SB Nation - Ilya Kovalchuk

New Jersey Devils' Offense Leads to Dramatic 5-4 Win over Atlanta Thrashers

John Fischer — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 03:52:40 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Smith - AP

New Jersey Devils' offense leads the way to victory tonight, and they were led by this man: Dean McAmmond, who had a brace in tonight's 5-4 win in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

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The New Jersey Devils coming from behind in a game to win should not be new to Devils fans this season. They've done it multiple times with 1 or 2 goal deficits. But tonight, the Devils' offense truly led the way to victory tonight. The New Jersey Devils came from losing 3-1 after the first period to lead 4-3 after the second, and finished the game at 5-4. NHL.com has their recap up complete with all the stats from tonight's game.

And when I say the offense was leading the way, I truly meant it. The Devils put 24 shots on Ondrej Pavelec in the first period. Mind you, they had 22 shots against Ottawa last night in the entire game. The Devils didn't hold back in either period; they finished with 42 on net. Everyone except for Jamie Langenbrunner had an official shot on net. Even Andrew Peters had a shot on net, and it was good one - Pavelec legitimately robbed him of a goal in the first period. When Andrew Peters gets a good chance at the net, then it's a fantastic night for the offense. All four lines were contributing, as Zach Parise, Brian Rolston, and Rod Pelley led the team with 5 shots each. The power play went 1 for 2, converting is always a good sign. Of course, the Devils scored 4 straight goals after the first period and Atlanta could only answer back with one.

In contrast, the Atlanta Thrashers' defensive play was embarassingly bad. Seriously, 24 shots against in one period? Not tightening up afterwards? Allowing loose pucks and rebounds to go free in the slot? Stepping up on forwards beyond the red line to allow odd man rushes? Blindly throwing the puck away in an attempt to clear it? Awful, awful, awful, awful! For much of the game, the Devils were able to do whatever they'd like on offense because of Atlanta's terrible defending. Their backchecking was a joke and their defense gave New Jersey forwards too much space. If it wasn't for Pavelec, the Devils would have absolutely routed the Thrashers. Glenn "Chico" Resch was killing the Thrashers all night long for their lackadaisical defending. Maybe he's a bit of a homer, but he was 100% correct tonight.

If the Thrashers had a competent defensive effort tonight, then they'd probably go on to win this game easily. I would hope the Falconer or someone at Bird Watchers Anonymous will hammer this point further in their recap.

More thoughts on tonight's exciting effort game come after the jump.

In terms of the forwards and the general offense, tonight was a complete, full, 60 minute effort. That was great. The game itself was quite entertaining, with plenty of scoring chances and actual scoring. Check out the full highlights of the game from NHL.com for, well, the highlights:

What wasn't was the Devils' defense in the first period. Ondrej Pavelec had it all to do in facing 24 shots and the only one that beat him was Rob Niedermayer's laser from the top of the left circle. By contrast, Martin Brodeur suffered with defenders making brainfarts of their own in front of him. Colin White and Mike Mottau not only got burned once, but twice by Atlanta to leave Brodeur in no man's land. Ron Hainsey got past both White and Mottau and fired a bouncing puck for Atlanta's first goal; and Nik Antropov split the duo and fired it perfectly into the top left corner for Atlanta's second. Both White and Mottau were out there for a third goal against, as Atlanta actually set up on offense, got the puck around to Pavel Kubina, who let loose with a blistering bomb from the point. 3 goals against is pretty bad and White and Mottau were directly responsible for two of them occuring.

What makes that worse is that Atlanta had a grand total of 6 shots on net that period. The Devils pushing forward over and over (thanks to Atlanta's terrible defense and neutral zone play) played a role in the Thrashers putting up so few shots. So did the other two pairings actually playing well on defense. White and Mottau are normally pretty solid; but tonight, for whatever reason, they stunk up the ice in that first period.

Fortunately, Jacques Lemaire - he who is not afraid to make changes to his forward lines - made two important changes. First, he took Martin Brodeur out and put Yann Danis in - the first time this season that has happened. Devils fans who wanted Danis to get in a game were satisfied with the move. I was thinking he would start; I was sort of hoping he would; but I do have to say that Danis probably doesn't stop any of those three goals that Atlanta scored in the first period. That said, he had a very solid game in relief. He only conceded one and it was strong shot by Slava Kozlov on a late power play from the top of the circle. No shame in that, really.

The second would be more important in the long term: Lemaire paired Mike Mottau with Johnny Oduya and Colin White with Mark Fraser. From the second period onward, White turned his -2 from the first into an even total - even making the clearance that Brian Rolston picked up on for a breakaway and the Devils' first goal of the second period. Mottau settled down and played smarter from then on. While Atlanta flourished in the second period to put 12 shots on Danis, the defense didn't allow any big scoring chances and they were very good at cleaning up any and all rebounds. Overall, they held the high powered Atlanta offense to a total of 26 shots while helping the Devils push forward en route to 42 minutes.

In my opinion, what was almost as shocking as the Atlanta defense was the play of Atlanta's top player. Normally, Ilya Kovalchuk is a beast. Tonight, his only positive contribution was passing the puck to Nik Antropov, who split White and Mottau for a breakaway goal. Outside of that, he had a crucial giveaway that led to the Devils' fifth goal and he had no shots on net in 21:03 of ice time. I don't know whether he was just bad or whether the defense just shut him down. Maybe both? They aren't mutually exclusive, in my view. Poor Pavelec, the defense was terrible for him, and Atlanta's top player was just as bad. No wonder he had so many saves in tonight's highlights.

Let's get back to praise here. First and foremost, fantastic coaching job by Jacques Lemaire tonight. In addition to the other two lineup moves he made, he saw that Atlanta's defense was bad. He saw that they were still playing bad despite whatever John Anderson, Atlanta's coach, told them after the first period. Being down two goals, Lemaire allowed the Devils offense to be vigorous. But what was truly novel was the third period. Despite being up a goal, Lemaire kept instructing the Devils to go forward and they did. The Devils kept pushing forward on offense, they kept looking for shots (got 9), kept the lines together (Elias-McAmmond-Parise worked so well!) and they were rewarded with Dean McAmmond's second goal of the night. An eventually important goal, as Slava Kozlov did score off a Patrik Elias high sticking penalty (I didn't see it, but Kozlov's goal was well done). The only time the Devils "held back" was when Atlanta emptied the net and at that point, that's what you're supposed to do. Well done, Lemaire.

Now, the guys who fell under the radar on offense. Niclas Bergfors had a much better game tonight playing with Rob Niedermayer and Jay Pandolfo. He was credited with a whopping 4 official takeaways, 4 shots on net, and he played 16:35. He looked more active on the ice than he did against Ottawa on Friday. If you thought he was in a doghouse, tonight proved otherwise. Zach Parise didn't score, but he had 5 shots, he hit the post once, and he had a hand in setting up two goals. He's involved in the play, he's still hustling, and he's getting chances. It's not easy to accept, but I guess he'll break his goalless streak only in due time. Jay Pandolfo played very well in the neutral zone and down low, his finest moment was his touch pass to Niedermayer prior to his goal. Vladimir Zharkov ended up playing very limited minutes (6:35), but still managed an assist and 3 shots on net.

Tonight, the goalscorers truly had great nights. In my opinion, the second period was a fantastic response by the offense. Brian Rolston extended his point streak with an excellent move to slide the puck through Pavelec's legs on a breakway. He's been playing real well, this time with Jamie Langenbrunner and Travis Zajac. Rod Pelley went back to center for tonight and scored his first goal of the season with a rising shot that beat Pavelec to the top right corner. Congratulations to Pelley for his first of the season (and thanks to the Thrasher -Jim Slater? - for letting him free enough to make the shot). Rob Niedermayer played very well against Atlanta's top players and opened up the scoring with a sweet goal.

The best Devil tonight? In my opinion, it was Dean McAmmond. McAmmond was dynamite centering for Zach Parise and Patrik Elias. Seriously, Lemaire put the fourth line center up on the first he dazzled tonight with 4 shots, 10 for 21 on faceoffs (acceptable given he usually doesn't take that many), and he got two goals. He cashed in on the rebound - one of the many Atlanta allowed but this one was point blank for his first of the night; and then he put home a beautiful backhand from a Patrik Elias pass for his second of the night. With every game, McAmmond looks to be getting better and better, which is absolutely wonderful for the team. Somewhere, an Ottawa fan is doing a very happy dance.

Overall, I'm very pleased with how the Devils did on offense and I can only wonder what would have happened had White and Mottau played better in the first period. Would Brodeur have remained in net? Would the Devils have pressed forward for the next two periods for more goals? Would the Devils have even been down by 2 to begin with? I don't know. But the Devils came from behind by two goals, Danis got a win and stopped 19 of 20 shots, and the team can rest a bit before travelling to Pittsburgh for control of the Atlantic Division.

Thanks to all of you who have read this and to those who followed along and/or commented in the GameThread. Please leave all your thoughts and feelings about tonight's game in the comments.

Game 34 Preview: New Jersey Devils at Atlanta Thrashers - 12/19/2009

John Fischer — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:45:32 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Jacques Lemaire would like YOU to watch tonight's Devils-Thrashers game and support the Devils. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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The Time: 7:00 PM EST

The Broadcasting Info: TV: MSG; Radio: 660 AM WFAN

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (24-8-1) @ the Atlanta Thrashers (18-12-3)

The Last Devils Game: It was better than Wednesday, but still not a complete effort by the New Jersey Devils. But they did well enough to beat Ottawa 4-2, a game that featured sweet goals by Jamie Langenbrunner, Brian Rolston, and Jay Pandolfo - as well as one absolutely funny and flukey goal by Bryce Salvador. In my recap, I also used a cookie metaphor. Today, I still stand amazed that the Devils are technically in first in the East thanks to having played less games than Pittsburgh.

The Last Thrashers Game: Bill Tiller at the AJC likened the last Atlanta game to a thrilling roller coaster - one with many ups and downs. Ondrej Pavelec was bombarded with 47 shots and had to be big. Even then, Dallas and Atlanta both put 5 on each other in regulation with plenty coming off special teams (including a SHG for each side). Rich Peverley continues his fantastic season by scoring his second goal in overtime for Atlanta to win 6-5.

The Last Devils-Thrashers Game: The first 40 minutes seemed to go well enough for the Devils. They bossed the Thrashers around in the first, and the two teams scored in the second to be tied. Then Atlanta took the Devils to school in the third. They scored 2 goals in the first 6 minutes in the third period and the Devils could only answer one of those back. Even then, Zach Parise's goal later on became a consolation, as Chris Thornburn ensured the win with a shorthanded goal. Steve took care of the recap for the game here at ILWT.

The Goal: Keep the fire burning and make those shots count. The Devils came out with good energy against Ottawa, even if their performance was inconsistent through the game. I'd like to see the Devils keep that up. Atlanta is prone to giving up a ton of shots and if the Devils can stay fresh, then they'll have their chances as well. Above all, I'd like to see the fire raging from Zach Parise and Travis Zajac. The dynamic duo has gone cold on the scoresheet in recent games. If either can pick up their game, it can give the Devils the extra boost they need to get through the second half of this back-to-back. Atlanta does give up a lot of shots, but they have the fire power to outscore anyone I think the Devils will have to be especially efficient with their scoring chances tonight to get a result. Either that, or deny Atlanta anything on defense - but with guys like Ilya Kovalchuk, Rich Peverley, and Maxim Afinogenov, that's asking a lot out of any defense. Perhaps too much.

Now, Colin Stephenson and Tom Gulitti aren't in Atlanta just yet due to flight issues relevant to the incoming SNOWPOCALYPSE (soon to hit New Jersey). So there isn't much news out now about the Devils. I would think they'll keep the same lineup, there's no reason at all to bench a forward for Andrew Peters or Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond. Yet, I really wonder if Jacques Lemaire will keep Parise and Zajac together. After Thursday's practice where he split the two up, they played entirely together on Friday night. Per Gulitti, Lemaire had this explanation as to why:

"I heard some comments that Zach said that made me go back to play him with Travis," Lemaire said. "He said sometimes it’s good to play with other guys and when you come back you really work hard, so things gel together. So, I decided to start with them (together) and I was pleased with the way they worked."

Fair enough. While Lemaire may have been happy with how they played; I think it was obvious that they could have done more. A non-slumping Parise scores on that breakaway he had in the first period. Still, I think a change for a part of a game would do well if only to shake the two of them up. The only other big lineup question is who starts in net tonight? Martin Brodeur actually had a busy night with 29 shots against and Jonathan Cheechoo's knee knocking his head. I think now is a perfect night for Yann Danis to spell Brodeur. That said, here's my wild guess at the Devils' lineup:

Zach Parise - Travis Zajac - Jamie Langenbrunner
Brian Rolston - Patrik Elias - Vladimir Zharkov
Jay Pandolfo - Rob Niedermayer - Nicklas Bergfors
Rod Pelley - Dean McAmmond - Ilkka Pikkarainen

Andy Greene - Bryce Salvador
Colin White - Mike Mottau
Mark Fraser - Johnny Oduya

Yann Danis
Martin Brodeur

I'm guessing Lemaire keeps Parise and Zajac together despite what I think. Whoever starts in net, Danis or Brodeur, will not have an easy night. While Atlanta may not put up many shots on net per game on average (28.4, tied with Florida for 24th), they put quite a few of those shots home as they average 3.12 goals per game (3rd in the league). The top five scorers for Atlanta are impressive players.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Ilya Kovalchuk	27	19	16	35	-5	41	8	0	1	91	20.9
2009 - Rich Peverley	33	12	21	33	5	24	6	1	6	67	17.9
2009 - Maxim Afinogenov	33	12	18	30	-2	24	3	0	1	75	16.0
2009 - Nik Antropov	33	6	21	27	6	10	2	0	1	45	13.3
2009 - Tobias Enstrom	33	3	22	25	10	12	1	0	0	47	6.4

And behind them aren't bad either, including Slava Kozlov, Colby Armstrong, rookie Evander Kane, and Pavel Kubina bringing the bombs from the point. The Thrashers are a fairly solid offensive team and Ondrej Pavelec has looked good in replacing the injured Kari Lehtonen. So much so, I wonder whether Lehtonen will stay a Thrasher.

	GP	MIN	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Ondrej Pavelec	21	1169	9	8	62	3.18	701	639	.912	2

Either way, per this post by Chris Vivlamore at the AJC, the Thrashers will start Pavelec; scratch Bryan Little, Anssi Salmela, and Mark Popovic; and coul roll out these four lines from this morning's practice:

Kovalchuk-Antropov-Thorburn
Kozlov-Peverley-Afinogenov
Kane-White-Armstrong
Slater-Reasoner-Boulton

Amazingly, the Thrashers have been winning games despite being so heavily outshot. The Falconer at Bird Watchers Anonymous looked the shot deficit issue and found that the Thrashers concede more shots on average in regulation wins than they do in losses. Not only that, but the differential between shots for and against is higher - meaning the Thrashers get out-shot more - in their wins as opposed to their losses.

Again, this goes back to efficency. If the Devils get a few breakaways or odd man rushes like they did against Ottawa, they have to finish those plays. Given Atlanta's top scorers (the amazing Kovalchuk, the impressive Peverley, and the resurgent Afinogenov) and their 3.12 goals per game average stat, the Thrashers will make the Devils pay for any errors be it by their defense, by a bad line change, or even just by the Devils not being able to score.

I'll put up the GameThread later. If you're in the NY/NJ area, there's a good chance you won't be going too far with the aforementioned SNOWPOCALYPSE so join me in the comments tonight. Leave your thoughts about tonight's game in the comments in advance. For the other side, check out Bird Watchers Anonymous, where you don't need to be necessarily anonymous if you so choose. Go Devils!

Frolik exorcises Panthers' third-period demons, nets winner over Thrashers

Whale4ever — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:30:23 -0000

More photos » by Alan Diaz - AP

3 days ago: Atlanta Thrashers goalie Johan Hedberg (1) is unable to stop the puck scored by Florida Panthers' Stephen Weiss in the first period of an NHL hockey game as Dominic Moore (19) and Ron Hainsey (6) look on in Sunrise, Fla., Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

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A 3-1 lead carried into the third. A 3-1 lead blown in the third. Slava Kozlov scores at 6:27 of the final frame to wipe away any memory of Stephen Weiss, Radek Dvorak, and Bryan McCabe's efforts earlier in the evening.

Again, fans could smell it...another dominant game set to fall short after forty minutes. The expected became a most unexpected surprise as the Cats kept their heads. The result? First regulation win in Sunrise since November 4th. Home win number five. Five.

Let that sink in as you prep for the holidays among the crowds in mid-December.

Michael Frolik banged home his 10th of the year at the 18:39 mark, ultimately sealing the victory for Florida (though Atlanta hung on, hung on, hung on until the very end). The Thrashers have surprised, shocked, and impressed the league of late; tonight was no different after Ilya Kovalchuk and Nik Antropov paved the way for Kozlov's stunner.

The payoff? Two points gained. Period. For the first time in recent memory, the Panthers gave up nothing to their opponent at the BankAtlantic Center. Peter DeBoer instilled focus. Believe it.

For the curious: Nathan Horton had two assists.

Tomas Vokoun walled 20 shots as Atlanta's Johan Hedberg stopped 25 in a game which played out as a bit on the wilder shores of defensive responsibility for both clubs.

Florida's Bryan McCabe led the game with - get this - 8 shots on goal. If you can find a Panthers defenseman who topped that since the lockout ended, I'll owe you a Coke.

More to come in the a.m as we prep for a weekend of Jim Rutherford Deathwatch madness...

Oh My..The Canucks DO Have A Pulse!

Sean Zandberg — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:21:39 -0000

That was a game the Canucks didn't have to win, but needed to. I'm sure they had a bit of fatigue issues themselves, having arriving in Vancouver the day after the Preds game, but they still took it to the Thrashers, who were playing in a back-to-back situation. I'll keep this in point form.

-I don't think Ilya Kovalchuk liked being limited the way he was. His anger boiled over at Ryan Kesler late in the game. Kovalchuk played 27:03 (wow), had 1 assist and only 3 shots and a -2. Rich Peverley continued his point-producing ways, tallying 2 assists, 2 shots and was a +1. Nik Antropov scored a goal, was a -2, and played over 23:00. Many of those minutes he was on the ice too long, to the dismay of Atlanta coach John Anderson. John Shorthouse and John Garrett said he looked like the Leafs version of Antropov more than the Thrashers version. I laughed. Nothing doing for Maxim Afinogenov either. The Thrashers tried for the stretch passes all night long to spring breakaways but the Canucks would have none of it.

More after the jump

-Thanks to yoata, Steve Bernier's middle name is now "Almost". That guy just can't bury his chances lately. Not consistently anyway. He still finished with 1 assist, 3 shots and a +1.

-It's all about the Sedins tonight. When they play games like that, we win. Daniel had several chances to score 4 goals. He finished with a hatty and 10 bloody shots! Whoa!

-Brother Hank had 2 assists. He is now 3rd in NHL scoring with 38 points, 1 behind Marian Gaborik and 4 behind Jumbo Joe Thornton.

-2 assists for Alex Burrows tonight. He could have scored a couple but was either snake-bit or missed the net.

-This game could have been a worse result for the Thrashers if not for Ondrej Pavelec. I thought he looked pretty good after the Canucks scored a few flukey ones on him earlier in the game.

-With Kyle Wellwood benched, Darcy Hordichuk got the call. But all he did was get into a fight, show some hustle, and play a MERE 4:29. Huh.

-For a supposed tired team...the Thrashers looked pretty quick throughout the game, but mentally their game was not there.

-Look at the shots on goal (click on the BOXSCORE link). The Canucks never let up on these guys.

Great game!

-For the record: the Canucks PPV channel (once they go off the air) turns into a "fireplace" channel. That's so smart. Now I can cozy up all by myself to a fake fire because my wife left me because I watch too much hockey. Thanks, Canucks! How about you put a vintage Canucks game on instead? You know...so I can get the best bang out of my $13.00?

BOXSCORE

HIGHLIGHTS

MY 3 STARS:

1. Daniel Sedin...duh

2. Henrik Sedin

3. Rick Rypien. That's throwing the champ a bone. He didn't get a lot of ice-time, but was a force every time he was on the ice. Ripper...I love you man! Is his killing of Boris Valabik on YouTube yet? Why yes it is. Here ya go:

And just to throw in a screen capture...check out the Van fans after the Ripper fight...

Yeah..don't EVER eliminate fighting from the game. Ever.

Which Thrashers Are Playing Well at Even Strength?

The Falconer — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:16 -0000

More photos » by Lynne Sladky - AP

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The Thrashers have excelled at Even Strength so far this season. After the goaltenders, the biggest reason for improvement in ES situations are the two players acquired mid-summer. Nik Antropov has been the Thrashers best forward at ES and Pavel Kubina has been the best defenseman at ES. I've been critical of Don Waddell's free agent acquisitions in past summers but he hit a home run with these two guys. They were precisely what the team needed and as a consequence the Thrashers are much improved.

Forwards

The coaching staff might not like to use terms like "first line" or "third line" but the ES Time On Ice (TOI) paint a rather clear picture. The Russian speaking line of Kovalchuk-Antropov-Afinogenov is clearly #1 in ice time. The next two lines are pretty even Kozlov-White-Little and Kane-Peverley-Armstrong. The 4th line (Boulton-Slater-Thorburn) with Marty Reasoner going back and forth between the 3rd and 4th lines.

Who is facing the toughest opposition? According the Gabe Desjardin's Quality of Competition measure (opponent's Relative Goal Differential at Even Strength) Todd White, Bryan Little Slava Kozlov and Ilya Kovalchuk face the best players, while Boulton, Slater and Thorburn are sheltered.

Who is most effective? At even strength the name of the game is winning on the scoreboard. I have ranked all the players below according to their Goal Differential (GFA-GAA) per 60 minutes of ES TOI. Antropov is your clear leader. Why have the Thrashers gotten so much better this season? Well look at that list of players and you can see that 4 of the 5 most effective ES players were not on this roster one year ago today. Peverley was added in last January an Antropov via Free Agency, Kane at the NHL Draft and Afinogenov was a late NHL Camp tryout. Every single one of those moves has worked out very well!

Another measure to compare players is Desjardins' "Rating" column which compares each players net Goal Differential when that player is on the ice to when that player is off the ice. For example, Ilya Kovalchuk averages a +.59 Goal Differential when he is on the ice, but his Rating is just .01 which means that the Atlanta Thrashers post a+.58 when Kovalchuk is off the ice at ES. On the other hand, the Thrashers do much better when Nik Antropov is on the ice than when he is off it. In fact, when Antropov is off the ice the Thrashers have been out-scored at ES this season--he is only forward for whom that is true.

NAME	GP	TOI/60	QUALCOMP	GF	GA	GFA	GAA	G Diff	RATING
NIK ANTROPOV	26	14.6	0.00	29	16	4.59	2.53	2.06	2.28
MARTY REASONER	26	9.2	0.00	14	7	3.52	1.76	1.76	1.57
EVANDER KANE	26	12.1	0.00	20	13	3.81	2.48	1.33	1.13
RICH PEVERLEY	26	12.9	-0.03	20	14	3.57	2.50	1.07	0.79
MAXIM AFINOGENOV	26	14.4	0.01	24	18	3.85	2.89	0.96	0.67
BRYAN LITTLE	24	12.6	0.09	16	12	3.17	2.38	0.79	0.64
ILYA KOVALCHUK	20	15.1	0.07	17	14	3.37	2.77	0.59	0.01
COLBY ARMSTRONG	25	11.6	-0.02	12	12	2.48	2.48	0.00	-0.49
VYACHESLAV KOZLOV	26	11.8	0.07	12	14	2.34	2.73	-0.39	-1.21
ERIC BOULTON	24	6.2	-0.09	4	6	1.62	2.43	-0.81	-1.31
CHRIS THORBURN	26	6.7	-0.06	4	6	1.38	2.07	-0.69	-1.40
TODD WHITE	26	12.0	0.13	10	15	1.93	2.89	-0.96	-1.99
JIM SLATER	11	8.4	-0.07	1	5	0.65	3.26	-2.61	-4.94

On defense Pavel Kubina has played like an All-Star minus big gaudy point totals.The Toronto Maple Leafs dumped Kubina's salary so they could sign Mike Komisarek, but I suspect that Kubina is having a better season than Komisarek is. When Kubina is on the ice in Even Skater situations the Thrashers have outscored the opposition by an astonishing 29-11 margin. Wow! When Pavel Kubina is off the ice at Even Strength the Thrashers have been outscored this season--Kubina is the only defenseman for which that statement is true. According to Desjardins Quality of Competition rating, Kubina is also facing the toughest opponents every night (with Ron Hainsey right behind him). Kubina makes some big coin ($5 million) and if he departs as a UFA this summer he will leave a giant hole.

Despite putting up some big goal totals this season Zach Bogosian has been exploited at times during even strength play. His 3.25 GAA is not very good. All three of the 3rd pairing defensemen appear to drag down the team's offense when they are on the ice (compare at their GFA to the top four guys).

NAME	GP	TOI/60	QUALCOMP	GF	GA	GFA	GAA	G Diff	RATING
PAVEL KUBINA	25	16.8	0.08	29	11	4.14	1.57	2.57	3.15
TOBIAS ENSTROM	26	16.3	0.02	26	17	3.69	2.41	1.28	1.20
ANSSI SALMELA	15	13.0	-0.04	7	6	2.15	1.85	0.31	-0.17
RON HAINSEY	24	15.6	0.07	19	18	3.04	2.88	0.16	-0.34
CHRISTOPH SCHUBERT	24	13.5	-0.04	11	13	2.04	2.41	-0.37	-1.14
ZACH BOGOSIAN	26	17.8	0.04	21	25	2.73	3.25	-0.52	-1.67
MARK POPOVIC	16	11.7	-0.09	7	10	2.25	3.22	-0.96	-2.31

Conclusion

The Thrashers are playing better because they are better. The new players that were added this summer (Kubina, Antropov, Afinogenov, Kane) all rank near the top at their respective positions.

Home Sweet Home: Canucks-Thrashers Preview

Sean Zandberg — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:08:51 -0000

Thrashers (15-10-3) vs Canucks (16-14-0)

GAME TIME: 7:00 PST

TV: CANUCKS PPV

AERIAL NEMESIS: Bird Watchers Anonymous

Update (2:39 PM): AV is pissed. From the Province today: Every time so far this year when I think we're getting on a roll and we're getting traction, we sort of find a way to piss me off again,” Vigneault said following the Canucks' morning skate. “So it's what we're faced with right now. Talk is fine but we need actions. They're a strong group, we believe in them and we have to let their actions speak for themselves with their play on the ice.”

Yeah, you tell 'em, Viggy! You get the feeling the Thrashers are walking into a lion's den tonight? I hope so.

Update (11:55 AM): MindRoom Science and the power of positivity for your Vancouver Canucks? Oh for f**k's sakes. How about my foot in your ass?

Update (11:51 AM): "Looks like meat's back on the menu boys!" OK, not always. There's an entertaining piece up at Canucks.com about what the Canucks eat, or can't eat, etc. Check it out.

Update (8:48 AM): A great piece in the Province today about knee-jerk reactions, slow start trends and how little ice-time the Sedins get. Here is an excerpt:

What never seems to change, however, is the Canucks' dependence on a strong second half. Since Alain Vigneault took over as coach, Vancouver's seasons have followed a remarkably similar script. His team point totals on Dec. 9 in his four seasons have been 29, 35, 33 and, this year, 32. Those reflect mediocre first halfs which force a mad dash for the playoffs. It's worked two of his three seasons. If it's to work again, the Canucks need to use this eight-game homestand as a springboard.

********************************

The inconsistent Canucks return home to play 8 straight games at GM Place in the span of 17 nights. With a 10-4 home record this season, this is their big chance to get on a roll and figure out what it takes to win consistently. Rather than beat the Predators and get into a playoff spot last game, they lost in angering fashion and now sit in 12th spot in the West, 3 points out of a playoff spot. The Flames, who own top spot in the Northwest are now 9 points ahead of us. I'm not going to say any more about the Nucks. I thought all of your inputs in Mike's "Grievance" post below were excellent.

The Thrashers are better on the road (9-4-1) than they are at home (6-6-2). They sit in 6th spot in the East, 3 points up on the 9th place Rangers. This game will not be easy for them (or will it?) Vancouver is the final stop in their 4 game road trip. They have won once and lost 2 so far on the trip. They have played (in order) Florida, Toronto and Calgary. This will be their 2nd game in 2 nights after losing 3-1 in Calgary last night. A perfect chance for the Canucks to take advantage of a tiring team.

More after the jump...

Atlanta had a 6-4-1 record in October, a hot 9-3-2 record in November and a 1-3 record in December. Their management is trying their best to keep Ilya Kovalchuk in Atlanta. Kovalchuk wants to be sure that the team is headed in a winning direction before committing. I can't blame him. Long have the Thrashers toiled in mediocrity. Their success this year caught me by surprise. They have been without their #1 goalie Kari Lehtonen for the entire season due to back surgery. But they seem to have been getting decent goaltending from the 22-year-old Czech Ondrej Pavelec, and excellent results from The Moose Johan Hedberg. Remember him? He was part of the Canucks' goalie graveyard.

A real like-able guy. The crowd always chanted "Moose!" when he made a stellar save. After playing 13 games this season, Hedberg is making a strong case to backup Henrik Ludqvist for the Swedes at the Olympics. His save percentage and GAA rank 2nd and 5th best in the NHL.

We most likely won't see Hedberg between the pipes against the Canucks. He played last night in Atlanta's loss to the Flames.

The Thrashers have several decent weapons in their arsenal. Kovalchuk is still his kick-ass ol' self with 16 goals and 27 points in 22 games. I wonder if the Predators have any regrets for putting Rich Peverley on waivers last January. He has 10 goals and 27 points in 28 games this season. He is making $500,000. His $1.3 million earnings kick in next season. Maxim Afinogenov has found a home in Atlanta. His role was being diminished in Buffalo due to bad defensive play (among other things I'm sure) and they didn't renew his services after his contract expired last summer. You can't be a -16 player in Buffalo. Maxim (cool name or what?) went unclaimed ALL SUMMER. I thought he was heading back to Russia. Atlanta took a chance on him on September 29th and signed him to a 1-year $800,000 contract. I like this kid. He looks and even skates like Pavel Bure. He will definitely be noticeable on the ice tonight. He currently has 11 goals and 15 assists in 27 games this season. He is also a +4. Not bad for a guy that nobody wanted.

Watch out for that Colby Armstrong guy. He doesn't look like a guy that can demolish players with devastating hits, but he can! He reminds me of Mike Peca. Check out some of the carnage here.

More Thrashers player stats here.

The last time the Canucks played the Thrashers was January 2nd. Atlanta beat the Canucks 4-3 in a shootout on home ice. Jason Labarbera, cursed in shootouts, was in goal for Van. The last time the Thrashers played in Vancouver was February 7, 2007. The Canucks shut them down and won 3-2, powered by 2 Brendan Morrison goals.

COMPARATIVE STATS

GOALS PER GAME AVG: Thrashers 3rd overall, Canucks 5th.

GOALS AGAINST PER GAME: Canucks 9th best, Thrashers 18th.

POWER PLAY: Canucks 5th, Thrashers 9th.

PENALTY KILL: Thrashers 6th, Canucks 27th. Uh-oh...

SHOTS PER GAME: Canucks 11th, Thrashers 24th

SHOTS AGAINST PER GAME: Canucks 10th, Thrashers 29th.

Analysis: Who is Playing Well on the Thrashers Power Play

The Falconer — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:00:15 -0000

One season ago the Thrashers power play finished the season 11th with 69 PP Goals scored. This year the Power Play is ranked 6th and on pace to score 67 Goals (looks like PP% rate is down in the NHL after rising sharply last season).

FORWARDS

Ilya Kovlachuk always plays the point position on the PP so I have put him in the chart with the other defenseman below. There are really six forwards who have seen substantial time on the PP this season. All six are averaging around 3 minutes per game of 5 on 4 time. The Peverly-Antropov-Afinogenov group has been far more effective than the Kozlov-White-Little group so far.

NAME	POS	GP	TOI/60	GF	GA	GFA	GAA	G DIFF	MINUTES
NIK ANTROPOV	C	25	2.79	13	0	11.19	0.00	11.19	70
RICH PEVERLEY	C	25	2.92	13	0	10.69	0.00	10.69	73
MAXIM AFINOGENOV	RW	25	3.05	12	0	9.44	0.00	9.44	76
VYACHESLAV KOZLOV	LW	25	3.08	8	1	6.22	0.78	5.45	77
BRYAN LITTLE	RW	23	3.04	7	1	6.00	0.86	5.15	70
TODD WHITE	C	25	3.19	7	1	5.26	0.75	4.51	80

DEFENSE

On the blueline the allocation of ice time is much more uneven. Kovalchuk and Enstrom average nearly 5 minutes per game and Kubina, Bogosian and Hainsey get the leftover scraps basically. Kovalchuk has been on the ice for 14 PP GF which leads the team, but he also gets a load of ice time too.

Who should play with Kovalchuk at the point? So far it has been Enstrom, but Kubina has been the most effective point man (in limited action). The biggest problem with Enstrom is that he is extremely reluctant to shoot--everyone knows he is just trying to feed the puck to Kovalchuk. If I were coach I'd give Kubina and Bogosian more minutes on the PP and tell them to take the open shot. If the other PKers go into man coverage on Kovalchuk, then it becomes a 4 on 3 and the Thrashers must become better at exploiting the open man--whomever is open must be willing to shoot the puck.

NAME	POS	GP	TOI/60	GF	GA	GFA	GAA	G DIFF	MINUTES
PAVEL KUBINA	D	24	1.73	7	1	10.12	1.45	8.67	42
ILYA KOVALCHUK	LW	19	4.89	14	1	9.04	0.65	8.40	93
ZACH BOGOSIAN	D	25	1.68	5	0	7.16	0.00	7.16	42
TOBIAS ENSTROM	D	25	4.60	12	0	6.25	0.00	6.25	115
RON HAINSEY	D	23	0.87	2	0	5.99	0.00	5.99	20

CONCLUSION

The Thrashers really need to get Kozlov and Little going in the 2nd half to keep that PP rolling. Some tweaks on the blueline such as more ice time for shooters like Kubina and Bogosian might help as well.

Monday Links: Getting good at shootouts edition

averagejoe — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:00:27 -0000

Monday is here again. Back to the grind.

Blues news

The Note take on the Colorado Avalanche tonight. Unfortunately, it's at home. [CBS Sports]
The Blues are getting confident in shootouts. That's nice, but how 'bout the team wins in regulation. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

Hockey news

Red Wings and Senators won on Sunday. [Yahoo! Sports]
Lots of games on a Monday night. Way to go up against the NFL, Gary. [Yahoo! Sports]
Your standings for Monday. Although the Blues are still last in the Central, they have played two fewer games than just about everyone else. [NHL.com]
The NHL is considering renaming the post-season awards. That's a big fail. [Puck Daddy]
From CCR comes this article about Brendan Shanahan. Dude can hold a grudge. Do you think Craig Janney does? [NJ.com]
Teemu Selanne has a broken hand. [TSN]
Dan Carcillo will get four days to think about what he has done. [TSN]
Rick DiPietro allowed three goals in first action of the season in a rehab start. [ESPN]
The Thrashers future is now — and by that Scott Burnside means if they don't sign Ilya Kovalchuk, they have no future. [ESPN]
With Cam Ward coming back from injury, what happens to Manny Legace? [Canes Country]
A look at how the media views the same play. [Japers' Rink]

Other links

This is just funny. [Pic]
A year in Jesus sightings. [Buzzfeed]
If you take public transportation, you might appreciate this. [Holy Taco]

Video

It's always good when people fall down. And mess up. And are just morons.

Gametimelinks(at)gmail.com GDT tonight. Don't forget.

Thrashers show up late, bury Panthers 2-1 in SO

Whale4ever — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 03:37:57 -0000

More photos » by Lynne Sladky - AP

14 days ago: Florida Panthers left wing Rostislav Olesz (85), of the Czech Republic, collides with Atlanta Thrashers goalie Johan Hedberg, of Sweden, center, in the second period during an NHL hockey game in Sunrise, Fla., Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009. At right is Atlanta Thrashers defenseman Anssi Salmela, of Finland. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Browse more photos »

The good stuff first: Florida played a game tonight; came out shooting hard and often against Johan Hedberg and his suddenly-revived career, blasting the veteran netminder with 12 quality shots in the first period. The guy simply channeled The Force from start to finish. End of story.

The bad: whether legitimate or otherwise, the Cats found themselves on the hind end of far too many odd-man opportunities, including fighting off a five-minute major and game misconduct assessed to Michael Frolik for - presumably - boarding and "intent to injure" in the second frame. Yep, Frolik. He of 22 penalty minutes in 2008-09. Whatever...the Panthers stayed loose and confident throughout, and kept the net clean for another two minutes thanks to a Bryan McCabe "elbowing" call.

Penalties aside, the Panthers and Thrashers put on a production of "Playoff What-if", with each goaltender almost literally standing on his head, Tomas Vokoun stopping 36 shots and Hedberg laying a brick wall on 30. Both sides threw out their big guns; this was not a snoozefest. And Florida's Stephen Weiss was the go-to dood once more, banging home his 13th at 2:36 of the third period.

As has become customary news in recent days for Florida fans, the probable outcome - Atlanta scoring in the final minute of regulation to tie it - thankfully never materialized.

Instead, Ilya Kovalchuk scored four seconds prior to the final minute of regulation, thereby providing far less drama than games of late.

Overtime came and went as it has so many times this year. On to the shootout. Kovalchuk does the expected and places the Cats in an early hole. Weiss is stopped. Horton hit a post. Reinprecht scored. Then came everyone's favorite choice - opponents included - for shootout duty: Rusty Olesz. Does "backhand at the right-side of the net" sound familiar?

It did to Hedberg, who read it like a cheap novel. Up comes our new friend Rich Peverley, whose shot Vokoun had no chance on, put the game away. It's a point gained, and considering the past few weeks, a welcome point. But a point given to another Southeastern team.

Personal view: As stated, the Panthers showed up. Don't wish to drive up hopes of division championships with that statement, but they were there, and quite probably put a scare into the Thrashers, if only for 58+ minutes. Vokoun was rock-solid, the lines were well-managed, and there was no question a lot of work went into prepping for this one. A game-breaking forward - looking beyond David Booth here - would likely have made all the difference. Again. Whatever...they got to overtime, and with Tampa Bay, Carolina, and Washington all victorious this evening, Florida gained a point on, um, Toronto.

Florida Panthers week in review

Whale4ever — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:04:29 -0000

Panthers fans will find a new addition to the concourse level Saturday at BankAtlantic Center.

Been a busy five days for the Cats since the first puck dropped at Philips Arena Monday. A quickie recap before tonight's action between the Southeast division rivals faceoff in Sunrise:

Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk is foiled in his initial shot on a breakaway, but regains a dead rebound and scores the Thrashers' second goal of the game, paving the way for Keith Ballard's infamous Paul Bunyan-style chop to the head of goaltender Tomas Vokoun. Despite the first of Stephen Weiss' heroics for the week (1g, 1a), ex-Buffalo fan favorite Maxim Afinogenov inserts a knife deep into the heart of reliever Scott Clemmensen and the Panthers with 5.5 seconds remaining in the third period, producing a 4-3 final score in favor of the home club. Vokoun? Briefly hospitalized. Ballard? Stunned. Florida fans? Dumbfounded by yet another strange fork in the road. Panthers are now winless in five.

Back in Sunrise Wednesday against the Avalanche, and the Cats somehow found creative and unique ways to smash four 2-goal leads...of their own (one of those in the final minute of regulation...of course). Craig Anderson, returning to South Florida for the first time since signing with Colorado over the summer, was his plucky self throughout, going goal-for-goal with Clemmensen. Enter overtime, add an end-to-end rush by - who else? - Ballard, a collision ensues, Adam Foote declares war on on the Florida defenseman. Andy's hurt, in comes Peter Budaj, and the ease with which it seems possible to imagine the green goalie getting a win without facing a single shot becomes quite natural; it's that kind of week. Stephen Weiss, he of three goals on the evening, enters the shootout in the fifth round, netting the game winner. A victory for sure, though one that feels strangely hollow. Winless streak over.

Thursday in Washington for a third shot at the Capitals - minus suspended Alex Ovechkin. No matter; anarchy ensues among the visitors after several minutes of close play. Spunky recent callup (and rookie) Alexander Salak replaces a quickly-yanked Clemmensen; nothing changes but the lead, which stretches to a formidable six goals. Another Alex, this time of the Semin variety, has four points before Bryan Allen and Weiss (with his fifth regulation-goal in three games) change the score but not the outcome. It was the classic "clinic" game by the home club, leaving the Cats dazed and defeated. Mike Duco ended his evening with 17 minutes in penalties: an instigator, fighting major, game misconduct, and aggressor calls. When's the last time we saw an "aggressor" penalty? Salak - whom the loss should not realistically fall upon - was quickly sent back to Rochester.

And here we are. Never boring around these parts.

Game Thread goes live at 5pm.

Poll

What to do?

Blow 'em up...top to bottom

11 votes

Hang in there...Booth and Stillman are on the mend

17 votes

28 votes | Poll has closed