Tonite, as I drove home from my weekend-long visit to the Twin Cities of Winston and Salem to see my family and friends, I considered myself lucky that the radio signal of the Thrashers' flagship station, 680 The Fan, was not strong enough to carry beyond the Atlanta bedroom community of Suwanee. Fatigue was seeping in to my bones and my eyes were becoming increasingly bleary from the constant, insidious glare of obnoxiously bright headlight lamps of the speeding SUV's and 18-wheelers I was forced to pass in order to maintain a consistent and safe rate of speed. Had we been able to listen to the radio call of Thrashers' radio voice, Dan Kamal, I most surely would have been nerve-wracked to the point of danger since I was already on the edge of losing my battle with the sensory terror of traveling southbound on I-85 at night.
By the time we were able to get a clear signal just south of the Suwanee exit, the Thrashers game was about to go into overtime. I knew, from twitter updates on the phone, that the Thrashers had managed to secure the tying goal against a desperate and frenzied Islanders team that had dropped all but 1 of a possible 24 points over their last 12 games. I was also acutely aware of the fact that both starting goalies, Rick DiPietro and Ondrej Pavelec, had each made breath-taking and game-saving stops to keep their teams locked in a tie late in the 3rd period. For the Isles, the game was a furious struggle to earn the turning point win they so desperately coveted. For the Thrashers, it was an anxious battle to not only earn a precious two points in the standings, but also validate their status as a team that is capable of overcoming the inevitable emotional let-down that follows a shutout win against a perennial powerhouse like Washington and disposing of a weaker opponent to keep pace in a playoff race that is starting to see some separation between the "haves" and the "have-nots".
As Coach Ramsay would discuss later in his post-game press conference, this game was about building on the recent success and learning to win when the team you're facing may be more scared to lose than even you are. When queried about the importance of this win and overcoming the anxiety of losing a tight game to a more desperate team, he related these thoughts: "We had a good start, we looked good. Then our neutral zone play was not good enough. And you just get some bad feelings once in a while against a team that hasn't won in a long time. You're controlling the play in the offensive zone but not scoring, not getting anything out of it. And their goalie is capable of a great game and they're team is capable of winning, so it's tense on the bench and that's with the kind of game though that you grow with as much as the win against Washington...we had to fight through it, it was a tight game the whole way and we got the key save at the right time."
Listening to the press conference, the relief in Ramsay's voice was palpable and unmistakable. Losing to the Islanders, with all due respect, would have surely caused some degree of mental anguish after enjoying the emotional high of dominating a better opponent on home ice Friday nite. Especially on the heels of naming Andrew Ladd team captain, which created a bigger sense of gravity around the team that the time to turn the season for the better was now. Losing to the Islanders would have been two steps backwards after a huge step forward was taken, and taken with a demonstrative swagger and reinforced belief in themselves. Like Ramsay said, it's one thing to raise your game against a better opponent, but it's an entirely different story to take care of a struggling team who's on the brink: "We've been able to elevate our game against good teams...I think winning this tight game can really be important for us as much as that five (to) nothing win."
Indeed, a dramatic, come-from-behind win such as this can be vital to the process of building confidence in what they're doing as a team and further validate their hard work to overcome some recent struggles. A win like tonite's OT thriller can certainly help to cement good work habits that must be employed to win tight games. Ramsay went on to say that the team must continue to "recognize that when we do our detail work correctly, we're tough. And its not about (worrying about) what just happened, although that builds within you, it's about facing a good team (and) playing our game against them."
Ramsay knows that a young team must learn to deal with adversity and overcome frustrations when things don't go according to plan. If this team is to keep evolving in a positive fashion and contend seriously for a playoff spot, games like this are important stepping stones in creating the right mind-set that helps players to focus on things they can control rather than the results. As an example, Ramsay pointed out how the frustration of dominating play in the 1st period without any results started to set in later on: "In the 2nd period, we got frustrated a little bit and now we started turning (the puck over) and they were runnin' up the ice. We don't want to just throw the puck away...we get frustrated and we start looking for something unique and special instead of just stayin' with the plan."
One player who most definitely received the gravitas of Ramsay's message of sticking to the plan was overtime hero, and burgeoning blueline sensation, Dustin Byfuglien. In addition to scoring the game-winning goal, Big Buff turned failure into positive motivation and eventually success: "He (Byfuglien) wants to be a difference-maker all the time and that's the biggest asset a hockey player can have, said Ramsay. "The want to be a difference-maker, (the) want to be THE guy; I say 'be the man' and he puts his hand up. Now he also took the blame for their goal (late in the 2nd period also during a 4 on 4 situation). He held himself accountable and told his teammates he'd get it back, and he did."
Obviously, not all games are going to have a fairy-tale ending, but it's more about the commitment to the process of learning how to deal with and conquer adversity through doing the right things, especially the little things. "It's composure" said Ramsay. "We talk a lot about composure and you see it from some of our guys under pressure (in how) they keep the puck. For a goalie (Pavelec) not to lose track of where he is and to understand his only play, and he took it; he couldn't have climbed up and he couldn't have done anything else...but he put himself in a position and he battled, that's the key issue, he battled to get there...to take a chance."
Recently, Pavelec's play has been brilliant -- some might say, "Pavelec-tric" even -- and he really seems to be benefitting from the extra attention to detail as well as a better execution of fundamentals, so that when things don't go according to plan, you remain composed and you give yourself a chance to battle and make a daring play. The sort of daring, and amazing play Pavelec made when he sprawled out to his left to snag a sailing puck with his outstretched glove-hand to stymie what looked like a sure goal. That sort of play is only possible if a player has the right level of composure and calm. Ramsay went on to say about his young netminder Pavelec: "He's been alright I guess (said with tongue firmly planted in cheek). When we had the good start I thought, 'we just need to get ahead'...but (after the goal) he just looked like he wasn't gonna let anything else in. He was big, he looked big (in his crease) and his positioning was great, and his commitment was wonderful."
And that, my friends, is a salient point about commitment. The players seem to be buying in to what the coaches are selling and the level of commitment is starting to manifest itself in the ability to win tight games as well as surprise a seemingly superior opponent (like Washington). There is always going to be adversity and there is always going to be "off" nights, but without a commitment to the plan and the overall team program, then outcomes like tonite's are not possible. If you remain committed, then the frustration can't beat you as easily. Ramsay used tonite's game as the perfect illustration: "We had some instances when they ran us ragged. I had to call the timeout on the one instance because our guys were so exhausted....But after the timeout, we fought back through it, we got it done....so, the things we need to do we're doing and we did fight through some difficult situations and those are the things you build on."
And build, and build and build they must. They need to keep building on the foudation of teachings that Ramsay and his coaches are laying down. One shift, one period, one game at a time. Hopefully this win over the Islanders isn't just any old win. Let's hope that this win is the kind of win that helps to shape a young team into a winning team that believes in what it is doing every nite they take to the ice. From what I've seen, and considering some of the adversity this team has already overcome, I am just silly enough to believe this team is starting to win because it believes that it should. Leadership is coming not only from the bench, but also from guys on the ice who are totally committed. Guys like Byfuglien, Captain Ladd, hard-working Bryan Little, tiny, but big-hearted Toby Enstrom, unsung, but steady Brent Sopel, unrelenting Chris Thorburn and knuckle-scarred warrior Eric Boulton.
Blessed are the committed hockey souls with indomitable spirit and positive attitude, for they shall foster a winning mentality and experience that is rich with success and reward even in the face of difficulty. Blessed are your Thrashers?
By the time we were able to get a clear signal just south of the Suwanee exit, the Thrashers game was about to go into overtime. I knew, from twitter updates on the phone, that the Thrashers had managed to secure the tying goal against a desperate and frenzied Islanders team that had dropped all but 1 of a possible 24 points over their last 12 games. I was also acutely aware of the fact that both starting goalies, Rick DiPietro and Ondrej Pavelec, had each made breath-taking and game-saving stops to keep their teams locked in a tie late in the 3rd period. For the Isles, the game was a furious struggle to earn the turning point win they so desperately coveted. For the Thrashers, it was an anxious battle to not only earn a precious two points in the standings, but also validate their status as a team that is capable of overcoming the inevitable emotional let-down that follows a shutout win against a perennial powerhouse like Washington and disposing of a weaker opponent to keep pace in a playoff race that is starting to see some separation between the "haves" and the "have-nots".
As Coach Ramsay would discuss later in his post-game press conference, this game was about building on the recent success and learning to win when the team you're facing may be more scared to lose than even you are. When queried about the importance of this win and overcoming the anxiety of losing a tight game to a more desperate team, he related these thoughts: "We had a good start, we looked good. Then our neutral zone play was not good enough. And you just get some bad feelings once in a while against a team that hasn't won in a long time. You're controlling the play in the offensive zone but not scoring, not getting anything out of it. And their goalie is capable of a great game and they're team is capable of winning, so it's tense on the bench and that's with the kind of game though that you grow with as much as the win against Washington...we had to fight through it, it was a tight game the whole way and we got the key save at the right time."
Listening to the press conference, the relief in Ramsay's voice was palpable and unmistakable. Losing to the Islanders, with all due respect, would have surely caused some degree of mental anguish after enjoying the emotional high of dominating a better opponent on home ice Friday nite. Especially on the heels of naming Andrew Ladd team captain, which created a bigger sense of gravity around the team that the time to turn the season for the better was now. Losing to the Islanders would have been two steps backwards after a huge step forward was taken, and taken with a demonstrative swagger and reinforced belief in themselves. Like Ramsay said, it's one thing to raise your game against a better opponent, but it's an entirely different story to take care of a struggling team who's on the brink: "We've been able to elevate our game against good teams...I think winning this tight game can really be important for us as much as that five (to) nothing win."
Indeed, a dramatic, come-from-behind win such as this can be vital to the process of building confidence in what they're doing as a team and further validate their hard work to overcome some recent struggles. A win like tonite's OT thriller can certainly help to cement good work habits that must be employed to win tight games. Ramsay went on to say that the team must continue to "recognize that when we do our detail work correctly, we're tough. And its not about (worrying about) what just happened, although that builds within you, it's about facing a good team (and) playing our game against them."
Ramsay knows that a young team must learn to deal with adversity and overcome frustrations when things don't go according to plan. If this team is to keep evolving in a positive fashion and contend seriously for a playoff spot, games like this are important stepping stones in creating the right mind-set that helps players to focus on things they can control rather than the results. As an example, Ramsay pointed out how the frustration of dominating play in the 1st period without any results started to set in later on: "In the 2nd period, we got frustrated a little bit and now we started turning (the puck over) and they were runnin' up the ice. We don't want to just throw the puck away...we get frustrated and we start looking for something unique and special instead of just stayin' with the plan."
One player who most definitely received the gravitas of Ramsay's message of sticking to the plan was overtime hero, and burgeoning blueline sensation, Dustin Byfuglien. In addition to scoring the game-winning goal, Big Buff turned failure into positive motivation and eventually success: "He (Byfuglien) wants to be a difference-maker all the time and that's the biggest asset a hockey player can have, said Ramsay. "The want to be a difference-maker, (the) want to be THE guy; I say 'be the man' and he puts his hand up. Now he also took the blame for their goal (late in the 2nd period also during a 4 on 4 situation). He held himself accountable and told his teammates he'd get it back, and he did."
Obviously, not all games are going to have a fairy-tale ending, but it's more about the commitment to the process of learning how to deal with and conquer adversity through doing the right things, especially the little things. "It's composure" said Ramsay. "We talk a lot about composure and you see it from some of our guys under pressure (in how) they keep the puck. For a goalie (Pavelec) not to lose track of where he is and to understand his only play, and he took it; he couldn't have climbed up and he couldn't have done anything else...but he put himself in a position and he battled, that's the key issue, he battled to get there...to take a chance."
Recently, Pavelec's play has been brilliant -- some might say, "Pavelec-tric" even -- and he really seems to be benefitting from the extra attention to detail as well as a better execution of fundamentals, so that when things don't go according to plan, you remain composed and you give yourself a chance to battle and make a daring play. The sort of daring, and amazing play Pavelec made when he sprawled out to his left to snag a sailing puck with his outstretched glove-hand to stymie what looked like a sure goal. That sort of play is only possible if a player has the right level of composure and calm. Ramsay went on to say about his young netminder Pavelec: "He's been alright I guess (said with tongue firmly planted in cheek). When we had the good start I thought, 'we just need to get ahead'...but (after the goal) he just looked like he wasn't gonna let anything else in. He was big, he looked big (in his crease) and his positioning was great, and his commitment was wonderful."
And that, my friends, is a salient point about commitment. The players seem to be buying in to what the coaches are selling and the level of commitment is starting to manifest itself in the ability to win tight games as well as surprise a seemingly superior opponent (like Washington). There is always going to be adversity and there is always going to be "off" nights, but without a commitment to the plan and the overall team program, then outcomes like tonite's are not possible. If you remain committed, then the frustration can't beat you as easily. Ramsay used tonite's game as the perfect illustration: "We had some instances when they ran us ragged. I had to call the timeout on the one instance because our guys were so exhausted....But after the timeout, we fought back through it, we got it done....so, the things we need to do we're doing and we did fight through some difficult situations and those are the things you build on."
And build, and build and build they must. They need to keep building on the foudation of teachings that Ramsay and his coaches are laying down. One shift, one period, one game at a time. Hopefully this win over the Islanders isn't just any old win. Let's hope that this win is the kind of win that helps to shape a young team into a winning team that believes in what it is doing every nite they take to the ice. From what I've seen, and considering some of the adversity this team has already overcome, I am just silly enough to believe this team is starting to win because it believes that it should. Leadership is coming not only from the bench, but also from guys on the ice who are totally committed. Guys like Byfuglien, Captain Ladd, hard-working Bryan Little, tiny, but big-hearted Toby Enstrom, unsung, but steady Brent Sopel, unrelenting Chris Thorburn and knuckle-scarred warrior Eric Boulton.
Blessed are the committed hockey souls with indomitable spirit and positive attitude, for they shall foster a winning mentality and experience that is rich with success and reward even in the face of difficulty. Blessed are your Thrashers?
1 comment:
I enjoyed this blog a lot. So happy they beat the Islanders!
LaVida
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