Thrashers battle back to force OT in loss to Tampa

Oct 22 2008

Published by bud006 at 7:58 am under Thrashers Recaps Edit This

By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

Lightning 3, Thrashers 2 (OT)

Top of the Slot: Down 2-0 after a brutal opening two periods, the Thrashers fought back to salvage a point in the standings on Todd White’s game-tying goal with 35.5 seconds left, then lost on a power-play goal in extra time.

The Good: I know we beat on White in the preseason, but give him credit: dude has played very well so far through the first six games. White set up Colby Armstrong’s goal 6:47 into the third, then tallied the game-tying goal with time running down, off assists from Mathieu Schneider and Ron Hainsey. Kari Lehtonen survived an onslaught of shots in the opening period, finishing with 35 saves.

The Bad: The power-play drought marches on, now 0-for-24 after the Thrashers came up empty on all three man-advantage situations Tuesday. In a matchup of two of the worst defensive teams in the league – in regards to shots allowed per game – Atlanta was outshot 38-33. It was one-sided in the first 20 minutes: 18 shots for Tampa, five for Le Thrash. Bryan Little’s tripping penalty 1:11 into overtime set up the Lightning’s game-winning goal.

View from the Sports Garage: So Tampa gets its first victory of the season, and you know it was extra sweet for the Lightning to get into the W column against the Thrashers. This team has 2’s across the board now: 2 wins, 2 losses, 2 overtime losses. Those three 2’s would be great in poker, but you can’t help but feel Atlanta should be better. The power play continues to be a major issue; Atlanta doesn’t have a power-play goal in its past five games. With games this weekend against Detroit and Boston, the Thrashers best spend some time working on converting with the man advantage. I just don’t see the zip in Atlanta’s step I saw in the first couple of games this season. Granted, this team was 0-6 at this point last season, so having six points in the standings is indeed improvement. But, the Thrashers need to shake off this funk and get back to playing good hockey.