Late goal sends Thrashers to defeat against Penguins

Nov 21 2008

Published by bud006 at 4:24 pm under Thrashers Recaps Edit This

By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

Penguins 3, Thrashers 2

Top of the Slot: Tied at 2-2 entering the third period, the Thrashers gave up the game-winner with 2:40 left, losing for the second straight game.

The Good: Slava Kozlov’s bounce-back season continued with his 11th goal in the first period, off assists from Ilya Kovalchuk and Mathieu Schneider, who returned from a hip injury. Jimmy Slater got his second goal, a wrap-around effort, to tie the game at 2-2 in the second. Eric Perrin and Toby Enstrom assisted on that goal, which came 84 seconds after Sidney Crosby (BOO!) broke a 1-1 tie. Ondrej Pavelec weathered a 16-shot second period, finishing with 28 saves on 31 shots. Slater won five of his seven face-offs and skated strong in his nine minutes of work.

The Bad: Where, oh where, has Kari Lehtonen gone … not saying Pavelec played poorly, because the kid actually played well. But just how bad is Kari’s back injury that has shelved him for three weeks? Chris Thorburn continues picking up penalties at bad times; his interference penalty set up the game-winning goal. Schneider picked up two minutes for high-sticking in the second. Todd White, who has played very well, left the game in the third after going head-first into the boards.

View from the Sports Garage: Nothing puts me in a worse mood than Crosby doing something good against the Thrashers. Tough game to lose, but you can say that anytime you lose by one goal at home. You also can say you believe this is one that got away, and these are the games the Thrashers MUST win if they are going to be a legitimate playoff contender. Tied at 2-2 entering the final period at home, Atlanta had an opportunity to make a statement. Perhaps the statement is, after two straight losses, this team isn’t as good as what we saw during the five-game winning streak. Time will tell. Nonetheless, I’m excited about what could be with this team. I’ll be in Philips Arena on Saturday for my first look in person at this team. Speaking of Saturday …