Thrashers Game Report - 02/13/08

Atlanta 3 - Washington 2 SO




My point of view for this particular contest was a little different than normal. I was seated in section 114, row D, seat 11 to be specific. This particular seat was just behind and to the right of the Thrashers bench, up against the railing overlooking the pathway towards the Thrashers' locker room. While I wouldn't want to have season tickets in this particular seat because some sight lines are blocked by multiple layers of glass, I did enjoy the different perspective on the game.



The best thing about this location was that part of my view was completely open. No glass and no barriers. I wear glasses so much I'm used to looking through a layer of glass. Taking away the additional layer at a game is like cleaning off my dirty glasses. Everything just looked sharper and more vibrant. Of course, I did have to keep my heads up for pucks and even an occassional stick as a player leaned back to avoid action near the bench.


Another great thing about this seat was getting to see the action on the bench. What was most fascinating was the line changes. Damn they happen fast and there is a lot of communication when they take place on the fly. Its understanding why they are such a critical component of the game. I'd never realized how shifty the teams get when icing the puck, trying to sneak a line change in just as the puck is tossed down the ice. Since NHL rules prohibit a line change by the team icing the puck, it was funny to see how many changes actually go unnoticed. I had many opportunies as the Thrashers iced the puck way too many times during the contest.


A couple last observations from the bench before moving on to the game. In this particular game there was little coaching or talking going on from the bench. The defenders or the Hossa-Perrin-Kozlov line would have brief discussions but not much else. One Thrasher in addition to the backup goalie is forced to sit on a wooden stool. Apparenly the bench isn't wide enough or wasn't this night. There are 3 different equipment guys who spend a majority of their time acting as towel boys and the area smelled the part. Players and coaches reacted differently to a few key plays than did the fans. On the disallowed goal there was hardly a peep from the bench. When Ovechkin scored a tying goal with about a minute left, the Capitals skated over and celebrated in front of the Thrashers bench. This pissed me off to no end. The Thrasher players barely reacted other than their disgust for allowing the goal. Now on to the game.

The Thrashers played poorly in the opening period. Washington controlled the tempo and the puck spending a majority of time in the Thrashers' zone. The Thrashers lacked the speed, positioning and checking necessary to get the puck away from the much more active Capitals. If it wasn't for the superb play of Lehtonen in net, this game would have been over early. Instead the Thrashers escape the first period with a scoreless tie.

The scoreless tie didn't last long as the Caps got on the board early in the 2nd. Once again the Thrashers allowed Ovechkin too much room to work and he found Victor Kozlov for a relatively easy goal.

Shortly after the Caps goal, it look like the Thrashers had tied it. Some nice down low work by the Kozlv-Perrin-Hossa line resulted in the puck in the net off Perrin's skate. Unfortunately, the group in Toronto said it as a kick-in and the goal was disallowed. However, this event seemed to serve as catalyst to get the team going. They were much more agressive and that same line came through once again as Hossa made a great pass to Perrin who netted his 10th of the season. A few short minutes later, Lehtonen made a beautiful pass to a wide open Hossa for a breakaway he whipped past Kolzig for the 2-1 lead. Hossa skated the length of the ice to congradulate Kari on the nice pass.

The third period was a much more defensive affair with limited chances by both sides. Apprently my shouts to "watch the chicken" weren't enough as Klee allowed Ovechkin too much space once again and he slapped it into the net, past Kari, with just over a minute remaining. UGH!!!!

OT was pretty exciting with both teams getting quality scoring chances. The goalies stood tall. Every time Ovechkin got near the puck I got nervous. When the clock hit zero my usual sense of disgust about the pending shootout took over. Perrin made a great move to score first, Semin missed the net, Kozlov burried his attempt and Kari shutdown Gordon. Much to my relief we didn't have to see Ovechkin in the shootout. IMHO, it was a major blunder by the Washington staff not to have him as one of the first two shooters. Thank you.

It was a much needed win for the Thrashers. It was very unfortune they allowed Washington to steal a point in the 90 seconds. Now we have three way tie for first in the Southeast division. I went to this game figuring it was probably my last chance to see Hossa and possibly Holik, Recchi and more. Hossa didn't disappoint having a great game overall. Perrin and Kari also had very good games. I don't think there is a player to single out for a bad game as most of them played pretty poor in the early going. However, my closer to the ice perspective certainly didn't improve my rating of Zhitnik. He looked terribly slow out there and continued to have difficulty staying in good position.

Next up the Thrashers head out on a difficult 5 game road trip. They won't return until after the trade deadline. Just how different will the team be the next time I see them?