SB Nation - Colby Armstrong

Rangers Recap: Blueshirts Fight Hard, Fall Short of Thrashers in SO, 3-2

NYRBlogger — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:47:46 -0000

More photos » by Paul J. Bereswill - AP

2 days ago: New York Rangers' Ryan Callahan (24) shoots the puck past Atlanta Thrashers goalie Johan Hedeurg (1) for a goal in the second period of an NHL hockey game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, Dec. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul J. Bereswill)

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Despite registering a season high 48 shots on goal against the Thrashers, the Rangers were once again unable to convert on prime scoring chances, including three or more breakaways, and ended up falling to Atlanta 3-2 in the shootout. At the same time, the effort was there and the Blueshirts poured everything they had into this game. In fact, if New York does not allow that shorthanded goal to Colby Armstrong in the third period, they win that game 2-1, but unfortunately that is not the way it went down.

In the first period, the Rangers came out and outshot the Thrashers 16-6, yet found themselves trailing due to a powerplay goal by Slava Kozlov when he launched a slapper off the far post and past Lundqvist to give the Thrashers a 1-0 lead. It stayed that way until Michael Del Zotto made a remarkable pass from behind his own goal-line to lead Ryan Callahan on the breakaway 17 minutes into the second period. Callahan made his usual backhand-forehand deke to beat goaltender Jonas Hedberg low. This powerplay tally was Ryan’s seventh goal on the season and fourth goal in his last eight games. Good to see that he is finally awakening and emerging as a secondary goal scorer on this team.

In the third stanza, Colby Armstrong capitalized on a fortuitous bounce off of the boards which eluded Del Zotto and ended up on his tape. Armstrong roofed a wrister over the shoulder of Lundqvist to regain the lead for Atlanta. That did not last long, however, as almost exactly a minute later Del Zotto wowed us with his passing abilities, when he fed Marian Gaborik for the one-timer goal which was Marian’s 23^rd on the season (leads NHL in goals).

This was followed by a 5 on 3 powerplay opportunity for the Thrashers when both Girardi and Staal went to the box at a crucial time. Thankfully, Henrik Lundqvist lead the Blueshirts to a tremendous kill which saw Hank on his hands and knees throwing his body around to make saves. No goals in overtime, so we would go to the shootout where Kovalchuk and Kozlov scored, and Gaborik and Kotalik did not.

Brandon Dubinsky, returning from his broken hand injury suffered on November 7^th, was one of the better players for the Rangers out there tonight. I, personally, expected him to be slow and a little hesitant, but he sure proved me wrong. He skated like mad, he was fantastic on the forecheck, and even threw hits when he had the chance. Dubinsky finished the night with 24:06 of ice-time and did not get a shot on goal in that span.

Continue Reading after the Jump

Chris Higgins and Ryan Callahan are the two other players who I thought played a very similar game to Dubinsky’s. By that I mean the effort was there, they skated, and created scoring chances. No, Higgins was unable to bury any of those golden opportunities, but the fact that he is getting there and getting shots is a good sign, and the goals will eventually come. Callahan is back to old form in that he is everywhere on the ice and scoring goals, much like last season. I am extremely pleased with his game as of late.

Marian Gaborik was also a difference maker tonight, just as he is in almost every game he plays in. Gabs received a total of 28 minutes and 19 seconds of ice-time, which is unbelievable for any player on the team, let alone a forward. I do not think you can really question his health status when he is able to keep the motor running for extended periods of time in fast-pace contests like he did at MSG in this one.

Sean Avery and Vinny Prospal also had their chances in this game but obviously did not put them in the net. Prospal continues to amaze me with the way he can find passing lanes and the same goes for Avery when he is able to attract four players to him almost every time he even approaches the crease. Sean was in the middle of everything tonight.

The defense, I thought, played very well as a whole, but the two individual performances that I took notice of were that of Mike Del Zotto and Michal Rozsival. Not for their defensive effort, but rather for their passing percentage and execution. While Rozy’s passes may not have been converted for goals, they were certainly effective and there were a few of them. Same thing for Del Zotto, who created both Ranger goals in this one. Staal and Girardi were also very strong in their own zone shutting down the high-flying Thrashers.

Henrik Lundqvist was sharp, especially when he had to come up big during the third period penalty kill, but was out-waited by Kovalchuk, which was a marvelous goal, and simply beat by Kozlov in the shootout. It should not have gotten to that point, though, as the team needs to score more than two goals when you record a season high 48 shots on goal. As Callahan said in his postgame interview, nine out of ten times you will win the game with shot totals like that, and tonight was the odd minority.

I believe that there is no better time for a home and home with the Islanders to approach the Rangers at this point. The Isles will force them to do everything they did in tonight’s tilt and more, and if we can walk away victorious in both, you better believe the confidence level will pick up greatly. That home and home will begin on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.

[Note by Jim Schmiedeberg, 12/15/09 7:53 AM EST Here are the notes and quotes from the Rangers. Guess what? Another sellout!]

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES AND QUOTES

December 14, 2009 - New York Rangers 2, Atlanta Thrashers 3 SO (Game #32, Home #16)

Click Here For The Official Game Summary

The Rangers were defeated by the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-2, in a shootout in front of a sold-out crowd (18,200) at Madison Square Garden; the Blueshirts are now 14-15-3 (31 pts.) on the season, including a 7-8-1 mark at home.
New York have sold out 172 consecutive regular season games, dating back to Nov. 5, 2005 against New Jersey; the last regular season non-sellout was Oct. 31, 2005 vs. Montreal (17,697); including the playoffs, the Rangers sellout streak is now at 186 games.
The Rangers tallied two power play goals in five opportunities to improve to 30.0% (18-60) at MSG this season; each of the Rangers last four goals have come on the power play dating back to Saturday's contest against Buffalo.
Ryan Callahan tallied two points on the power play (one goal and one assist) and delivered a game-high six hits; he has notched a goal in each of the last two games, and has four points (three goals and one assist) in the last five.
Marian Gaborik notched one power play goal in a game-high 28:19 of icetime, and has recorded four points (two goals and two assists) in the last four games; he has tallied a power play goal in each of the last two games to increase his league-leading total to 11 with the man advantage.
Rookie defenseman Michael Del Zotto tallied two power play assists in 21:19 of icetime; he has now recorded three assists in the last two games.
Henrik Lundqvist stopped 25 of 27 shots in the contest, including 13 saves in the second period.
Chris Drury led all skaters with 16 faceoff wins, and finished with a 62% (16-27) success rate in the faceoff circle; Sean Avery registered a game-high seven shots.
Brandon Dubinsky logged 24:06 of icetime in his return to the lineup after missing the previous 13 games due to injury.
The Rangers practice schedule for tomorrow, Dec. 15, is 12:00 p.m. at the MSG Training Center.
The Rangers return to action on Monday, Dec. 16, when they will face-off against the New York Islanders at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in the first game of a home-and-home set; the game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.

- more -

POST-GAME QUOTES

John Tortorella on tonight's game...

"Other than six or seven minutes at the beginning of that second period, I thought we played a good hockey game. We just have to keep on trying to build on it. We have to get over the hump of that second goal. We had our chances to score our third one but we didn't get it done. We have a lot of good things to build off of."

Henrik Lundqvist on tonight's game...

"I don't think it matters who we are playing right now. We have to see every game as an opportunity for us to turn this around. We have to keep pushing each other to have the energy that you need to win a hockey game. You can't walk around and feel sorry for yourself. All of the guys have to work together."

Chris Drury on tonight's game...

"We've got to keep doing the right things, keep playing like we're playing. 48 shots and I think we got 38 last game - if we keep getting over 30 shots something's going to give here."

Price / Halak - The Stats - November 2009

Chris Boyle — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:13:39 -0000

What a difference a month makes.

Thirty days ago the Canadiens were in the middle of a goaltending controversy. Jaroslav Halak's agent was NITWITTERING Carey Price's won/loss record, the fanbase had placed the bus in reverse and were attempting to leave a fresh set of treadmarks on Price's back and the Canadiens were plodding through their schedule at .500.

Outside of the Canadiens still flirting with the .500 mark, the attitude regarding the goaltending situation has changed dramatically. Since this article is a retrospective on November, it is heavily weighted towards Price. Halak's one start didn't offer enough of a sample to legitimately track his monthly progress. What began as an even split in October, turned into a clear separation as Price started 11 of 12 games in November, almost rendering the title of this article, and its point, moot for at least the time being. A solid performance by Halak in Ottawa suggest that the busy month of December may tell a different story.

Surprised by the turn this has taken, maybe you shouldn't be. This has been typical of the story that Price has written over the first two and a half seasons of his career. Somehow, instead of the fanbase observing the roller coaster ride from afar, recognizing that as the roller coaster descends, a peak exists for it to climb, they jump on the roller coaster eyes closed screaming for dear life on its mad descents only to extol the virtues of the ride when they disembark.

Should Price struggle in February again, it is likely that the fresh imagery that exists in everybody's minds right now will once again dissipate in a mad panic

Panic in Montreal is generally followed by the rewriting OR ignoring of history. Even with Price's strong November this controversy is not over, it will continue to bubble just below the surface. Should Price struggle in January, the detractors who are silent right now will re-emerge with the same arguments, their memories will once again be wiped clean. While the starting goaltender in Montreal is one of the most heavily scrutinized positions in sports, the easiest may be the backup goaltender in Montreal. The backup's flaws are always concealed under the their baseball caps, their past transgressions completely ignored. This will never change.

At Eyes On The Prize, we continue try to look past the surface level blame and analyze what is really going on. This month we will compare Price's performance in November to October and also look back and try to clarify the factors that contribute to a team based stat like a win / loss record and how it relates to Price and Halak.

One of the main arguments against Price in October was his inability to win games. With Halak sporting a 5-2 record and Price at 2-5, the most simplistic argument was "Price doesn't make the big saves when he needs to" and "Halak wins games". That argument ignored plenty of factors, most importantly that wins are a team based stat.

While perusing the internet I came across an interesting perspective at Brodeur is a Fraud. While trying to debunk the myth of Brodeur's career, he came up with an interesting statistic that he refers to as Win Threshold. It essentially projects out what a goaltender would have had to do to earn a point (.500) by including the teams performance in front of him. In a 3-1 victory, the assumption would be that to earn a point the goaltender would have to allow no more than 3 goals. Inversely, in a 3-1 loss the goaltender would need to have allowed no more than 1 goal.

We can calculate what I'll call the "win threshold" for the goalies on each team by taking (shots against - goals for) / shots against. This gives us the save percentage that would result in the team ending up with an equal number of goals for and goals against over the course of the season. If the goalie's save percentage is above that number, the team is likely to win more than the lose, while anything below the threshold means that the team should end up sub -.500 (or sub -.550 in the shootout era).

This simple statistic beautifully illustrates the career of Chris Osgood AND his playoff run that allowed the media to begin the "Chris Osgood is a Hall of Famer" nonsense.

In 2008-09, Detroit's win threshold was .873, which was the lowest in the league. The Islanders' win threshold was .928, which was not only the highest mark in the league but also the highest of any team since the lockout......Naturally, comparing win totals on goalies playing on the Islanders to goalies playing on the Red Wings is completely senseless.

Using this as a starting point, I compared how this statistic affected goalies on the same team. Was the Canadiens offense responsible for Halak's inflated win total, or was it his superior goaltending? What would Price have had to do to compensate for the woeful offense in front of him? Was it that Halak was receiving an easier ride?

(Let me preface this by stating that this is judging wins and wins alone. If a goaltender was fantastic and had a .960 SV%, but only needed to produce a .895 SV%, it is not devaluing his performance, only stating that his margin for error was very high. I also understand that early saves can keep a team in a period. Teams play to the score and loosen up when they are up big and that some goals are scored late in a game and alter the margin for the threshold. It is obvious that providing replacement value will never replicate the actual performance that history has provided. This theory is being used only to illustrate that wins are a team statistic and that they are heavily influenced by not only what you save, but what offense your team provides).

To put this in perspective, the league average in save percentage is .910.

In order for Price to gain the majority of his wins, he has had to offer above average goaltending.
His margin for error was slim and when he failed to balance on the high wire, he was open to criticism.
A .915 save percentage is currently good to place 20th in the league.

Halak on the other hand was allowed to navigate with a greater margin of error. He only needed to offer a save percentage of .865 to register his 5 victories. Vesa Toskala's save percentage on the season is .863. So any goaltender slightly more competent than Toskala MAY have registered a similar number of victories as Halak.

Both goaltenders would have had to provide Hall of Fame type performances to avoid the majority of their losses.

How would those statistics translate if you offered up average replacement value? If Jimmy Howard and his .910 SV% replaced Price and Halak, the Canadiens would be in deep trouble. The Canadiens would likely be in the hunt for Taylor Hall, not talking about the importance of their December schedule.

Looking at Price's losses below, it is unlikely that an average goaltender makes any impact on his losses, hell, it's unlikely that Roberto Luongo would have made much of a difference.

Price's threshold in his 11 losses is a SV% of 0.944 and a GAA of 1.69. Numbers that would place him above Ryan Miller as the number one goaltender in the league. Six of those starts would have required a .940+ SV% just to procure a shootout. If the team continues to struggle offensively to this capacity, then it is going to require Jose Theodore 2002 MVP type performances to drag them into the playoffs. With Price and Halak entering their RFA season, THAT is a scary and expensive thought.

You would think with Halak's lack of activity in November, that his stat line would remain unchanged, but with only an 8 game sample, one strong start against the Flames resulted in an 11 point improvement on his save percentage and lopping 1/5th of a goal off his goals against average. In October, Price statistically lagged behind in all the major categories, but with a strong month has lessened the paper gap between himself and Halak. I made the argument in October that Price had a higher ceiling, but was prone to wild swings of inconsistency and the 2009 season has proven that out so far.

Through two months, what has been proven, is that the Canadiens goaltending is in good hands. With the transition of turning over half the team, and the numerous injuries to key personnel, the fact the team came through November at .500 is miraculous. At this moment, Halak's consistency offers the perfect compliment to Price, but due to the idiotic actions of his agent (Halak, Halak it a lot?), it is clear that Halak is eyeing a starting assignment, and will not likely find that in Montreal. You may be reading "Price / Sanford: the numbers" by ~~March~~ December. (note: as I am writing this, Sportsnet has reported that Halak has been placed on the trading block).

The fact that I can even mention a 2002 Theodore-like season is based on the strong November showing by Price. Playing behind an injury ravaged defense that produced roughly the same amount of shots as the previous month, from roughly the same areas, Price's numbers improved across the board. Price also managed to avoid a major meltdown like the Vancouver game, as well as producing a couple of 40+ shot gems against the Bruins and Predators.

With Halak pushing Price for the starting job in October, by all accounts Price responded to the challenge with hard work, which resulted in plenty of positive signs over the last month. With hard work Price's confidence level soared and his return to a hybrid style has allowed his athleticism to re-surface, because of this, Price managed to produce some miraculous saves during November. His patience has also been on display, particularly in shootouts and breakaways where once again he is using his huge frame to his advantage and refusing to commit before the shooter. With his gap control improving, he has been extremely hard to beat in 1 on 1 situations. This is a huge improvement on the tentative approach he used in late 2008-09. Add in his aggressive puck handling and his tenacity in battling to track the puck and the hope in Montreal is that Price has begun turning the corner.

Price's save percentage's also improved in almost every category in November, with his biggest improvement coming in shorthanded situations where his save percentage improved by over .200. His woefully low special teams percentage in October masked the fact that he was producing an elite level even strength percentage. With an improvement to mediocre powerplay standards, Price's statistics all experienced a significant jump across the board.

The question remains, what came first, the chicken or the egg? Did the Canadiens penalty kill improve in November because of Price, or did Price's numbers improve because of the penalty kill? Halak did not suffer the same special teams meltdown. Could that have had anything to do with the power of the opposition, or his own play?

With so many new faces and the loss of Markov, it is no surprise that the PK got off to a slow start. With the return of O'Byrne and Gill and the emergence of White and Pyatt, the October implosion by Price should be avoidable moving forward.

Interesting to note if Price had managed to produce an .878 powerplay SV% in October, his overall SV% would have improved from .889 to .920.

Price and Halak continue to get bombarded by shots and the Canadiens have once again regressed into becoming over reliant on goaltending to win hockey games. With the early season injury to the Canadiens best player (Markov in 2010, Koivu in 2002) and the continual 30+ shot barrages, this season is becoming eerily reminiscent of the 2002 season when Theodore needed to provide the difference every night.

With Price's numbers improving in November, the assumption would be that the Canadiens settled down and began to limit shots and scoring opportunities. The Canadiens actually surrendered an extra two shot attempts per game. Price still is averaging over a shot attempt against per minute on the ice, a trend that will either lead to a statistical regression or an MVP award.

In 8 of his 11 starts in November, Price faced 30+ shots, including a team record tying 53 saves against the Predators and a 42 save gem that was seconds short of his 1st shutout of the season. Only once in his 11 games did he have less than 50 shots directed at him. Price continued to excel on shots outside of 20+ feet as he only allowed 7 of 257 shots to beat him. His SV% below 20' feet drastically improved and is pushing towards the league average.

Price offered up plenty of spectacular saves in November, but also had some concentration lapses that resulted in some questionable goals, something that had been absent from his game in October (only 5 of 25 came in as questionable, with zero registering at fault). Although his statistics drastically improved over the month of November, with the Canadiens lack of scoring ability (25th in the NHL) and his unbelievably tough win threshold (see above), his margin for error was slim. This can be witnessed by his 0-4 record in the 4 games I credited a bad goal. In two of the games (Detroit and Atlanta) the margin of victory was one goal, the other two (Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh) were decided by two goals. As he matures, these goals should occur less frequently allowing him to become even more of a game changing player. He isn't yet ready to carry a team, but it seems the Canadiens have given him little to no choice in the matter presently.

Looking at the zones where Price has given up goals, his glove hand continues to be much maligned even though he has only been beaten high glove side 11 times through November (11/53). The reason for the questions lies in the amount of bad goals high glove side. Out of the 12 goals categorized as suspect or bad, 6 have been high glove side, making it much easier to understand AND defend the criticism.

Looking at his November chart also gives the impression that he is very vulnerable low stick side, but looking at the video below shows that a lot of those goals came as the result of cross ice passes in which Price was not able to square up and were the result of him in transition. A small concern for me through two months has been his vulnerability through the 5-hole, an area he has not been able to cover with his stick either in transition or static and squared up.

Goals deemed questionable or bad are marked in bold.

26. Rich Peverley feeds it in front and it deflects off Bryan Little by a moving Price beating him 5-hole. 10 ft.
27. Pass from behind the net to a wide open Peverley in the slot, snaps a shot by Price low-stick side. 14 ft
28. Point shot by Mark Popovic that knuckles by Carey Price beating him high glove side. 59 ft.
29. 5 on 4 PP. Cross crease feed to a wide-open Pavel Kubina who directs it pass Price into an empty net. 5 ft.
30. Kane cross crease pass to a wide open Colby Armstrong who beats Price low stick side. 8 ft.
31. 6 on 5. Point shot. Price makes the initial stop, Patrice Bergeron rebound beats Price low-stick side. 5 ft.
32. 5 on 4 PP. Scramble. Price makes 2 saves but cannot stop Ryan Malone as he beats him five-hole. 11 ft.
33. Price, big rebound and Alex Tanguay alone, chips it over Price beating him high glove side. 14 ft.
34. 2 on 1. Scramble. Wright beats Gorges to the puck and slides it into an empty net. 6 ft.
35. Price highsticked in the throat by Mara falls down leaving an open net. Robert Lang puts it top shelf. 15 ft.
36. Point shot wide deflects into an open net off Bissonnette's skate beating Price low glove side. 12 ft.
37. Price makes initial save, Steve Sullivan all alone finishes off his rebound beating Price 5-hole. 7 ft
38. 5 on 3 PP. Point shot stopped, Sullivan at the side of the net beats Price low stick side. 14 ft.
39. Odd man rush, cross ice feed to the slot. Brandon Sutter chips it over Price, high glove side. 14 ft.
40. 3 one 2, cross ice feed one timed by Jussi Jokinen beats Price low glove side. 32 ft.
41. Eric Fehr snaps a shot from the face-off dot beating Price high-glove side. 25 ft.
42. Morrison takes a pass in front and moves opposite to Price's momentum beating him low glove side. 6 ft.
43. 5 on 4 PP. Brad Stuart point shot handcuffs Price and trickles in. 55 ft.
44. 5 on 3 PP. Brian Rafalski point pass tipped home by Pavel Datsyuk at the side of the net. 12 ft.                         45. Nash behind the net finds Vermette who one-times it past Price beating him high blocker side. 11 ft.
46. 5 on 4 PP. Rick Nash centers it, Stralman cheating off the point beats Price low blocker side. 24 ft.
47. 5 on 4 PP. Antoine Vermette's shot stopped, rebound back to him, beats Price low blocker side. 20 ft.
48. Sidney Crosby snap shot from the top of the faceoff circle beating Price high glove side. 38 ft.
49. Bill Guerin from the corner. Price makes initial save, doesn't hold the post as he beats him 5-hole. 8 ft.
50. Crosby with a beautiful pass to a streaking Sergei Gonchar who beats Price 5-hole all alone. 8 ft.
51. Point shot deflected in front by Brooks Laich beats Price low blocker side. 18 ft.
52. Alex Ovechkin one timer from the top of the faceoff circle beats Price low blocker side. 38 ft.
53. 6 on 4 PP. Price stops a one-timer by Ovechkin, Fehr slides home the rebound beating Price 5-hole. 10 ft.

The November verdict: You have to be encouraged by the performance of Price and Halak through November and the improved penalty kill is a positive sign and a factor in Price's improved numbers. The volume of shots and scoring opportunities remain a major concern. In October I preached patience because of the integration of 10-12 players and the introduction of a new system. With injuries creating a revolving door of players it is likely that this team has still not properly gelled. The Canadiens have fallen into a pattern of struggling to produce offense and relying on Price and Halak to bail them out, and this is a dangerous game to play with developing goaltenders. They have been able to provide some fantastic results through November, but if this continues they will struggle to make the playoffs. To provide room for improvement moving forward, the goaltenders get a B+ for November.

To view the October Price / Halak analysis, click here.

Flames Versus Thrashers Post-Game - You Wouldn't Like Glencross When He's Angry

Kent Wilson — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:40:33 -0000

More photos » by Jeff McIntosh - AP

Aside from an ugly first few shifts, there was little doubt the Flames were the better team last night. The Flames were consistently superior at 5on5, out-chancing the Thrashers 21-12 and frequently controlling the play. Even the penalty kill, which I had singled out as a recent weakness of the team despite some decent results, was effective, allowing no goals and single scoring chance.

The trio of Iginla, Jokinen and Dawes had a much better evening, scoring once and ending up on the plus side of the ledger across the board. Glancing at the head-to-head ice info, it seems Kovalchuk spent most of his time up against Langkow et al, leaving Iginla and company face the Russian unit of Antropov, Afinogenov and Kozlov. I assume this was a purposeful strategy on Sutter's part given the Flames were at home and it strikes me as the most rational path if he's going to pursue the Iginla-Jokinen-Dawes (Lundmark/Sjostrom/whoever) combination. Sending Langkow and Bourque out to face the tough match-up increases the chances Iggy and company will spend more time in the offensive zone and therefore more time earning their large paycheques (well...except for Dawes). It should be the default setting going forward.

The power play was the only glaring weakness to Calgary's game last night. Aside from a Jokinen rush/break-away, the Flames couldn't seem to establish anything with the man advantage. They frequently struggled to get the puck in the zone and set-up for more than a few passes around the perimeter or a perfunctory shot from the point. As it stands right now, the Flames PP is tied for 20th in the league and it is poised to drop even further if the club can't figure things out. And this time, no one can blame lack of practice as the cause of the inefficiency.

Overall, though, it was a strong performance. In fact, Curtis Glencross' beat down of Colby Armstrong probably serves as an apt microcosm of the contest:

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 PK Unit

The Falconer — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:00:15 -0000

One year ago the Thrashers PK allowed 88 goals against. So far this year, the team has allowed just 17 on 107 times being shorthanded.

The data in the table below in ONLY for PK during 5 on 4 disadvantage (excludes 5 on 3 situations). Among the forwards, the coaching staff is leaning most heavily on Reasoner, Peverley, Thorburn and Armstrong. This represents a major change from last season when the top 4 PK forwards included Reasoner, Perrin, Slater and C. Stuart.

Who has been most effective so far? When looking at Even Strength situations I put a lot of weight on Goal Differential, but on the PK scoring is an afterthought (and often involves a lot of luck), so I put greater emphasis on the PK GAA (Goals Against Average). Bottom line, the job of the PK unit is to prevent a goal against.

In the table below I have ranked all the Thrasher forwards who average at least half a minute on the PK in the order of their PK GAA. Rich Peverley has not only lead the Thrashers in points on offense but he currently sports the lowest PK GAA of any forward who plays the PK on a regular basis. Right behind Peverley is Chris Thorburn who has excelled so far this season after being given a bigger role in killing penalties. In the middle of the pack we find surprising rookie Evander Kane, Colby Armstrong and veteran PKer Marty Reasoner. Trailing behind in effectiveness are Jim Slater and Todd White who have each seen their PK minutes decline this year.

Forward	POS	GP	TOI/60	GFON	GAON	GFA	GAA	G Diff
RICH PEVERLEY	C	25	2.47	2	3	1.94	2.91	-0.97
CHRIS THORBURN	C	25	2.36	2	3	2.03	3.05	-1.02
EVANDER KANE	C	25	1.63	1	3	1.48	4.43	-2.95
COLBY ARMSTRONG	RW	24	2.23	1	5	1.12	5.61	-4.49
MARTY REASONER	C	25	3.35	2	10	1.43	7.16	-5.73
JIM SLATER	C	11	1.29	0	2	0.00	8.43	-8.43
TODD WHITE	C	25	0.48	0	2	0.00	10.00	-10.00

On defense, the guys receiving the heaviest PK burden are Ron Hainsey, Pavel Kubina and Zach Bogosian in that order. Last season Tobias Enstrom was the Thashers leading PK defenseman but this year he has seen his PK TOI cut back significantly with the arrival of Kubina and Schubert and with more minutes going to Bogosian.

In his reduced role Enstrom has been nothing short of perfect. In fact, so far the this season when killing 5 on 4 penalties the Thrashers have actually outscored the opposition 1-0 when Enstrom is on the ice--that's rather amazing.

Among the non-Enstrom defenseman new comer Pavel Kubina has the best PK GAA with Popovic right behind him. Bogosian and Hainsey bring up the rear. It is worth noting that the spread among the defensemen is much smaller than it is among the forwards, which suggests that all of the defenseman have been reasonably effective on the PK so far this year.

Defense	POS	GP	TOI/60	GFON	GAON	GFA	GAA	G Diff
TOBIAS ENSTROM	D	25	0.86	1	0	2.78	0.00	2.78
PAVEL KUBINA	D	24	3.02	1	5	0.83	4.14	-3.32
MARK POPOVIC	D	16	1.72	2	2	4.35	4.35	0.00
ZACH BOGOSIAN	D	25	2.87	3	6	2.51	5.02	-2.51
RON HAINSEY	D	23	3.87	0	9	0.00	6.07	-6.07
CHRISTOPH SCHUBERT	D	23	2.13	1	6	1.22	7.33	-6.11

Holiday Special: The Top Secret Thrashers Christmas List.

aaron b — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:07:16 -0000

In a massive coup for our writing team, our BWA spies have secured a copy of a very important document – Santa's Christmas list for our very own Atlanta Thrashers. At the risk of ruining the holidays for these players, we present it here for you in it's entirety.

via c cbssportsstore.com

Rick Dudley - 4,524 travel mugs. He's pretty hard on them.

Don Waddell - A mind-control device programmed to operate only on Jay Grossman.

John Anderson - 40 minutes of effort to match the 20 minutes he already has.

The Atlanta Sprit Group - Hawks at 12-5. Thrashers at 14-7-3. Miley Cyrus just played at Philips. What else could they possibly want?!?

Rich Peverley – A permanent ban on any questions including the phrases "Ex-ECHLer" and "waiver-wire". Oh, and will somebody pay this guy some attention, please?

Ilya Kovalchuk – Ten years, one hundred million dollars in Atlanta. And a Kindle. I bet he doesn't have one of those yet.

via komplettie.files.wordpress.com

Maxim Afinogenov - At least three more years in Thrasher blue next to Ilya Kovalchuk.

Nik Antropov - A goal. For the love of all that is good and true, a freakin goal.

Toby Enstrom - A noble steed to match his flowing mane.

Evander Kane - About 35 more pounds of muscle.

Slava Kozlov – A nice crocheted sweater that says "NOT VIKTOR."

Zach Bogosian - Call of Duty strategy guide (Bryan wins too much) and some sweet rims for his ride.

Pavel Kubina - Hey, he's not a Maple Leaf anymore; what else does he want?

Todd White – Quicken 2010/TurboTax 2010 value bundle. And some sedatives. Can't have him getting too wild.

Bryan Little – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and some new Xbox controllers (Zach keeps breaking them).

Marty Reasoner – Custom "The PARTY is HERE!" t-shirt and matching trucker cap.

Colby Armstrong - A nap.

Kari Lehtonen - One of those back massage thingys they have at Bed Bath & Beyond.

Ron Hainsey - Product. Lots and lots of hair product.

Chris Thorburn - Some recognition for the tireless charity work this guy does. (srsly)

Anssi Salmela - The removal of the sign above his locker that says "The Guy We Got For Nic Havelid."

Christoph Schubert - Schnitzel and The Best of Mike Meyers on SNL. I guess he's likes the "Sprockets" sketches.

Eric Boulton - PunchOut for Nintendo Wii, and a nice display case for Riley Cote's dignity.

Mark Popovic – Something to get the smell of borscht out of his gameday suit.

Johan Hedberg – Bah, he'll be happy with any kind of Spongebob something-or-other.

Ondrej Pavelec - A helmet that stays on.

Jim Slater - His recycling merit badge (finally).

Sunday links -- Matt Cooke to be suspended? Gonchar and Pens at odds? Bill Guerin's effort too low?

Hooks Orpik — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:50:44 -0000

Check out 2:35 of the youtube. "It's f-in hat night", the new "it's the f-in Catalina wine mixer"? [Three Rivers Blog]

TSN insider Bob McKenzie says that the league may review Matt Cooke's hit on Artem Anisimov last night for possible suspension or fine. [Twitter account]

Empty Netters takes a hard line on Cooke and says he deserves suspended. Given that the hit was away from the play, targeted the head and the offender's last name is Cooke, I have to agree that discipline could and probably should be on the way. [Empty Netters]

The Confluence takes a look at the fine line Cooke walks, and occasionally crosses. [Kuklas Korner]

Stats and details on the Penguins success in the first 25 game segment of the season. [Tribune Review]

The same clown from Ottawa who said the Penguins were preparing to trade Evgeni Malkin (two weeks before they re-signed him) says that the Penguins and Sergei Gonchar aren't agreeing on extension figures. [Ottawa Sun]

I'm guessing the odds you see an article on Puck Prospectus this week about Sidney Crosby hurting the Penguins is pretty low. [Puck Prospectus]

Faceoff Factor calls out Bill Guerin's effort. I don't see it, Guerin's got six points (3g, 3a) in the last eight games, including that last second buzzer beater. 39 year old players don't play like they're 19 or 29, gotta save a little in the tank for the long haul. [Faceoff Factor]

Craig Rivet and Max Talbot frienemy Dan Carcillo had quite the series of fights. [Puck Daddy]

Crosby v. Ovechkin was the fourth biggest hockey story of the decade. JP asked on his site if it'd be higher or lower next decade. I'm going to push and say it'll be about the 4th biggest story next decade too. The three bigger stories? NHL player involvement in the 2014 Olympics, the next CBA negotiations and the Penguins dynastic 11 straight Stanley Cups. [Puck Daddy]

Former Penguins prospect Angelo Esposito tore the same ACL again. Hard not to feel bad for someone who's career has seemingly peaked at age 15 or 16. [Bird Watchers Anonymous]

As a little aside, who would have guessed that Pascal Dupuis would have the more goals so far this season than everyone involved in that trade....Combined. The scoreboard (with NHL goals in parenthesis) is Pascal Dupuis (7) to everyone else (5). Marian Hossa (2) Colby Armstrong (3), Erik Christensen (0), Esposito (0) and a first round pick that was Daultan Leveille (0). Now that Hossa is back, figured I had to use that stat now.

Chicago's cap crunch might make defenseman Cam Barker the odd man out. Hear that, Mr. Shero? [Faceoff.com]

Thrashers Beat The Streak, Down Flyers 1-0

aaron b — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 05:19:35 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Smith - AP

18 days ago: Atlanta Thrashers forward Rich Peverley, left, scores a goal against Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Brian Boucher (33) during the second period, of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009, at Philips Arena, in Atlanta. The goal became the game-winning goal as the Thrashers went on to win 1-0. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

Browse more photos »

One day, I'll learn to stop making predictions. My call of a 5-3 Thrashers win could not have been more off--but at least give me this--would you have guessed a 1-0 Thrashers win?

That's right, never in a million years.

Hit the jump for some quick hit thoughts.

- Concerning Colby Armstrong's hit on Philly's own Chosen One, James van Riemsdyk: Colby did what he did and got what he deserved. JVR also learned a very valuable lesson: if you want to play stickey-poke before the face off with someone who has been known to hit very hard, keep your head up afterwards, ya dig? He's young, he'll learn.

- Rich Peverley has 5 game-winning goals. I bet you didn't think $475K could get you five NHL wins, did you?

(No, this particular meme will not be going away anytime soon. Live with it.)

- Eric Boulton & Riley Cote fought. Rather, Riley Cote hung on while Eric Boulton beat him about the head. No surprises.

- If you run in to Pavel Kubina out and about somewhere, make sure he never has to pay for his own drinks again. He's been the top-pairing defenseman the Thrashers have been looking for since... 2000, maybe? Zach Bogosian and Toby Enstrom can take care of the offense, I'm more than pleased with Kubina stationed beside our net.

- Johan Hedberg looked every bit the confident veteran leader in net as he earned his first shutout of the year. The Thrashers have a young stud netminder who is improving with every game, and a rock-solid "backup" (as Moose is playing like a backup in name only) to help said young stud along. Is anyone else thinking this is how it should've been in goal for Atlanta? Only, you know, three or four years ago?

- Is this a bigger win than last night's comeback against the Hurricanes? Absolutely. Last night proved that the team is capable of stealing control of a game not going their way. Tonight proved that they're capable of controling a game from start to finish. The Flyers played hard, the officiating was as clean as it gets; the Thrashers just played better. Let that sink in.

Tell me what I missed in the comments.

Flyers Shut Out In Atlanta, Lose 1-0

Geoff Detweiler — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 03:52:43 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Smith - AP

The trip that led to Atlanta's 5-on-3. Interesting moment in time. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

Browse more photos »

[TSN Recap] - [Box Score] - [ATL Reaction]

Final - 11.28.2009	1	2	3	Total
Philadelphia Flyers	0	0	0	0
Atlanta Thrashers	0	1	0	1

Complete Coverage >

Speechless. The Flyers got shut out by Johan Hedberg and the Atlanta Thrashers, losing to Atlanta for the first time since a shootout loss on November 18th, 2005. Their last regulation loss to Atlanta was still further back, on December 21st, 2003. Getting shut out by the Thrashers is even more unusual, since the last time Atlanta did that was January 14th, 2000. Getting shut out by anybody itself is pretty rare, as the Flyers have scored in each of their last 50 games, last putting up a goose egg on March 1st, 2009.

So this outcome was atypical. An exercise in futility, one might say. One might assume the Flyers didn't show up tonight, but that surprisingly wasn't the case. They didn't lose because they made mistakes, they didn't lose because of poor goaltending either. Once again, Brian Boucher was solid in net, stopping 17 of 18 shots. However, Hedberg was better as he stopped all 34 Flyers shots.

There isn't much to say about this game. Rich Peverly scored the only Thrashers goal on the power play, after a Ryan Parent tripping penalty was assessed on top of Claude Giroux's slashing penalty. Parent got beat and got called for a trip. These things happen. Either way, when your goalie only gives up one goal, you should win. The Flyers didn't. They've been losing a lot lately, but it hasn't been for a lack of effort.

After the jump, Random Thoughts, Questions with Answers, Highlights, and Comment of the Night.

Random Thoughts:

There has been a lot of talk about faceoffs around here since the off-season, yet Mika Pyorala's name has yet to come up. Mike Richards lost the faceoff that led to the only Thrashers goal - and the team was only 2 for 6 on draws while shorthanded - but Pyorala took the third most draws on the night and finished winless in 5 tries. Richards finished at 50% and Carter at 61% on the night.
Oskars Bartulis impressed me yet again. An overall strong game, with two hits and two blocked shots. I only noticed him once - which is always a good thing for a stay-at-home defenseman - and it was when he stood his man up along the boards, took the puck away from him, and started the breakout.
Brian Boucher had another great game. There won't be a goalie controversy, but he's clearly outplaying Ray Emery of late. Particularly amazing was his save on Bryan Little in the second period.
Colby Armstrong took an unnecessary run at James van Riemsdyk which scared a lot of people, if only for a second. Undisciplined play by Armstrong and he deserved the 5 minute charging penalty, the game misconduct, as well as the beating Arron Asham gave him. He does not however, deserve a suspension.
On a related note, the instigator rule needs to be eliminated. Immediately. In back-to-back games, the Flyers have had players get dangerously run at, both hobbled off the ice, and both led to game misconducts being called against the opposition. Both times, a Flyers tough guy immediately stood up for his teammate, and negated a 5 minute PP into a 3 minute PP. I cannot even tell you how stupid it is. Cassie from Raw Charge agrees with me.
Riley Cote got his first fight of the year! As such, he also got his first beat down. Congratulations. Thanks for being on the ice for 2:52 tonight Riles.
Ice time tonight was definitely interesting - as always. Five players finished with less than 10 minutes; four players had between 10 and 15 minutes; and four had more than 24 minutes. Love the balanced attack.
The story of the game - besides Johan Hedberg - was the Flyers power play: 0 for 4 in nine minutes. They got off shots - 9 to be exact - but struggled with the man-advantage the entire game.
The officiating was pretty bad tonight, but no worse than normal and not the reason they lost. In other words, just a typical night in the NHL. At least we aren't the Detroit Red Wings: Evidence.

Questions with Answers:

Can the Flyers get out of their special teams slump? No. Penalty kill was 3 for 4 - not bad, but not good enough - and the power play was atrocious.
Do the Flyers limit Ian Laperriere's ice time just a day after his upper lip split in two thanks to a Jason Pominville slap shot? A little, but not really. He got 13:20 of ice time which is fairly typical for him, especially considering the team spent 9 minutes on the PP.
Can Boucher keep up his hot play? Definitely. Not much else to say. Boucher has played great his past two and a half games.
Do the Flyers beat Atlanta for a unbelievable 15th straight time, or can the Thrashers get their first win against Philadelphia since 2005? Even Niittymaki couldn't have stolen this game for us.

Highlights:

Comment of the Night:

I’m running out of things to say about this team.

Ben Feldman