Huge Win Over Panthers
The new guys made their home debut and made a big difference as the Thrashers beat the Panthers 4-2 in front of a fantastic Saturday-night crowd. It was one of the loudest crowds of the season and the players were very appreciative of it, as you’ll see in my recap quotes. Bergfors got the game-winner on a fantastic goal (see for yourself) and Oduya was a major force on the PK, playing over six minutes shorthanded. He played with Haisney for most of the game, which meant a big dip in ice time for Zach Bogosian, but I think that might be better for Zach in the long run. He seems to have hit a bit of a wall lately and a bit more rest and a different role might help him get back on track.
With there being a big football game of some sort coming up its going to be a quiet day on atlantathrashers.com, but we’ll be in Duluth Monday morning to get to know the new guys. We’ll get the content up as quick as we can.
Can’t say enough about the heart we showed. After last night in D.C. we could have folded tent and mailed in the rest of the season. Instead we go down by two and litterally fight our way back into the game. Good composure, good positioning, and some bounces our way. Great job guys.
I know it’s only one game, but Bergfors with the GW Goal and did anyone notice Oduya’s stat line: no PIMs, and 6 plus minutes on the PK (and Florida was 0 for 7). Great job by those two to come in and contribute.
I hope everyone is like me and continues to believe and support the guys playing with heart down here in ATL.
Go Thrash!
Great game, great crowd, and an effort we haven’t seen in Blueland since November. Coincidentally, that’s about the time one of our players said he was ready to sign a contract and didn’t. I see several guys stepping up to say this is our team, not his. Tough trip coming up, but a 12- or 13-win March is possible. Great job, all you true ATL hockey fans that made this a memorable evening!
I’m almost willing to say that was the game of the year for us. I was beyond impressed by the energy level (especially considering the trip back), the pace, and the work ethic. This team showed that it wants to be in the playoffs, now we just have to show up and support them on the long road ahead.
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/8899/bergorce.jpg
MAY THE BERGFORCE BE WITH YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
great pic i found
While one game does not a playoff team make, what we saw last night was the transformation of a team previously focused around a superstar, to a team focusing around a team. And they did this with two new members who have yet to practice with their new teammates.
I, too, was on the bandwagon to sign Kovy and to give hm the recognition he deserved. But after watching the days and hours leading up to his trade, I began to have a change of heart. His agent tipped their negotiating hand for all the league to see and in turn, put DW’s back against the wall. He did what he had to do to get the best deal he could under the circumstances. At least that is what I was hoping…..
My opinion of the situation was confirmed when I saw an article in The Hockey News, discussing Kovy’ move to New Jersey, which said, in part…
………Coming to the Devils in a blockbuster five-player deal with Atlanta will give the 26-year-old Kovalchuk his first real chance to compete for a Stanley Cup.
“I am very excited,” he said after taking part in the pregame skate for Friday night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. “This is the fist time in my career I got a chance to play for a first-class organization, the team who won three Stanley Cups. You just look around the locker room, and guys like Marty Brodeur, legends in this game, and it’s very exciting.”
What is especially telling is the phrase “…This is the fist time in my career I got a chance to play for a first-class organization…”
Atlanta Thrashers and fans, we have beed dissed big time. The true Kovy comes out. He was never for the team. He never wanted to stay. He wanted the MAX for himself and didn’t care what was left to build the supporting cast, which would have been por, at best.
Tonight we saw the play of a team relieved of a huge anchor. We saw the play of a team with a number of players willing to step and and take leadership roles. They played hard and played with grit.
The past history and management of this franchise notwithstanding, this is a new era for this the Thrashers.
Lets give it a little more time and give them the support we shoed last night and see what happens.
Good job boys and congrats to Bergy and Odouya and all the cast last night.
Go Thrashers.
dont know what every1 else saw…but this is the same team we have had all year.
spot a team 2, then play a gutty 2nd and 3rd, either we get the huge comeback liek tonight, or we get the 1 goal loss like nashville
we r so close to the playoffs, effort hasnt been an issue all year for this team as a whole, and the new editions seem to fit w/o a mornign skate or practice yet.
we have to stop diggin the early holes
pk and moose won this one, and btw what kinda a joke call goalie interference on kane in the 2nd…total crap
I was pleasantly surprised at the size of the crowd last night. What even took me more by surprise was the electric feeling last night throughout the entire game…even when we were down by two the crowd stayed in it. Congrats to the fans!!!
Despite the absolute NIGHTMARE of a travel day the boys experienced they turned in a STELLAR performance. I am so proud of the way they played all night.
IMO things that went well:
1. Neutral Zone Play – Continues to improve. Anyone else notice the disruption of the play which is translating into more broken plays in our defensive end which in turns means less shots on goal. HUGE improvement over the last few games.
2. Grit and Nasty Physical Play – We were far nastier last night than we have been in a long time. Last night I saw more Panthers getting up slowly after taking a punishment for trying to skate freely in front of our net. This has been missing for a long time.
3. Forechecking – Continues to improve. Kane, Little and Slater continue to dazzle here and Kubina really picked it up last night too. Let’s not forget KOZLOV who played his ass off last night.
4. Defensive Zone Play – We stood our ground on the blueline very well last night, but the BIGGEST difference of all was the absence of a certain forward skating the blueline waiting for the stretch pass…sorry Kovy but BRIAN LITTLE was incredible last night jumping in and staying down low in our defensive zone and breaking up plays. Again another element many other teams have always had, and now we do too. Great job last night Brian.
Ben, I do not disagree with Bogo seeing a little less time. While I think he is a spectacular player and will be in this league forever, he needs to rest right now.
Do you know if a Captain will be named at all this season? I know you eluded to the possibility of not seeing another one named this year, but IMO I think from a physchological standpoint and to exercise the final ghosts of Kovy we name one imediately. My leading candidate would be Kubina. He was barking and chirping all night, like he usually does, and seemed to really keep the guys sparked last night. That is what you need in a leader, besides the good play and determination he puts forth every night. Just my opinion sir.
I think this team played better last night than I’ve seen from them in a while. That 1st period wasn’t pretty but you know they had to be a big jet lagged after arriving into Atlanta at 5:45, getting to Phillips Arena at around 6:15 from what I heard to get ready to play Hockey at 7:45. No real time to take a nap, relax a bit, or fully prepare for a game. This team showed us alot last night. It took them a period to get things going but once they did they pretty much outplayed Florida most this game. How many times in the past have we seen Florida outwork the Thrashers this season? We really took the play to them for the most part. Ya Florida had a few forechecking shifts that kept the puck in our zone too much but they are a hard forechecking team.
Speaking of Kovy, I’m almost relieved he’s gone in a way. I know it sounds weird but I just feel something is gonna shift to the positive with this team. Now the players are able to make this team theirs. This will also force them to realize they NEED to step up and play harder if they want to win hockey games and make the playoffs. It sounds like the players have a lot of pride and if that’s what it takes to be a catalyst to go on that run they did second half of the season last year then by all means! Let that be the fuel to carry them into the playoffs.
I agree about Zach. Last night I saw two different times where he had the puck behind his own net and gets stripped of it which led to about another 30-60 seconds of Florida forechecking and cycling. I’m so glad we got Oduya and put Zach on 3rd line pairing. I have to give him credit though he started playing more physical than I’ve seen him play all year, so hopefully that will help him get his confidence back and being more assertive.
All around great team effort from the boys tonight. The crowd was awesome and had a playoff like atmosphere. It was nice to see everyone come out and support this team.
this team plays tough all year but always slow outta the gate, Richard is right about shots on goal which is much improved, the nasty and grit and forecheck all go hand in hand and have elevated since slater-kane-armstrong were put together a few weeks ago.
as far as a capt? i couldnt care less if they name 1 the rest of the year, its like the madden curse, they all leave town soon after. leadership seems to come from different places for this team. Hainsey had that great shift early in the 2nd. Kubina on a few of those pks. Armstrong gets every1 goin w/ a big shift. no need for a C in my opinion.
let play decide who leads us
and just think of the $$ we saved by not signing Kovy, lots left now to wheel and deal! Good game Thrashers, could’ve turned out different though, we have to take less penalties especially when playing the stronger teams. Hope the fans keep coming out though, makes the game more exciting and I think the players really appreciate it. Keep it going Thrashers!
wheel and deal… speaking of, we have a goalie situation looming large. this wont get the press dealing w/ the kovy thing did, but itll b interesting to see what dw does w/ this, either of the 3 could b moved and im wondering who needs a goalie and what they will part w/
My heart went out to Bergfors during the interview between 1st and 2nd period. He looked tired and a little disappointed at what had happened to his life in the previous 48 hours. But after the game in his 1st star interview, seems like it was forgotten and we got to see him absolutely beaming. Good job, Nic! Hope to see many more goals and smiles from you.
Fans are going to like Bergfors and Oduya once they see more of them. Great guys. Give them a little bit of time to get settled in. They haven’t even had a practice yet.
does anyone have that post game interview with bergforce?????????
I know the new guys have to be disappointed being traded away to New Jersey. It doesn’t matter where they would have got traded to, but to be traded away from a team competiting for top spot in the conference to anything less still has to sting quite a bit. I’ve always liked Oduya, and Bergfors looks like a Peverley clone. Are we sure Bergfors wasn’t created in a lab with some Peverley and Forsberg DNA mixed together? LOL
From the way Waddell apparently talked in the STH meeting that Kari is going to be traded soon.
Im a blueland fan and i will always be. The boys played their hearts out last night after the day they had trying to return to ga.The crowd last night at the game was amazing and pumped our boys up even more. Way to go Thrashers.
Easily the most entertaining Hockey this team has played all year.
Two things I noticed…..
Puck movement…… on the Pp. and in general was OUTSTANDING! much, much crisper, and w/ authority.
Heart…… hustle, grit, attitude…. these guys looked like a TEAM!
Lastly…… on a personal note.
I was PROUD to be a Thrashfan last nite…. THE FANS MADE A STATEMENT!
What a crowd! After EVERYTHING, to get that turnout?
Oh yeah, that tingling I felt was PRIDE!
GO THRASHERS!
Great game Saturday night! I think its a relief that Kovy is gone, big chip off ones shoulder and the team has stepped up and played great the last two games. I think they want to prove that their were other players on this team besides you know who! After all the negative comments he has made, lets say GOOD BUY and go forward. GO THRASHERS!
What a crowd and what a game on Saturday night. More crowds like that will help this team in March when we have 12 home games.
Just think how much sweeter it would be to make the playoffs WITHOUT Ilya.
A shame about Boris. He was just starting to play well consistantly. Was still a Plus for the year as well.
Go Thrash!
Ok Waddel, you won me over with your comments… *shocking*
Am I glad the greedy player is gone? Yes.
Am I happy with what we got for him? No.
Do I still have hope for this team? Check back in a few weeks.
C’mon Blueland
I still maintain that Kovy meant nothing negative about his comments when talking about the trade. I believe he wants to see the Thrashers do well, and without him we will be just fine.
Just wait until Patrice Cormier gets here. The guy has a ton of talent, along with Bergfors, Little, Kane, Enstrom, Bogosian, Valabik, and Pavelec who make up the core of young talent this crew will grow into something really special. With the money saved on Kovy we will likely be able to sign most if not all.
Oh and don’t forget Morin and O’Dell…
everyone does seem irked about the “1st class organization comment” but clearly it was more props to the devils than hate on the thrashers….also I did notice after the Leafs vs. Devils game he said something along the lines of “we had lots of comebacks like that with Thrashers” interesting stuff….I may be in the minority here but save money and let armstrong go in the offseason…is there anyway we can dump hainsey’s 4.5 million deal…use theis money and throw the house at #17…if he says no then well that’s it nuthing we can do we offered the max…..we can afford him and the young nucleaus together…aren’t kane, bogo, and toby under they’re rookie contracts for another few years…..we could make some serious runs in this time….and if Kovy hits UFA this summer i don’t think ATL/NJ loses him to an opponent..try the KHL they can throw $20mill at him per season…more than ATL and Jersey combined
WOW!! i live in Japan and i dont miss a game if i can help it. that was by far one of the most exciting games i have seen the thrashers play this season (including both wins vs. the flyers) I really like the way they are now playing as a team and not a… wait till Kovy gets on the ice and give it to him so he can dance around. I think we are better off without Kovy, my general opinion. he tried to put on the Kovy show to many times, and he liked to hover around the blue line and wait for the rest of the team to get the puck and pass it to him, leaving the opposing team in a PP situation of sorts. i love the new additions. GO THRASHERS!!!
oiddzyk- Thank you,uebkzvf.Great site.