Respect from Yahoo

The Thrashers don’t receive a whole ton of respect from the many media sources around the league, all of them in Canada, and even in Atlanta. Apparently the folks over at Yahoo are fans though. The site has broadcast many games online for free all season. I can’t say how many times the Thrashers have been on so far this year, but this is the schedule for the last week:

Date	ET	Teams
Saturday, March 31	1 p.m.	Atlanta Thrashers at Boston Bruins
Sunday, April 1	3 p.m.	Edmonton Oilers at Chicago Blackhawks
Wednesday, April 4	7 p.m.	Washington Capitals at Atlanta Thrashers
Friday, April 6	7 p.m.	Atlanta Thrashers at Carolina Hurricanes
Saturday, April 7	7 p.m.	Tampa Bay Lightning at Atlanta Thrashers

All of the games are on TV for those fans in Atlanta, but the ones outside will be able to watch all of the last three games.

Now if we can just get NBC to play a game involving the Thrashers instead of switching to Pittsburgh and Philly (March 4).

Perfection

I was thinking about how I would script the end of the season if I could. Here is how it would go.

• We clinch tonight, thanks the Ottawa and Pitt.
• Tampa wins 1 of their next 2 games, so a win over Washington on Wednesday would clinch the division.
• On Friday, we beat Carolina which knocks them out of the playoffs.
• On Saturday, we beat Tampa which knocks them out.

That would be pretty sweet, huh?

Tonight

I wasn’t able to watch most of the game today due to the fact that I live in downtown Atlanta and couldn’t pass on the ton of activities and things to do for the Final Four. I did see the first period, and I must say that I cannot remember the last time Kovy had a tip-in goal. It sounded like it was a great game, with the Thrashers absolutely dominating the Bruins in shots on goal. Keith Tkachuk scored with 18 seconds left for the win which has to go down as one of the larger goals in franchise history.

The only negative on the day was that the power play couldn’t convert on 7 chances. 7! That is not good going into April. Coach Bob is going to have to spend a long time over the next week or two working on it.

Ladies and Gents, this is it. Tonight could be the night. Very simple: if New York Islanders and Toronto both lose, the Thrashers will make the playoffs. Simple as that. New York could even lose in overtime and we would still be in. Toronto plays Pittsburgh, and the Islanders play Ottawa. So, so very close.

Pee Wee Hockey Brawl

Pee Wee Hockey Brawl – Click Here for more great videos and pictures!

Pressure for Atlanta

Two articles about the Thrashers for your Thursday, the first coming from Damien Cox’s mailbag:

Hypothetical situation – you are the commissioner of a fantasy NHL where you have sweeping powers to re-locate franchises as you see fit for the betterment of the game (in search of profits, good fan base, etc), all of the owners are OK with you to make such decisions on their behalf.

If you are to pick 4 teams from the current league, which 4 teams would you choose to re-locate and why.

Brian Griffin, Toronto

A: Before I answer, what would be the salary of such a job? Oh, never mind.

Florida and Atlanta look like very, very iffy markets both now and down the line. Washington has had more than 30 years to stabilize and still hasn’t. Long Island, meanwhile, has been bad for a long, long time, and the dream of a new area remains a distant one. Phoenix looks lousy right now, but it would be interesting to see if a good team in that very nice arena might ultimately work. Nashville doesn’t seem to be attracting the support one would think possible with a very strong team. St. Louis looks dicey at the moment, but I really believe that situation will turn around.

Those are the candidates. If I had to pick four to move, I would pick Florida, Atlanta, Washington and the Islanders. Wouldn’t be much left of the Southeast Division, would there?

Hey Damien – before you completely write off hockey in Atlanta, how ’bout you give it more than 7 years to build a fan base? Come back after year 10 or 11 and see how we are doing, but until then, don’t move us just yet.

The second is from the Globe and Mail:

There is a lot more at stake than a playoff spot for the Atlanta Thrashers as the National Hockey League regular season comes to a close.

If the Thrashers manage to finish out of the playoffs or get blitzed in the first round, then the jobs of general manager Don Waddell and head coach Bob Hartley could be in danger. Even worse, the future of the franchise, which has yet to take Atlanta by storm, could be at stake.

“This is a critical year for our franchise,” Waddell said Wednesday. “Our attendance is heading in the right direction, but if we fall short, it could affect us for years to come.”

Both Waddell and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman say they are not worried about the future of the franchise in Atlanta. But there are troubling signs aside from attendance, which is improving this season but still among the worst in the NHL.

Postgame, @ Florida, Mar. 28

Recap – AJC
I sat down to write about the game tonight, and realized that I couldn’t figure out who didn’t deserve a point more in the game. From one perspective, the Thrashers did not play great hockey, missed many great opportunities, and played quite flat and on their heels for long periods of play. On the other hand, Florida scored one off an incredibly weak goal let in by Kari, and their second goal came after a shot from the point hit a Thrashers stick and bounced directly to Jozef Stumpel crashing the net from the weak side. Slava Kozlov also had a goal overturned, but more on that later. Neither team played all that great tonight, but it was an entertaining game overall.

The whole first period the Thrashers played timid and seemed off. Kari in particular was nervous, consistently looking behind him after stops and made numerous awkward saves. 7 minutes in, Florida forward Bryan Allen scored, coming in from Kari’s right side. He shot from the top of the circle, and as Kari was sliding across the crease, the puck slipped through. Kozlov tied the game with 2 minutes left in the period on a beautiful play. Bobby Holik meandered his way through the neutral zone and carried the puck across the blue line. Kozlov faked going into the corner and instead headed for the net. Holik hit him, and Slava put a one timer past goalie Craig Anderson.

The second period was all the Thrashers. The puck was controlled and Atlanta players were aggressive, drawing 5 penalties. Kozlov scored again 13 minutes in on a 4 on 3 power play. Hartley called a timeout when Jay Bouwmeester was called for hooking, and set up an absolutely gorgeous play. Zhitnik, to Hossa, to Mellanby, to Kozlov at the doorstep. Tic, Tac, Toe. Beautiful. The second period was all Thrashers, but you could sense impending doom after the Thrashers had so many power plays and great opportunities and couldn’t cash in on any of them to take a larger lead. It seemed like there were at least four good breakaway chances that were not converted.

The last period was ugly for the Thrashers, and also for the Panthers at times. Jozef Stumpel tied the game at 12 minutes on a lucky bounce off of a blocked shot. The Thrashers were sitting on their heels and did not continue the pressure and forechecking that worked in the second period. Overtime was very similar to the last period, but the Thrashers were able to generate a couple of good chances.

Before tonight, Florida was 1-8 and Atlanta was 6-3 in the shootout. What would happen tonight? Of course, Florida scored on its 2^nd and 3^rd chances against Kari Lehtonen, while Kozlov and Hossa missed their chances. Game over.

Part way through the game Slava Kozlov had a goal reversed. A rebound came to him all alone at the side of the crease. He kicked the puck forward to his stick, and then tried to touch it with his stick making it legal. At first it was ruled a goal, and then later reversed. Slava ends any debate here: ““I saw the puck come to me, my stick was there, I tried to kick it to my backhand and put it in the net. The puck jumped, hit my skate, and I had no chance to catch it,” Kozlov said. “It was a kick.”

Congrats are in order for Kozlov who set a season high in points tonight with his first goal. His previous high was 73, and he now stands at 75.

Also, happy birthday to Keith Tkachuk who turned 35.

So what to make of this game? Craig Anderson started in place of Ed Belfour tonight, and played absolutely amazing. He got the first star and rightfully so. The Thrashers would have liked to have gained two points on their foes tonight, but one is all right. If the team comes out tomorrow against Toronto and is fired up and plays well the entire game, then this game can be overlooked. If the poor play continues, then it was a huge missed point.

Toronto is scratching and clawing for playoff positioning, and they will bring intense playoff hockey tomorrow night. Can the Thrashers match it? It should make for a great game.

(AP Photo/Steve Mitchell)

Coburn Growing Up

Bill Meltzer on NHL.com took a look at our old pal Braydon Coburn’s maturation process with the Flyers:

Until coming to Philadelphia, Coburn spent the majority of his career with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. The 22-year-old brought just 38 games of NHL experience with him to Philadelphia.

“You can’t take it personally. The Thrashers have been in first place (in the Southeast Division) most of the season and they were looking for another veteran for the playoffs. I learned a lot in Chicago, and I just want to help the Flyers now any way I can,” Coburn says. “The good thing is they have shown a lot of confidence in me here, and I’m getting to play in situations where I can prove myself.”

Flyers coach John Stevens, himself a former defenseman, says Coburn is just at the tip of the iceberg in terms of his development, at both ends of the ice.

“He can fly out there, and he’s been working hard for us. It often takes defensemen, especially big guys like Braydon, a little longer to feel comfortable and really tap into their ability. Braydon has been good for us so far, but I’d say there’s a lot of potential to be unlocked in the future,” Stevens said.

“You can see he’s got the ability to become an impact player,” says Flyers defenseman Denis Gauthier. “You look at him at think he’s going to be a very good player for our hockey team.”

Playoff Promise for Tampa Bay

From the Tampa Tribune:

For anybody out there sitting on the fence trying to decide whether to plop down your hard-earned money to purchase Lightning playoff tickets, Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella has guaranteed your money will not be wasted.

“We are going to get in [to the postseason],” he said. “We’re just taking … we’re going around the block, I guess that’s the best way to put it. We are going to get there. You can write that, I don’t [care] what you write. It is a guarantee. We will get in.”

I seem to remember an Atlanta guarantee last year, and we all know how that turned it out. Hopefully this will end the same way…

Brashear on Fighting

What does the guy that most Thrashers fans live to hate think about fighting in the NHL and the talk of banning it? (Interview and link from Off Wing)

Donald Brashear on NHL Fighting
Uploaded by emcerlain

Unbelievable Race

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the definition of an unbelievable race for the playoffs. Look at the standings through Tuesday’s games:

	GP	Pts
6 NY Rangers	77	87
7 Tampa Bay	77	86
8 Montreal	77	86
9 Carolina	76	84
10 Toronto	76	84
11 NY Islanders	76	84

If the numbers are adjusted for the game in hand, it means that seeds 7 through 11 are essentially tied. The 6th seed is only one point ahead. This is shaping up to be an incredibly entertaining last week and a half of the season.