Thrashers Grab Bag

A collection of odds and ends today.

The Thrashers take on the Penguins tonight--a team that has been in an absolute free fall in the standings lately. Check out the graph for the Atlantic Division here. I'm sure the Penguins view a match against the Thrashers as a easy opponent.

UPDATE: I just got my spam email from the Pittsburgh Penguins promoting this game it reads as follows:

Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins can't seem to score these days. As a result, they've dropped five consecutive games in regulation for the first time since Crosby's rookie season. A date with the league's worst defensive team might be the perfect solution. The Penguins will try to put an end to their losing streak and their offensive drought on Tuesday when they host the last-place Atlanta Thrashers.

The Thrashers played an exciting game versus Vancouver, but the Canucks looked dog tired from travel and their previous game. The fact that it took a SO to get both points is not a sign of strength for the Thrashers. Then they looked like a sure fire lottery team while playing Tampa on Sunday afternoon.

Kovalchuk has been playing better of late, although it has not translated into point yet (I don't know about Kovalchuk, but I'm sick of Erik Christensen making opposition goalies look good--will he ever score a regulation goal when it matters?) Kovalchuk is making more good decisions on the ice and fewer bad ones.

Angelo Esposito was nearly invisible for most of the World Junior Tournament but then woke up and scored two very nice goals in the semi-final and final game. I suppose that's why people say he needs to work on his consistency. His inconsistent work pattern will fit in just fine with the current Thrashers squad.

I liked what I saw in Nicklas Lasu in the Championship game. He was a gritty checker who brings a physical edge to his game. They mentioned in the broadcast that Team Sweden wanted him to be their Tomas Holmstron but the hands may not be good enough for that. Still if he plays like that on a regular basis I could see him holding down a spot on a NHL checking line.

Sorry for the sparse posting of late. I'm close to making a major change with the blog and should have an announcement soon.