Thrashers.Today.Com

By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

ATLANTA — So his goal scoring is down and his team is in the tank. But with that said, the thought of trading Ilya Kovalchuk is so ridiculous, I shouldn’t even waste blog space in the wide, wide world of the Internet to address it.

But I will anyway.

Frustrated Atlanta Thrashers fans and even a couple of columnists and bloggers have floated the suggestion that Atlanta’s management look around and see what the Thrashers could get for Kovalchuk, an All-Star who is considered one of the top offensive players in the NHL even though he has just 11 goals through 29 games this season.

What, you want NOBODY to show up at Philips Arena?

Hockey is a hard-enough sell in Atlanta, especially with the Falcons winning, the Hawks winning, and both Georgia Tech and Georgia heading to good bowl games. Add in the fact the Thrashers have been as pleasing to watch this season as a seizure, and the mere notion of trading one of the NHL’s most exciting players is silly.

To a point, I understand the other side of the argument. Kovy is a free agent after the 2009-10 season and odds are he won’t be back unless he sees a concerted effort to put a contender on the ice … that would be a playoff contender, not a lottery-pick contender.

To deal the sharp-shooting winger now definitely would net the Thrashers a stable of quality players. How many? Four, maybe five, I’d say. But then again, is it worth it now, with a year and a half still left on Kovy’s contract, with the team playing so far below expectations?

No, you don’t make this trade. Not now. We’ll see where things stand next December. For now, take the notion of trading Kovy and file it away with last year’s fruitcake.

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By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

Thrashers 7, Capitals 4

Top of the Slot: Bryan Little’s second goal of the game broke a 4-4 tie with 6:03 left, and Colby Armstrong scored 29 seconds later as the Thrashers pulled away for an emotionally charged victory on opening night at Philips Arena.

The Good: Little, who didn’t know Wednesday if he’d play in the opener with a hip injury, sure did look good skating at right wing on the third line, scoring in the first to give Atlanta a 3-0 lead. His second goal was much bigger, a blast from the near-side in the third to break a 4-4 tie. It was a great night for the newcomers: Ron Hainsey scored the first goal, and Marty Reasoner followed 29 seconds later to make it 2-0. Slava Kozlov looked good after an injury-riddled season, making it 4-2 with a second-period goal. Kari Lehtonen allowed a couple of soft goals, but weathered a flurry of Washington shots in the second and made several huge saves, none bigger than stopping league MVP Alexander Ovechkin on a penalty shot early in the third. Ilya Kovalchuk made a fantastic pass to Todd White for the seventh goal, putting the game away.

The Bad: Blowing a 3-0 first-period lead isn’t exactly the way to make the home folks believe things are going to be better this season, but that’s exactly what the Thrashers did. Atlanta was lethargic in the second period – especially on defense – being outshot 17-10 as the Thrashers couldn’t carry over the momentum from their lightning-fast start. Lehtonen allowed a shorthanded goal in the second. Zach Bogosian looked like an 18-year-old, turning the puck over on his first possession and landing in the penalty box shortly thereafter. Eric Boulton slipped during the first fight of the season with 2:16 left.

View from the Sports Garage: First and foremost, let me say I’m thrilled hockey season is back. Let me also say this is the first hockey game story I’ve banged out in, oh, 13 years, since I covered the Atlanta Knights of the old International Hockey League for my college newspaper. Might take a few games to shake off the rust, but here goes. A wonderful first period. Could not ask for a better start for this franchise that nobody expects much from this season. Great start for the newcomers. Hainsey filled the middle perfectly on the first goal, and Reasoner put on a nice shot for the second one. Little scored for the second consecutive season opener, finishing with two goals and one assist. You knew the high-powered Caps would shoot their way back into it, and it was disturbing to see the Thrashers – who were so sharp at the blueline in the first – look so bad in the second. But Lehtonen’s stoning of Ovechkin on the penalty shot was huge, and Little gave Atlanta the lead for keeps off a nice feed from Kozlov with six minutes left. Then Armstrong made it a two-goal advantage seconds later, blistering a short-side shot from the circle. A fantastic victory, a great way to start the season. Don’t print the playoff tickets just yet, but this is EXACTLY what the Thrashers needed. Great, great start. They might not be a playoff team, but boy, if the Thrashers play like they did in the first and the third more often than not this season, it’s going to be fun to watch this team grow. And it was good to see the Thrashers stick up for Bogosian after Donald Brashear’s chicken-you-know-what move of fighting the rookie late in the third. That will be remembered the next time these two teams meet, I guarantee you that.

Next
Thrashers at Panthers
7 p.m. today

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By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

ATLANTA — Well, it’s time to rip off the wrapping paper, throw away the bow and ribbon, and open the box.

It’s opening night for the Atlanta Thrashers, tonight at Philips Arena with a great matchup: Southeast Division champion Washington and the league’s reigning MVP, Alexander Ovechkin, come rolling into Blueland for the first of 82 games that will carry us until early April, and hopefully will carry the Thrashers back from the depths of the Eastern Conference.

Nothing like a run-on sentence to start the season, eh? Well, if you grinded your way through that attachment of clauses in the previous paragraph, congratulations. You’ll need that type of patience and persistence at times this season in watching Le Thrash.

It’s going to be a long climb back to the postseason. We all know that. Nobody I’ve talked to in the past five months expects a 95-point season, or a division title, or even a playoff berth.

But enough about that. How dare I try to douse the flames of opening night with reality, right? Let’s put on our jerseys, our caps, head to Philips – or flip on the tube – and see what this team’s got for us in the opener.

A win would be nice. Actually, a win in any of the first six games would have to be viewed as progress, after last year’s Thrashers started 0-6, fired Bob Hartley and moved Don Waddell behind the bench. It only set the tone for the slow and painful plunge that followed.

A win would energize the fan base. It would make the flight to South Florida for Saturday night’s road opener with the Panthers much more pleasant. It would be a great thing for new head coach John Anderson, for newcomers such as Ron Hainsey, Jason Williams, Mathieu Schneider and Zach Bogosian.

It would be a great thing for the key holdovers who survived the purgatory of last season, guys like Ilya Kovalchuk, Tobias Enstrom, Kari Lehtonen, Slava Kozlov and Nic Havelid.

Mostly, it would be a sign that maybe, just maybe, this team is going to be pretty good. I don’t think it will be, but we’re about to find out.

The offseason is over. Finally, hockey is here. Let’s drop the puck and see what happens.

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By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

Greg De Vries jumped the play, and ended up with the opportunity every hockey player hopes they get at least once in their career.

De Vries read the pass, stole the puck, raced into the zone and netted the game-winning goal in overtime. For some reason, even though it happened three seasons ago, I remember the play like it was yesterday.

De Vries’s goal gave the Thrashers a hard-fought overtime victory at Philadelphia in the early days of the 2005-06 season, a campaign in which the Thrashers battled to the final day of the regular season, only to fall short of the playoffs.

We all know what happened in the two season to follow that one: In 2006-07, Atlanta won the Southeast Division title and reached the NHL Playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Then came last season, where the Thrashers started 0-6 en route to finishing 14th in the 15-team Eastern Conference.

But still, De Vries’ goal stands out.

Atlanta rallied in that game, coming back from a two-goal deficit late in the third period. Patrick Stefan – remember him? The first draft pick in franchise history, who vastly underachieved during his time with Atlanta – scored with seven seconds left to force overtime.

I thought about that game tonight. Why, I’m not so sure. But the fact remains that on any given night, opportunities present themselves. On this night in my memory, De Vries delivered.

Here’s hoping when opportunity knocks in 2008-09, the Thrashers deliver. I think they will, enough to craft a season that surpasses our expectations.

I remember how excited I was when De Vries scored the game winner in that game at Philly. I’m hoping there are plenty of moments like that this season.

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By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

Hello, and first and foremost, an apology for not posting the past two days. The death of Braves announcer Skip Caray overwhelmed me as far as coverage on Braves.Today.Com, as well as on a personal level, having grown up in Atlanta and followed the Braves for more than 30 years.

Rest in peace, Skip.

Many of you know Skip from his baseball work, and some of you know Skip actually came to Atlanta with the NBA’s Hawks in the late 1960s. I have some old Hawks games from the mid-1980s on VHS tape somewhere that Skip called, during his duties doing basketball for TBS.

But Skip also called one Atlanta Flames game, I believe in 1975, filling in for the wonderful Jiggs McDonald. Word is you never knew Skip wasn’t a hockey guy from the job he did broadcasting the game.

Somebody pointed out over the weekend my spotlight on the season schedule neglected the preseason slate. Let’s give that to you now:

Sept. 25, Thrashers at Predators (hey, you can make your Nashville trip early).
Sept. 26, Thrashers at Blues.
Sept. 28, Thrashers at Red Wings.
Oct. 1, Red Wings at Thrashers (so Marian Hossa will be here earlier than March).
Oct. 3, Predators at Thrashers.
Oct. 4, Blues at Thrashers.

Pretty good schedule for tuning up. You get the defending Stanley Cup champs twice, as well as whetting the appetite for the Nashville rivalry and two games with St. Louis.

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By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

We conclude our look at the Thrashers’ 2008-09 schedule today with five must-see games during the final three months of the season:

Feb. 15, Thrashers at Ducks: A killer stretch of four straight West Coast road games begins in Anaheim. The Ducks won 47 games last season after winning the Stanley Cup the previous season.

Feb. 21, Thrashers at Sharks: A 4 p.m. Saturday start for the final game of the West Coast swing pits the Thrashers against the second-best team in the league last season (108 points). Joe Thornton is one of the top players in the league, and the Sharks gave up the second-fewest goals in the NHL last season.

March 8, Flames at Thrashers: Whenever Calgary returns to the city where the franchise played from 1972-1980, plenty of fans – and quite a few former Flames who made their homes in the Atlanta area after their playing days – reminisce about the eight seasons the Flames called Atlanta home. Nostalgia aside, it’s a chance for Atlanta fans to see Jarome Iginla, one of the top players in the NHL.

March 20, Red Wings at Thrashers: Not only is it the defending Stanley Cup champions’ only visit to Philips Arena this season, it’s Marian Hossa’s return to Atlanta. Expect a warm ovation for Hoss, and plenty of folks wearing Wings’ jerseys in the seats.

April 11, Lightning at Thrashers: Two years ago, these two teams met in the final game of the regular season, the Thrashers winning to finish off the most successful regular season in franchise history. Maybe this game will mean something this time around; both teams hope so, as both Tampa Bay and Atlanta were at the bottom of the Eastern Conference last season.

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By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

Just checked my thermometer outside – it’s hot enough to melt the ice cubes in my sweet tea in, oh, about seven seconds.

Still, we’re looking ahead to Thrashers’ hockey season. Our look at must-see games today focuses on the months of December and January. Here are five games to circle on your pocket schedule (because trying to write on those magnetic babies you put on the fridge ain’t easy):

Dec. 2, Thrashers at Canadians: Always a tough place to play, Montreal finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference a year ago. On their only trip there last season, the Thrashers won 3-2 in a shutout, ending October on a high note in the midst of winning 11 out of 15 following the dismissal of Bob Hartley as head coach.

Dec. 10, Rangers at Thrashers: Home for the holidays? The Thrashers will be, and this game against the team that bounced Atlanta from its only playoff appearance two seasons ago begins a stretch of seven home games out of 10.

Dec. 31, Thrashers at Hurricanes: Follow the game as you close out 2008 and get ready for 2009 (hopefully, Thrashers Nation won’t be looking ahead to 2009-10 by this point in the season). Any trip to Raleigh is important, especially with two fewer games against Southeast Division opponents this season.

Jan. 14, Senators at Thrashers: Get your boos ready as Dany Heatley and Ottawa come to town. Some of the wounds of Heatley’s departure from Atlanta clearly haven’t healed. Not convinced? Just listen whenever the puck hits Dany’s stick.

Jan. 17, Thrashers at Predators: Wanna make a roadie to see the Thrashers? Nashville is four hours away. Give the NHL kudos for putting Nashville on the schedule this season. This game also opens a tough late-January road stretch that also includes visits to Philadelphia and Dallas in an 11-day span.

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