Thrashers Stop the Blueshirts 5-3. Shoot for 3 in a Row Tonight

The Thrashers played quite well in the return of Captain Kovalchuk last night and skated away with a 5-3 victory.  Tonight they look for 3 wins in a row at home against Kopitar and the Kings.

Last nights game was definitely one of the better efforts of the season for the Thrash.  Everyone played pretty well and having Kovalchuk in the lineup seems to make the whole team better because people can play the role they are accustomed to.

Here is the good, bad and ugly from last nights affair.

The Good:

• Kovalchuk and Peverley led the way last night towards a victory.  It is becoming increasingly clear that Peverley is no flash in the pan and he will be a serious part of this teams offense for the forseeable future.  Kovalchuk played very well in his return from his foot injury.
• The Powerplay was back on track going 2 for 5.  Having Kovalchuk on the point on the powerplay makes a large and noticeable difference in how everything operates on the man advantage.
• Kane played extremely well.  You can tell that he will be a serious force when he gets a little bigger.  He tries lots of power moves that he just doesnt quite have the strength to pull off quite yet, but in a year or two, LOOK OUT.
• MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE was solid as he can get.  For some reason there are certain teams that he is always aces against, namely the Sabres and Rangers.

The Bad:

• The third period looked much like our typical home game first period would.  Far too much time was spent in our zone.  Controlling the play in the offensive zone a little more when trying to hold a lead will make life easier for everyone, especially the goaltenders.

THATS IT!

There really were not many negatives to take out of that game.  I thought it was a more dominating performance through 2 periods then the scoreboard showed.

Tonight the team comes home for the second game of a back to back and take on the HOT LA Kings team.  This will be a tough test coming home and playing a young and fast team that has been in Atlanta longer then the home team.  It looks to be Pavelec in goal tonight.  Pavs is due for a great game and tonight would be the perfect time for that to happen.  Hopefully everyone can carry the momentum on from last night and leave Philips with a 3rd win in a row.

-Chris Telford

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