All season, the Thrashers have played with absolutely no consistency. Flashes of brilliance would immediately be followed by “what-in-the-*&#(@” moments. Players, coaches, TV commentators, fans, and even the beer vendors wondered just what it might look like if the team could play 60 minutes of hockey that lived up to the team’s potential.
We saw it Tuesday night against Tampa Bay. It was a great win coming off of a bad losing streak. Truthfully, it was a full 60 minute effort. But questions were raised. Was it because Tampa Bay is one of the worst road teams in the league? Was it because they too have been playing badly of late?
Last night, the Thrashers played their second straight 60 minute effort, against the best team in the Eastern Conference. They tied a franchise record with 45 shots, and held the Senators to 30. Martin Gerber played one of the better games a goaltender has played against the Thrashers, and still lost. The following players can all say that they played their best games all season: Slater (he needs to fight every night), Thorburn, Lehtonen, and Holik. And it came against the best team in the East!
Let’s put this into perspective. The Senators had won their previous six games coming into Atlanta, having outscored their opponents 29-12 in that time span. In the three pervious games against the Thrashers, the Sens had won all three and scored 16 goals in those three games.
Sound like a game that the Thrashers would tie a franchise record in shots? Nope.
This was playoff hockey: opportunistic offense, tight defense, physical play, outstanding goaltending, and electric atmosphere. And the Thrashers played to their talent level, and won.
Kari played like the goaltender that we all know he is. He was smart, controlled the rebounds, and showed confidence again. Last year when he was playing well he would make a glove save, and add some flourish on the end of it. He was doing the same tonight. He only faced 30 shots, most of which came late in the third, but he dominated the game.
After most games you can usually think of a few players that did not play well. Try and name one tonight. It’s impossible. Every single player that stepped foot on the ice played well. The entire team was physical, but not stupid; fast, but not out of position; and emotional, but not negatively.
It was a mature win. Every player did their role with passion, and perfection. Have you ever seen Ilya Kovalchuk score on a backhand, let alone a backhand while diving for a rebound? Didn’t think so. The players showed up to play, and wanted the game badly. Now all they have to do is do the same thing every night.
I think the night can be summed up best by something Darren Eliot said after the game. The players withstood a 6 on 4 for the final minute, played their best game all season, and beat the best team in the conference in front a loud home crowd. Did the players celebrate? Nope. They did the normal high fives on the ice, but that was it. It was a mature celebration, and it spoke volumes about the fact that they know there is still a long uphill battle back to the playoffs.
If they continue to play like tonight, it will be a fun ride.
