Hotlanta Hockey: Atlanta Thrashers Week in Review, Jan. 11–18

The Atlanta Thrashers entered the week off of a couple of bell-weather games.

They had gotten their first shutout of the season against the Devils last Thursday, and then followed that with an 8-4 beatdown at the hands of the Florida Panthers.

They came into this week with a four-day layoff, and an opportunity to make some hay at home against a couple of pretty bad teams.

What they got was a shock at the hands of the Senators, and a gutsy overtime game against the Maple Leafs.

Then, to top it off, they brought their scoring sticks to Nashville for a Saturday showdown with their expansion-brethren Predators.

Game 44: vs. Ottawa Senators (1/14/09)

The Thrashers are beginning to feel like strangers in their own building. In Ilya Kovalchuk’s first game as captain of the Thrashers, the boys from Atlanta played an un-spirited affair at Phillips Arena.

They fell to the Senators 3-2, in a game that saw the Sens score two power-play goals and outplay the Thrashers throughout.

The Senators hadn’t won back-to-back games since the beginning of December, but that didn’t stop them from coming in and playing hard against the Thrashers, who have dropped 12 of 14 at home.

“It’s definitely a special night in my career, but I wanted to win the game,” Kovalchuk said of his first contest as captain.

The Thrashers wasted two leads in this game. They had a 1-0 lead on a Todd White power play goal in the first period, but coughed it up a minute later when Daniel Alfredsson scored another power play goal.

When Chris Thorburn scored to give the Thrashers the lead with five minutes left in the first, the fans in Atlanta really came to life. They were silenced shortly thereafter, however, when Jason Spezza scored another power play to tie the game 2-2.

Atlanta couldn’t muster anymore offense for the rest of the game, and when Dean McAmmond scored to make the game 3-2 in the second period, the game was all but over.

The Thrashers were done in by penalties, as they committed five in the first period and two more in the third. Two of these infractions led to goals for the Senators, and the other ones simply kept Atlanta on its toes the entire game.

The Thrashers won a vast majority of their face-offs, and they also had more hits, shots, and takeaways than the Senators. These statistical advantages, however, failed to translate to the most important column on the sheet: the win column.

Game 45: vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (1/16/09)

Rich Peverley was playing in his second game after being acquired by the Thrashers last week, but he played as though he has been there the entire time.

The newcomer won the hearts of Thrashers fans all over when he notched two assists in the game, then added the game winning goal in overtime when Atlanta bested Toronto 4-3 on a Friday night in Atlanta.

The victory did not come easily, however. The Maple Leafs took a 3-0 lead after the first period, and then the Thrashers truly went to work.

Ilya Kovalchuk scored a goal a minute into the first period to knock the deficit down to two. Then, with four minutes left, Bryan Little scored a goal to make it 3-2 going into the second intermission.

The Thrashers battled really hard in the third period, and their efforts were finally rewarded with five minutes left in the period when Kovalchuk found the back of the net to tie the game at three.

In the extra frame, Rich Peverley scored the winning goal with a little more than a minute left to win the game for Atlanta.

“It wasn’t the start we wanted, but after the first period we woke up and I think we played our best two periods,” Kovalchuk said.

The game was marked by the repeated booing of Thrashers fans in the first period, who are growing increasingly disdainful of this crop of players. Their frustration quickly turned to jubilation, however, as Atlanta made their comeback.

Game 46: at Nashville Predators (1/17/09)

So much for the Predators dumping Rich Peverley due to a lack of production.

Rich burned his former team with three assists  in a lopsided affair, as the Thrashers destroyed the Preds 7-2 to further the pain of Nashville, still reeling from the defeat of the Tennessee Titans on Saturday night.

The Thrashers got goals from seven different players in the winning effort, as Eric Perrin, Colby Armstrong, Kovalchuk, Little, Mathieu Schneder, Zach Bogosian, and Jim Slater all lit the lamp during the game.

The Predators were very angry at their poor performance. “A sellout crowd for us tonight, and we put on a performance like that. I’m surprised they didn’t leave after the first period, to be honest. We had a talk in here. We know what’s got to happen, and now is the time to do it”, Jason Arnott said after the contest.

Rich Peverley, on the other hand, was ecstatic after the game was over. “I’m just really happy with the opportunity to not only play with great players, but I get to play penalty kill and power play so it’s been good.”

His play has been aided immensely by Kovalchuk, who has scored eight goals in his past nine games.

Transaction Wire

-Recalled D Zach Bogosian from Chicago (AHL)

-Acquired D Brett Skinner from the Islanders in exchange for RW Junior Lessard.

-Assigned D Clay Wilson to Chicago (AHL).

The Week Ahead

The Thrashers will have a tough road to hoe this short week before the All-Star break, as they take on the Montreal Canadiens at home on Tuesday, and then travel to Philadelphia for a game with the flyers on Wednesday. Both games start at 7pm EST.

Also, captain Ilya Kovalchuk will be playing in Sunday’s NHL All-Star Game. Bryan Little will also be traveling to Montreal to play in the NHL Young Stars Game on Saturday. He will represent the sophomore squad.