Detroit Red Wings 4 - Atlanta Thrashers 1
a.k.a. Detroit Love Fest in the ATL (preseason version)
It didn't take take long to realize that there were more Detroit fans in attendance than Thrasher fans. The concourse was covered in red and white from the moment I entered the doors just slightly after 6PM. While the Detroit fans were still pretty giddy from their Stanley Cup victory, most of the Thrasher fans were just glad hockey was back but more than a bit fearful they'd be a league laughingstock once again. Although an aura of optimism filled some Thrasher fans, myself included, it was always tempered with the realism that the Thrashers are a young team with a young coach and there are going to be some serious growing pains.
It didn't take long for those pains to be felt by every Thrasher fan in attendance. Less than 2 minutes into the contest, Colin Stuart, took a penalty for tripping. The Red Wings won the faceoff, moved the puck to Lidstrom, to Zetterberg and out to Samuelsson who slapped a long range shot past a screened Lehtonen. Wings 1-0.
The Wings controlled play for a majority of the game. At times it looked the Wings and especially Zetterberg were toying with the less skilled and less experienced Thrashers. There were at least a dozen times where the Wings would cycle the puck causing the Thrashers to overload to one side. Then, the Wings we send a player down low in the open ice, make a pretty cross-ice pass and get an uncontested shot on goal. Fortunately for the Thrashers, these "ooh" and "aah" moments didn't get converted. However, it clearly showed the Thrashers have a long way to go.
Even with the poor positioning the Thrashers were in the right place at the right time for one of the Wings biggest miscues. Wings defenseman, Brad Stuart, misplayed the puck in his own end resulting in an easy steal for the Thrasher's Christensen. He got to use his breakaway/shootout skills to twist Osgood around and easily put the puck in the Detroit net tying the score at 1-1.
Next up our first fight of the night. More frequent in preseason as young players or players on the roster fence try to make an impact. This time it was Atlanta's Jim Slater vs Detroit's Andreas Lilja. Not much of a fight as Lilja swung wildly at Slater and missed getting himself off-balance. Then Slater grabbed him and took him down to the ice. The result was some blood on the ice that appeared to come from Lilja. He didn't returned to the game.
Next, it was time for Lehtonen to screw up. While Kari played a pretty solid game overall, his one goof up was just awful. Leaving the net to go after a loose puck in the corner (no Kari no!), Kari is confronted with a speedy Zetterberg working his way deep into the offensive zone. Trapped in the corner, Kari didn't have any "safe" option. Instead of sucking it up and taking the slight push he get from Zetterberg, Kari does the worst thing and pushes the puck 45 degrees out and towards the center of the ice. Zetterberg grabs it quickly and guides it right into the net. Laughing and UGHs! poor forth from the stands. It's official, the Thrashers are laughingstocks for this night.
Second period is pretty similar to the first. The Thrashers show a little more intensity but are still clearly outclassed by the Wings. Wings just find ways to get to loose pucks and do a much better job at having a second player in position to make up for whenever one makes a mistake. A majority of the Wings scoring chances come as a result of good teamwork (crisp passes, positioning) whereas most of the Thrashers chances are individual efforts.
8 minutes into the second period we get a much better fight involving two players better equipped to handle a tussle. This time its Atlanta's Thorburn vs Detroit's McCarty. A good opportunity for Thorburn to learn how to scrap from one of Detroit's best scrapers. Unfortunately, Thorburn waits too long to make his move and Darren hits him with several quick punches. From there the two exchange a couple weaker blows before McCarty comes down on top on Thorburn to close the fight.
Now it is time for a flashback to the first two minutes of the game. This time it is Atlanta's rookie, Bogosian, who takes the penalty. 2 minutes for interference when he gets caught out of position. A couple quick passes involving Lidstrom and Zetterberg end with Samuelsson sending the slapshot past Kari for his second PP goal of the night.
Some of the Thrashers' best scoring opportunities come in the third period but they don't amount to much as Osgood has some strong saves and gives up few rebounds. Down 3-1 with 90 seconds to play, the Thrashers pull the goalie in what is only a fruitless effort at this point. It takes Detroit only seconds to gain the puck, make a couple passes so that Franzen can get on the board and ice the 4-1 victory.
All in all a pretty grim contest for the Thrashers. Thank goodness it was a preseason tilt. Sure the Thrashers weren't playing with Kozlov, Perrin, White (is that really a loss), Valabik and Schneider. But the Wings didn't have Hossa, Datsyuk, Holmstrom, Kronwall, Maltby or Draper dressed.
I thought the only Thrasher that stood out positively was Christensen. Not only did he have the pretty breakaway goal but he also made some nice passes in the offensive zone and got to some loose pucks down low. As a team, the Thrashers showed more speed on defense but need serious work on their positioning and outlet passes. Seeing more players in front of the opponent's net was a welcome change.
As for the recent additions, none stood out. While Bogosian looked pretty good in the offensive zone, he had troubles on the defensive side. If this is any indication of his overall play, it is my opinion he'd be best served returning to the minors for another season assuming they've got a better option. Kulda looks just as good as Bogosian at this point. Hainsey was a disappointment as I don't think he played well on either end of the ice. Williams was part of the most effective line (Kovy, Christensen, Williams) but was relatively quiet.
I've rambled on for far too long. It's only a preseason game! Now that I've completed this entry I'm going to try to erase my mind of remembrance of the Thrashers' performance on this early October night. I hope to form better memories opening night.
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