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
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
