Thrashers Game Report - 10/03/09

Atlanta 6 - Tampa Bay 3

A new season has finally arrived. How great it was to see the arena buzzing with people well before the game started. There were a lot of changes to the roster in the offseason and this was everyone's first opportunity to see all those players on ice in regular season action.

The arena wasn't sold out but about 80% capacity. A nice energy greeted the Thrashers as they took to the ice and it helped fire up the team for their first test. Almost immediately, the Thrashers took charge. Quicker to the puck than the Lightning and more aggressive once they got it, they controlled the puck early. However, their passes were a bit off the mark. That all changed 8 minutes in when Kaptain Kovy tallied the first goal of the season. New acquisition Pavel Kubina got his first point as a Thrasher. About 3 minutes later, Salmela, a defenseman playing aggressive on the offensive end, reap rewards by burying the biscuit and increasing the lead to 2-0. The Thrashers headed to the lockerroom to thunderous applause.

The second period was more of the same. This time defenseman Zach Bogosian notched his first of the season when he went aggressively towards the net. It was clear that coach Andersson's style was on display. I frequently saw defensemen taking advantage of offensive opportunities and forwards doing a good job of covering up for those defensive rushes. Next up it was the rookie Kane with some great speed taking the puck to the Tampa net. He may have been denied his first NHL goal but not his first point as Peverly buried the rebound making it 4-0. Tampa Bay responded by starting a fight but Thorburn put his newly honed boxing skills to good work against Konopka. The crowd loved it.

The 4-0 lead was short-lived as the tiny Martin St. Louis got a tip-in goal from in front of Pavelec on point blast from rookie Victor Hedman. At this point the Lightning grabbed a bit of momentum and I was just hoping they could escape the period with a 4-1 lead. When Kovy took an ill-advised penalty, that got tough, and Tampa Bay cut the lead to 2 as St. Louis scored again. Fortunately, the period was over.

The third period started poorly for the Thrashers. Their worst defensive play of the night kept the puck in their zone far too long. Less than two minutes in the Lightning had scored again and what was once a 4-0 lead was suddenly 4-3. You could sense the nervousness in the arena. The fans had been down this road one too many times before.

Now it was the Thrasher's turn to pick a fight. This time it was Boulton exchanging blows with Fedoruk. The fight seemed to turn the tide for the Thrashers as they calmed back down and started taking control of the game once again. The good play paid off in a power play goal by Peverly and another goal by Kovalchuk. The crowd was relaxed and loud once again and spent the last 5 minutes hoping Kovalchuk could get the hat trick. Instead, he'd have to settle for a 3 point night and a number one star. Peverly got the second star and Pavelec the third.

Some observations:

- I was surprised to see Pavelec start in net instead of Hedberg. He played very well. I couldn't fault him for any of the 3 goals. There were a couple times he'd get out of position and not get back quick enough. He benefited from generally strong defensive play.

- Nice to see Kovy off to a fast start. A notoriously slow starter, I'm hoping he carries this through all the way to seasons end. He did take a couple poor penalties though. Still needs to know when to let the opponent take the penalty and not respond to the cheap shot.

- Bogosian, sporting the assistant's "A" picked up right where he left off. He's already getting tons of minutes and making a significant impact on the ice. He's paired with Enstrom while Kubina is paired with Hainsey.

- Popovic and Salmela played very well as the third D pairing this night. It'll be interesting to see how Andersson works Valabik and Schubert (just added) onto the ice.

- Kane look a little nervous at first but showed why he was drafted #4 overall. He's strong with the puck, has great speed and has a lot of hockey sense. He'll need to keep working hard to stay at the NHL level after his 9 game "tryout".

- Nice to see Peverly pick up where he left off. If he can continue to put up points from the 3rd line, the Thrashers are in nice shape.

- Apparently the "Believe in Blueland" has been replaced by "The Hockey Way". Just when I thought the marketing team could do no worse they somehow managed to match their previous effort. Blech!

- It's unfortunate the Thrashers don't have another home contest for almost 3 weeks. Any fan momentum built up by this win will almost certainly be gone. I'm hoping they can muster 5 points out of 10 of this five game road trip. Then it's back home for a game against the Capitals. I should be there to report once again.