! -- but are tied for 4th in PP vs PK differential at +11. However, just earning more penalties is not enough; the T-birds must convert at least one of their PP to have a chance. More than one, of course, would simply be sublime.
Lastly, the scorching hot Ondrej Pavelec could have a big say in who wins as he has stopped 89 of the last 92 shots that have reached his net. And keeping Detroit to 30 SOG or less would certainly help so Ondrej doesn't have to pull out all the stops to stymie 40+ shots like he did in last year's shutout of the "Big Red Borg" (all rights reserved by Bill "Rawhide" Tiller). As for Detroit's netminder, Jimmy Howard, he has been solid if not spectacular this year. He has 11 wins on the season, but hasn't had to be Dominik Hasek for the Wings to win as he normally only sees about 27.75 pucks per nite. Thus, it is imperative for the Thrashers to get pucks on net and crash the cage to hopefully get Howard out of his comfort zone (easier said than done eh?). BUT, Howard has been a bit suspect in his last 184 minutes of play yielding 11 goals on 90 shots faced. Can Ondrej be "Pavelec-tric" once again and help put the Thrashers back above .500??
EDITOR'S NOTE: This blogger is a-movin' on to whiter hockey rinks (and loftier press-box heights perhaps?) as he has been tapped to blog on the Thrashers for the on-line hockey magazine known as Hockey Independent.com!! If you've been a faithful reader of this humble little blog, I do thank you heartily from the bottom of my, well heart! And I do hope you'll continue to support me and the Thrashers as their singular, dedicated hockey voice. Please tweet your friends, family and neighbors, and point your speakers out the window with the Neil Diamond jams a-pumpin'!! Cuz WE'RE HEADED FOR THE FUTURE!!
If there IS anything negative one can point out, then it would be that the Red Wings' record MAY be a bit inflated due to 4 of their 7 November wins coming against Edmonton and Calgary, both of which have struggled mightily this season. Also, the Wings played their last 6 games at home and have only ventured out on the road a total of 6 times. But Detroit has certainly taken advantage of the recent home cooking to the tune of 27 goals and 5 wins on the homestand. Unfortunately for the Thrashers, the Detroit road record of 4 - 2 - 0 is hardly any consolation for what will surely be a difficult game against one of the league's best. While two of their three regulation losses have come on the road, that is hardly evidence that Detroit is vulnerable, but it does give this humble writer hope that Coach Craig Ramsay can exploit the right match-ups at home and give the boys in blue a chance to win.
If that is to happen, the Thrashers would be wise to score first and hopefully maintain pressure on the Red Wings in the 1st period, forcing them to play in their own end more than they would like. Also important is for the Thrashers to limit their penalties and try to win the battle for power play opportunities. On the season, the Thrashers are 9th overall in penalties drawn -- thank you Alex Burmistrov!! -- but are tied for 4th in PP vs PK differential at +11. However, just earning more penalties is not enough; the T-birds must convert at least one of their PP to have a chance. More than one, of course, would simply be sublime.
Lastly, the scorching hot Ondrej Pavelec could have a big say in who wins as he has stopped 89 of the last 92 shots that have reached his net. And keeping Detroit to 30 SOG or less would certainly help so Ondrej doesn't have to pull out all the stops to stymie 40+ shots like he did in last year's shutout of the "Big Red Borg" (all rights reserved by Bill "Rawhide" Tiller). As for Detroit's netminder, Jimmy Howard, he has been solid if not spectacular this year. He has 11 wins on the season, but hasn't had to be Dominik Hasek for the Wings to win as he normally only sees about 27.75 pucks per nite. Thus, it is imperative for the Thrashers to get pucks on net and crash the cage to hopefully get Howard out of his comfort zone (easier said than done eh?). BUT, Howard has been a bit suspect in his last 184 minutes of play yielding 11 goals on 90 shots faced. Can Ondrej be "Pavelec-tric" once again and help put the Thrashers back above .500??
EDITOR'S NOTE: This blogger is a-movin' on to whiter hockey rinks (and loftier press-box heights perhaps?) as he has been tapped to blog on the Thrashers for the on-line hockey magazine known as Hockey Independent.com!! If you've been a faithful reader of this humble little blog, I do thank you heartily from the bottom of my, well heart! And I do hope you'll continue to support me and the Thrashers as their singular, dedicated hockey voice. Please tweet your friends, family and neighbors, and point your speakers out the window with the Neil Diamond jams a-pumpin'!! Cuz WE'RE HEADED FOR THE FUTURE!!
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