That was an incredible game. The attendance was weak, but that is to be expected for a team that is winless, but the folks that were there were passionate and loud. Thrashers scored 5 goals, and probably could have had a few more. Hossa had a great move, and put a shot off the post. Bryan Little scored one, and had another great move that took a great save to keep it out of the net. Jimmy Slater had a breakaway and was robbed of a goal. There was so much more offense and quality chances tonight than in the other games.
After any of the 6 losses, I could talk for a while about all of the players that played badly, and could count on one hand who played well. Tonight, I am hard pressed to find anyone that did not play well and did not hustle and show effort. Just about every player, on every shift, played well.
For some reason the passing tonight was the best I have seen in a long, long time, even going back into last season. There were numerous cross ice passes that seemed to be made blindly but hit a streaking player on the tape. There were many times that a player seemed trapped, and fired away a puck that somehow found an empty spot in the ice with a Thrasher right there. Watch the highlights, and catch the first goal from Pascal Dupuis, and check out the pass from Brad Larsen and you will see what I mean.
And now on to the most prominent discussion on the day: the coaching change. I am beginning to feel that I am in a very small minority in my beliefs here, but I 
still stick by them. Two minutes into the game, both Michael and I commented on the fact that already the Thrashers looked like they were playing with more passion and effort. Now I know that anytime there is a coaching change it can spark a team, but the difference in hustle was incredible. Guys like Bobby Holik and Slava Kozlov who did not appear to try at all the first few games were forechecking and skating up and down the ice.
Here is my argument and reason I agree with the Hartley firing. Before the season, and especially through the first 6 games, I firmly believed that the talent was there for a winning team that could compete. That was what was so frustrating: the belief that the necessary skill was there but that the skill didn’t care, or it wasn’t being properly used. Therefore, I agree with the move. 1 game is not a good sample size to make judgments, but just look at tonight. Strategically, there were very few moves other than no “dump and chase” with more puck possession. How do you explain the night and day difference between tonight’s team and the one from the first 6 games? It comes down to one simple thing: everyone played with more emotion and more confidently. Just look at Lehtonen and Hedberg for examples.
I say it was the coach. Plain and simple. How can you put blame on the GM? He is responsible for every player on the ice, and again I believe that the talent is there for a competitive team.
Now it is time for the road trip. Hopefully the Thrashers can take the momentum from tonight and run with it. Hopefully by the time the team comes back for the Washington game on November 6th, it will be a team with a winning record and with a new coach. Who should be hired for the open position? Waddell needs to look closely at how the Thrashers played tonight: speed, speed, more speed, and incredible passing and playmaking, and find a coach that will nurture and further that play style. Don’t hire a guy that will come in with his own ways that will conflict with how this team is built.
Anyways, wasn’t tonight so incredibly sweet? And on side notes, I hate Colton Orr, Ryan Hollweg, and Garnett Exelby’s hit was amazing. Kari Lehtonen was hurt late in the first period with a hurt groin. The severity or length of the injury is not yet known, I will put it up as soon as I find out.
