Florida 3 - Atlanta 2
The regular season is winding down and the playoffs are just around the corner. Unfortunately, Atlanta's shot at the playoffs was gone long ago. Miserable play the first 3 months of the season had them a lot closer to the bottom than the top 8 in the conference.
However, Atlanta has been playing a lot better lately. Coming together as a team and playing much better defensively. The young defensemen have found their niche and got increased ice time since the departure of veterans Schneider and Havelid. The offense has found some secondary scoring in the likes of Armstrong and Peverly. They recently won 11 of 14 contests before dropping two to the Washington Capitals. They've been a thorn in the side of teams looking to gain an easy two points in the battle for playoff spots.
They've been playing the kind of hockey I wanted to see all year long. Hard fought, never give up style. A team that clearly lacks some of the talent of their rivals must learn to make up for it with hard consistent work. Hopefully the success of the late season run will carry over into next year and with a couple additions get the team back in the playoff hunt.
The Thrashers played up to the recent success on this night but didn't get the desired results. Playing against a Florida team that absolutely had to have a win, the Thrashers matched their intensity quite well. In fact, through the first two periods I thought the Thrashers played the better game.
The intensity resulted in a ton of penalties early and a bunch of power play opportunities. Unfortunately, the Thrashers blew their biggest chance when they couldn't capitalize on a 5 on 3 for a full 2 minutes. The teams traded power play goals with rookie Bogosian getting the tally for Atlanta. Bogosian is going to be an All-Star in the league and his rookie campaign has been great. If it wasn't for breaking his leg, he'd certainly be in the running for rookie of the year.
With the heightened intensity came several scraps, none better than the fight between Kovalchuk and McCabe. Kaptain Kovy got the better of McCabe landing a few good shots and taking him down to the ice on two occasions. The crowd went nuts and Kovy egged them on while heading for the penalty box.
Tied at 1-1 entering the third period, the Thrashers got on top when Bogosian got his second tally of the game, this time short-handed. But that was to be the end of the Thrashers scoring as Florida could sense their playoff hopes slipping away and dug down deep to up their play just one more notch. The Panthers got the tying goal on a tip-in and the winning goal on a snap shot down close. The Thrashers had their chances to tie it but came up short.
Overall a well played hockey game by both sides. While you could tell Florida had more to play for, the Thrashers didn't back down or go away quietly. Bogosian put up a stellar effort and Kovaluchuk got the crowd to its feet on again. Hedberg played well in net and even 1st timer Wilson looked good. Only Exelby got a goat in this game.
Final note. The arena was as empty as I've ever seen when the doors opened and during warmups. But by the time the game got going it was respectable considering the factors (Thrashers out of the playoffs, middle week game, non-traditional opponent).
Next up is the Thrasher's final contest of the year Saturday night. I'll be in attendance hoping the team ends the season on a positive note.
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