Atlanta Thrashers Schedule
Tuesday
2/7/2012
7:30PM
Winnipeg Jets vs Toronto Maple Leafs
Thursday
2/9/2012
7:00PM
Washington Capitals vs Winnipeg Jets
Saturday
2/11/2012
2:00PM
Pittsburgh Penguins vs Winnipeg Jets
NEWS
By Bud L. Ellis
A pair of Atlanta Thrashers defensemen who are a key part of the franchise’s turnaround season will display their talents during the NHL All-Star game.
Dustin Byfuglien and Toby Enstrom will represent the Thrashers during the All-Star game, Jan. 31 in Raleigh, N.C. (Read More…)
Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 3:00 pm by bud
Tags: Atlanta Thrashers news, Atlanta Thrashers schedule, Atlanta Thrashers tickets, Chicago Blackhawks, Dustin Byfuglien, NHL All-Star game, Philadelphia Flyers, Philips Arena, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tobias Enstrom, Washington Capitals
By Bud L. Ellis
Coming home after two big victories on the road, the Atlanta Thrashers destroyed all that momentum inside one lackluster period Wednesday night.
Playing inside a quiet Philips Arena, the Thrashers mustered just two shots in the first period, fell behind and could not catch up. Despite a solid effort by Chris Mason in goal, the Thrashers were hammered 4-1 by Buffalo in a game that really wasn’t that close. (Read More…)
Thursday, October 21, 2010 at 6:27 pm by bud
Tags: Atlanta Thrashers news, Atlanta Thrashers schedule, Atlanta Thrashers tickets, Buffalo Sabres, Chris Mason, National Hockey League, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tobias Enstrom, Washington Capitals
By Bud L. Ellis
The good news for the Atlanta Thrashers is, for now, the young team has survived – and even thrived – through a rough first 11 days of the National Hockey League season.
Even better news: goalie Ondrej Pavelec returned to the ice Tuesday, a week and a half after he fainted during the opening minutes of the Thrashers’ season opener at Philips Arena. (Read More…)
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 7:18 pm by bud
Tags: Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers news, Atlanta Thrashers schedule, Atlanta Thrashers tickets, Chris Mason, Los Angeles Kings, National Hockey League, Ondrej Pavelec, San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals
By Bud L. Ellis
Four days after another season ended with the Atlanta Thrashers looking from the outside at the NHL playoffs, the franchise made wholesale changes in the hope of skating past game No. 82 next spring.
The Thrashers fired head coach John Anderson and the entire coaching staff after two seasons. Much maligned general manager Don Waddell, who held the position since the franchise’s inception in 1999, was moved into the president’s role, and assistant GM Rick Dudley was promoted to replace Waddell.
The Thrashers hope the moves will reset a franchise that has missed the playoffs in nine of their 10 seasons of existence.
Atlanta, which traded superstar Ilya Kovalchuk at the trade deadline following a contract extension impasse with the Russian sharpshooter, actually played one game over .500 after dealing Kovalchuk to New Jersey in February. But a five-game losing streak in late February and early March put the Thrashers in a hole from which they could not recover.
Two or three wins more would’ve put the Thrashers in the playoffs for the first time since 2007 and just the second time in franchise history. But after Atlanta was eliminated from postseason contention with a home loss last Tuesday to New Jersey, many figured changes would be afoot.
Dudley does bring a positive vibe to a franchise desperately in need of something positive. He helped built successful teams in Tampa Bay and Chicago.
—30—
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 10:12 pm by bud
Tags: Atlanta Thrashers, Chicago Blackhawks, Don Waddell, Ilya Kovalchuk, John Anderson, New Jersey Devils, Rick Dudley, Tampa Bay Lightning
By Bud L. Ellis
The Atlanta Thrashers find themselves in a logjam for the final Eastern Conference playoffs spots. Every game leading up to the Olympic break is critical for a team that’s fighting to be in position to make a postseason push come March.
This is not the time the Thrashers want to see Antero Niittymaki in the pipes at the opposite end of the rink. But that’s likely what will be the case Tuesday at Philips Arena, when Atlanta plays host to Tampa Bay.
Niittymaki is 15-0-0 – yes, 15-0-0! – against the Thrashers in his career, with a 1.79 goals against average. Two of those wins have come this season, including a 2-1 shootout victory on Jan. 23 during which Niittymaki stuffed the Thrashers through five rounds of the shootout.
Both teams are coming off tough road losses. Saturday, the Thrashers battled back from an early 2-0 deficit only to lose in Nashville, 4-3. Sunday, the Lightning fought back to tie red-hot Washington before the Caps prevailed 3-2, extending Washington’s win streak to 10 games.
If the playoffs opened today, both teams would just miss a postseason spot. Atlanta wakes up tied for ninth with Montreal with 56 points, one point out of eighth. Tampa Bay sits with 55 points, tied for 11th with Boston.
—30—
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 5:27 am by bud
Tags: Antero Niittymaki, Atlanta Thrashers, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadians, Nashville Predators, National Hockey League, Philips Arena, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals
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.
—30—
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
These are the types of games the Atlanta Thrashers can ill-afford to lose if they want to reach the playoffs.
But Antero Niittymaki once again kept the Thrashers at bay, and after 65 minutes of dramatic hockey and five shootout rounds, Atlanta left Tampa with a bitter 2-1 loss.
Jeff Halpern beat Johan Hedberg in round five of the shootout, and Niittymak improved to 15-0 lifetime against the Thrashers, making 37 saves. As great as Hedberg was, Niittymak was better.
The loss moves the Lightning into a tie with the Thrashers for 12th place in the Eastern Conference with 52 points, three behind the Rangers and Montreal, who occupy the final two playoff spots.
Nik Antropov scored the lone goal for the Thrashers at the 5:23 mark of the first period. Tampa tied the game two minutes later. The score then remained knotted at 1-1 the rest of the way, in a game that features playoff-type intensity and hard-fought play from both sides.
Atlanta looks to rebound Tuesday at Philips Arena against Anaheim.
—30—
Sunday, January 24, 2010 at 1:18 pm by bud
Tags: Anaheim Ducks, Antero Niittymaki, Atlanta Thrashers, Jeff Halpern, Johan Hedberg, Montreal Canadians, National Hockey League, New York Rangers, Nik Antropov, Philips Arena, Tampa Bay Lightning
By Bud L. Ellis
They often struggle in the first period, almost always get outshot by the opposition and their marquee player may be wearing another sweater by October (or March, for that matter).
Take all that into consideration, and it’s surprising that the Atlanta Thrashers are just three points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Despite a miserable nine-game stretch that produced just three points in the standings (all coming on overtime losses), the Thrashers split their final four games of their most-recent homestand, losing 2-1 in OT to Buffalo on Thursday at Philips Arena.
So, what to make of the Thrashers as Atlanta hits the road for back-to-back Southeast Division road games Saturday at Carolina and Monday at Florida? With 36 games remaining on the schedule, the Thrashers have an opportunity to reach the playoffs for just the second time in franchise history.
But they’ll have to earn it.
The East is a jumbled mess once you get through the first four playoff spots. Boston sits in fifth with 53 points; Tampa Bay and Florida are tied for 12th, just seven points out of fifth.
Atlanta’s right in the midst of that, and when the Thrashers are right (as they were in the early weeks of the season), this is a solid team. The combo of Ondrej Pavelec and Johan Hedberg has been good in goal on more nights than not. Ilya Kovalchuk has not let his uncertain contract status hamper his play (he has 18 points in his past 21 games). A young defense, sparked by Tobias Enstrom, Zach Bogosian and Evander Kane, provide promise.
But Atlanta fans have listened to promises for a decade, with just one playoff berth and zero postseason wins to show for it. The time for the Thrashers to make their move is now.
Fourteen games remain until the Olympic break, and Atlanta faces Southeast Division foes in half of those contests. Nine of the 14 are on the road, so it won’t be easy. But playing well now could pay big dividends in early spring for a team clearly sitting on the playoff bubble.
—30—
Saturday, January 16, 2010 at 10:03 am by bud
Tags: Atlanta Thrashers, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Evander Kane, Florida Panthers, Ilya Kovalchuk, National Hockey League, Ondrej Pavelec, Philips Arena, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tobias Enstrom, Zach Bogosian
