Thrashers Game Report - 10/13/07

Final Score : Devils 6 - Thrashers 5

Another all too typical Thrashers game. Leading up to the game, the players were talking about how important it was to take a lead, establish some momentum and build some confidence. How do they respond? Less than a minute into the game, Havelid takes an interference penalty and the Devils get a quick power play goal. However, Atlanta bounces back pretty quick when Haydar gets a nice shot behind Brodeur off the post, his first NHL goal. Unfortunately, Sterling gets called for holding late in the period when he gets caught a bit out of position. Beginning what will be a theme for the game, the Thrashers' atrocious penalty kill allows a late period goal when Elias scores with less than 2 minutes to go. Thrashers head to the first intermission down 2-1. So much for playing with the lead.

The second period is one of the Thrashers best periods so far this season. Kovalchuk nets rare Thrashers' power play goal when his laser shot finds an opening. This goal ignites the crowd which had just found their way back to their seats. Kovy looks like a man on a mission, trying to establish himself as a dominant player in the NHL. He's doing it by working hard every shift. It is unfortunate the rest of his teammates aren't following his lead. Kovy's goal gets the team going and Exelby and Holik both net goals before the mid-point. Holik's goal is especially sweet because it is a hard-working, chippy goal caused by great traffic in front of the net, something the Thrashers historically have had a hard time doing.

Things are starting to roll and the 4-2 lead looks great heading to the end of the 2nd period. I kept thinking to myself that they just need to make it to intermission. Once again I'm let down as the Thrashers allow a goal with less than 20 seconds left in the period. A disgusting lack of focus takes what could have been a great period and casts doubt as to whether or not the Thrashers can break out of their winless slump.

The lack of focus continues into the 3rd period and the Thrashers lose the lead as the result of 2 Devil goals. Now down by a goal, the life is gone from the Thrashers and the crowd. Things are starting to get pretty ugly. With under 3 minutes left, Kovy comes to the the rescue. His hard slap shot from just above the left faceoff circle finds a hole and ties the game. The crowd comes back to life. But once again the thrill is short lived. You'd think after giving up late period goals twice already in the game that the team could stay disciplined in the final 2:30. Instead, Exelby takes an ill-advised penalty behind the Thrashers net when he halls down a Devil. This was a call that was so blatant the ref had no choice but to call it. In steps the Thrashers penalty kill.

Can you sense where this is going? With less than 30 seconds left, the Thrashers fail to kill the penalty and Elias puts the Devils in front for good. A valiant, but too late, effort by the Thrashers gets the puck within inches of the goal line with seconds to go but like every other game this season, the Thrashers end up on the losing side.

These late period collapses remind me of the early Thrashers years. The lack of discipline and focus are disturbing trends. When the offense manages to score 5 goals on 17 shots against Brodeur, the defense must come through. It must play better than the opponent 35 shots.

There is now a huge lack of confidence on the team. I could see it in the pregame warmup and you could sense it in the third period. Kari's inconsistency is also a bit alarming. While he can't really be solely blamed for many goals, it is about time he steps up and steals a game from time to time. Kari's biggest technical problem is his rebound control. Too many rebounds are being directed towards the center or into traffic. To be an elite goalie he needs to direct rebounds out of harms way.

The only thing that is going to help this team is a single win. They only way they are going to get that win is by playing hard for a FULL 60 minutes and in all phases of the game. Based on passed experience, I'm not so sure they are capable of doing that.