By Bud L. Ellis
When locked in a tight race for the playoffs, missed opportunities are accentuated. Thus was the case with the Atlanta Thrashers on a frosty Saturday night in Nashville.
Giving up a goal on the opening faceoff of the third period Saturday night proved too much for Atlanta to overcome, the Thrashers suffering a bitter 4-3 defeat to the Nashville Predators.
The loss dropped the Thrashers from sixth in the Eastern Conference standings into a two-way tie for seventh with Montreal. Four teams – Boston, Tampa Bay, Florida and the New York Rangers – are one point back.
Facing a team playing for the second time in two nights and riding a five-game losing streak, the Thrashers let the game turn in the opening seconds of the third period. Jason Arnott scored just seven seconds into the final period to break a 3-3 tie.
Nashville started quickly, scoring twice off Johan Hedberg in the opening 10 minutes. Bryan Little scored the first of his two goals at 13:57 of the first.
Down 3-1, the Thrashers pulled within 3-2 on a Chris Thorburn short-handed goal in the second period, just 1:11 after Nashville scored its third goal. Little then tied the game at 3-3 with five minutes left in the second.
Atlanta had it chances in the third to tie the game, most notably on an Ilya Kovalchuk breakaway that was stymied.
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Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 10:18 am by bud
Tags: Atlanta Thrashers, Boston Bruins, Bryan Little, Chris Thorburn, Florida Panthers, Ilya Kovalchuk, Johan Hedberg, Montreal Canadians, Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning
By Bud L. Ellis
Forty-three days after winning a game in regulation, the Atlanta Thrashers re-discovered that winning in 60 minutes feeling on Tuesday.
Ilya Kovalchuk scored once and added two assists, and six Thrashers scored in a 6-1 rout of Ottawa at Philips Arena.
The victory marked the second time in five days the Thrashers won a game, after losing nine in a row. It also was the first victory in regulation for Atlanta since a 4-3 victory over Florida on Nov. 30.
Pavel Kubina scored the eventual game-winner 17:08 into the first period, snapping a 1-1 tie. Kovalchuk, who now has 17 points in his past 20 games despite the distraction of his ongoing contract negotiations, made it 3-1.
Eric Boulton scored the first goal for the Thrashers, who moved to within two points of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with the victory. Todd White snapped a 35-game goalless streak by lighting the lap. Bryan Little and Tobias Enstrom also scored for Atlanta.
In goal, Ondrej Pavelec made 30 saves for the Thrashers, who wrapped up a four-game homestand with a contest Thursday night against Buffalo.
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Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 8:22 pm by bud
Tags: Atlanta Thrashers, Bryan Little, Buffalo Sabres, Eric Boulton, Florida Panthers, Ilya Kovalchuk, Ondrej Pavelec, Ottawa Senators, Pavel Kubina, Philips Arena, Tobias Enstrom, Todd White
By Bud L. Ellis
Playing from an unfamiliar position early Thursday night, the Atlanta Thrashers ended up in an unfamiliar position.
Staked to a 1-0 lead midway through the first period, the Thrashers couldn’t build on the quick start as Matt Moulson’s hat trick led the New York Islanders past Atlanta 4-1 at Philips Arena, ending the Thrashers’ three-game winning streak.
The Atlanta offense, averaging nearly 3.5 goals per game so far this season, got the Thrashers out to an early lead. Slava Kozlov scored his fifth, off assists from Bryan Little and Todd White at the 9:01 mark.
Used to playing from behind and starting slow, the Thrashers didn’t handle their reversal of fortune well. In the second, Moulson scored his first goal 1:47 into the period. He then broke the tie with a power play goal with four minutes left in the period.
The Thrashers couldn’t capitalize on a power play midway through the third, and shortly after the Isles killed off the power play, Moulson tipped in a shot to make it 3-1.
John Tavares scored an empty netter with one second left, as the Thrashers ended a three-game homestand on a down note.
Now Atlanta hits the road for a four-game swing, starting Saturday night at Florida. The Thrashers then play Monday at Toronto, Wednesday at Northwest Division leader Calgary, and Thursday at Vancouver.
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Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 9:09 pm by bud
Tags: Atlanta Thrashers, Bryan Little, Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers, Matt Moulson, National Hockey League, New York Islanders, Philips Arena, Slava Kozlov, Todd White, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks
