How Will the Thrashers Start Tonight?
Last season I ran some numbers which showed that the Thrashers struggled when they had 3 or more days off. If I had more time I'd take a look at the numbers for this season, but I don't. However, I will point out that we recently saw this pattern in action when the team have 4 days off and came out flatter than a pancake at home and the Capitals outshot them something like 18-3 in the first period.
So now the Thrashers head up to Carolina for an important divisional contest. The Hurricanes have lost their heart and soul (Rod Brind'amour) for the rest of the season and have been receiving sub-standard goaltending for a while. The Thrashers are coming off an inspiration win versus New Jersey and an ugly loss to the Islanders--a game that seemed to have been plucked from the team's expansion years.
The Thrashers have now been off for several days. These days have been filled with wall to wall trade speculation about one of their star players. How will they respond? Will they come out firing with a chip on their shoulder or will they skate around flat-footed like a distracted team that hasn't seen any game action for 5 days? What kid of "character" will we see that in action tonight.
So now the Thrashers head up to Carolina for an important divisional contest. The Hurricanes have lost their heart and soul (Rod Brind'amour) for the rest of the season and have been receiving sub-standard goaltending for a while. The Thrashers are coming off an inspiration win versus New Jersey and an ugly loss to the Islanders--a game that seemed to have been plucked from the team's expansion years.
The Thrashers have now been off for several days. These days have been filled with wall to wall trade speculation about one of their star players. How will they respond? Will they come out firing with a chip on their shoulder or will they skate around flat-footed like a distracted team that hasn't seen any game action for 5 days? What kid of "character" will we see that in action tonight.
posted by The Falconer at
11:49 AM
2 Comments:
The Cane's showed a lot of grit scoring two goals during the last minute vs. Boston to take the game to OT. Could be that Rod's absence is the catalyst for the Cane's to battle harder during the balance of the season.
I'm amazed that the leadership for the Thrash (Holik, Kovy, Kozy, Hossa, & KL)cannot generate a more consistent effort from the club, particularly given they know they are on the bubble of potentially making the playoffs. Tonight's effort could be a reliable leading indicator of how our team will perform during the next month.
By
Anonymous, at 2:36 PM
You called it, Falconer. I wish that they all would show some heart. Like someone said on the main blog page, they all need to show some heart. It can't be just 6 or 7; it has to be everyone. They have to get that passion to win, use their heads, show some enthusiasm on both ends of the ice, and work together as a unit. They are not while the other team does. We haven't lost anyone to any injuries while other teams have and the other teams are beating us. Look at Philly and Carolina. Both have lost some key players, yet they are still beating us. The Thrashers, as a team, need to make a daily decision to build each other up, every period, every play whether we score or not or get scored on or not until the game is over. They can't play flat the 1st period and then expect to come back at the end. Or when the other team scores on them that they adopt a defeatist attitude. The one thing I saw that was cool was that White scored with 1:43 left. If they had done that sooner, it would have been a different game. Kudos to Todd, Kovy, and Recchi for that goal. But everyone needs to contribute from Boulton and Thorburn on their line to Exelby an d Zhitnik on their defense. Everything needs to be done with effort, great forethought, and passion to win. Same with Slava. I don't know what has happened to him, but he is not the same as last year. Last year, I voted that he make the All-Star team. This year, I couldn't even cast that vote because he is not playing like he deserves it. I hate saying that, but it is true.
By
Anonymous, at 1:09 PM
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