Thrashers struggling on road, lose at Calgary

By Bud L. Ellis

For all their early-season success on the road, the Atlanta Thrashers have found some rough sledding away from Philips Arena.

Atlanta dropped to 1-2 on its current four-game road swing, losing 3-1 Wednesday night at Calgary in a game where the Thrashers couldn’t generate any offense.

Colby Armstrong scored his fourth goal of the season for Atlanta at the 12:27 mark of the third period, scoring off assists off Rich Peverley and Boris Valabik. Armstrong’s goal cut a 2-0 deficit in half, but Atlanta couldn’t draw any closer.

Following a scoreless first period, Calgary posted two goals in the second to grab a 2-0 advantage. Nigel Dawes beat Atlanta goaltender Johan Hedberg 2:09 into the second for the game’s first goal, and Olli Jokinen scored at the 14:28 mark.

Rene Bourque added an empty-net goal with 40 seconds left.

For the Thrashers, who started the season by winning eight of their first 11 road games, Wednesday’s loss followed an ugly 5-2 defeat Monday at Toronto. Atlanta opened the roadtrip with a shootout victory Saturday in Florida.

The Thrashers end the road trip Thursday at Vancouver. The game marks a homecoming for Evander Kane, the Thrashers’ first-round draft pick this season who hails from Vancouver.

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Thursday, December 10, 2009 at 9:29 pm by bud

Tags: Atlanta Thrashers, Boris Valabik, Calgary Flames, Colby Armstrong, Florida Panthers, Johan Hedberg, Philips Arena, Rich Peverley, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks