Archive for the 'Thrashers' Category

Wings 1, Thrashers 5

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 16, 2008
in 2007-2008, Game Reports and Thrashers
. 0 Comments

Update (7:13 PM): Missing “Highlights” link added below. - Matt

I don’t have much to say about this game. There isn’t much to say.

I hope that was the low point of the season, because it sure felt like it.

I have to give the Thrashers credit for playing such a great game. We shouldn’t get so hung up on the Wings’ performance and forget what Atlanta did. Marian Hossa was a stud. Kari Lehtonen was a wall. Ilya Kovalchuk was only barely kept to a single point. They knew what was at stake and got the win they needed to vault Carolina for the Southeast Division lead and third place in the Conference. Compare that to what a win would have meant for the Wings: 72 points, 10 ahead of Ottawa and 15 ahead of San Jose. That’s the game in a nutshell: the Thrashers had something to play for. The Wings? Not so much.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and start riding Chris Osgood for his play since the contract extension and being named an All Star. I was guilty of that kind of thinking last night. The fact is, though, he hasn’t had a team playing in front of him and he can’t be expected to completely stone guys like Marian Gaborik and Marian Hossa. I did think maybe last night would be the night Dominik Hasek took over the #1 spot on a more official basis, but I suspect the goaltending rotation will continue.

By the way, I’m not so sure about Babs’ decision to pull Osgood there. Was it really worth sending out Hasek cold? They are fortunate he wasn’t tested much early on. I suppose it accomplished the goal of causing the Wings to pick up their play and tighten their defense, but it seemed like an unnecessary risk.

I’m going to go ahead and call out Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg here. Since this slump started in the Colorado game, the Eurotwins have combined for two goals. Zetterberg has three assists over that span, and Datsyuk has two. Contrast that with just about any four-game stretch during the season and you won’t get a favorable result, for either player (though more so for Zetterberg). The Wings best players have been anything but over the past four games.

They have one game to get things back on track before they head to California. If they can’t at least put up a good fight Thursday night, it’ll be a long trip. According to Bruce MacLeod, they got a “loud refresher about the penalty-kill” at practice today. That’s a start.

This isn’t the end of the world by any means. They’ve built up quite a buffer zone between themselves and the rest of the League and can afford some slipping. Some adversity would probably even do them some good. But that doesn’t mean letting this develop into a 4-6 game losing streak is advisable. They’d obviously like to pull out of this before it becomes a full-on nosedive and I’m confident they will.

Links

GameDay: vs. Atlanta (22-22-2, 46 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 15, 2008
in 2007-2008, GameDay and Thrashers
. 3 Comments

Update (7:35 PM): Be sure to stop by the chat room at Abel to Yzerman for the new-style liveblog. - Matt

Update (3:36 PM): Some pre-game interviews courtesy of Red Wings TV:

- Matt
The Detroit Red Wings and the Atlanta Thrashers face off for the first and only time tonight at Joe Louis Arena. The teams have split their last two meetings, with the Wings winning 6-5 in overtime on December 31st, 2003, and the Thrashers winning  7-6 on December 13th, 2005.

The Thrashers are 3-2-1 in 2008, with wins over Carolina, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh. Their 3-2 shootout win over the Penguins halted a two-game skid in which they lost to Florida (3-2 SO) and Philadelphia (4-1). Prior to that, wins over Buffalo (5-2) and Carolina (5-4) sandwiched a 4-3 loss in a second game against the Hurricanes. Atlanta is second in the Southeast Division and 10th in the East, two points back of Boston.

Ilya Kovalchuk leads both the Thrashers and the League with 37 goals. His 62 points and 25 assists are also team bests. Marian Hossa (16), former Red Wing Slava Kozlov (12), and Todd White (10) are the only other Thrashers with 10-or-more goals. Hossa and rookie defenseman Tobias Enstrom both have 23 assists. Lately, Kozlov has been moved from the wing to second-line center for the Trashers.

The Thrashers will be without Brad Larsen (groin), Steve McCarthy (strained ribcage) and Jim Slater (groin). Eric Perrin will return to the lineup and “will skate with Bobby Holik and Pasquel Dupuis.”

Kari Lehtonen will get the start for Atlanta.

For the Thrashers’ perspective, see Blueland Roar, Do The Trashers Have Large Talons? (pre-game comments here), Talking Trash, and Thrash Talk.

The Wings fell to 4-1-1 in 2008 with a 3-2 loss in Ottawa Saturday night. It was one of the more disappointing games of the season, as they underachieved for about 40 minutes and through they made it a game in the third, the Senators pulled out the win. Of course, it probably didn’t help that Henrik Zetterberg was likely playing with flu symptoms, as pointed out by HockeyTownTodd yesterday.

The game followed a frustrating 6-5 shootout loss to Minnesota on Thursday. It was one of those rare nights where the defense let the opposition take over the game and as a result the Wings were lucky to escape with a point.

This slide began with the team’s too-tightly-contested 1-0 win over Colorado on the 8th. Prior to that, they had put on strong performances in games against Chicago (3-1) and Dallas (3-0, 4-1).

Despite the two losses, they retain their first place lead in the Central Division, Western Conference, and League with a 33-9-4 record and 70 points.

Henrik Zetterberg leads the team in goals (37) and points (55). Pavel Datsyuk is second with 55 points and 38 assists. Nick Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski are 1-2 in League-wide defenseman scoring with 41 and 38 points, respectively.

Aside from Zetterberg, the Wings have five players with 10 or more goals: Datsyuk (17), Tomas Holmstrom (17), Daniel Cleary (16), Valtteri Filppula (14), and Jiri Hudler (11). Rafalski and Johan Franzen both have 8 and should crack 10 relatively soon.

Hudler snapped a 7-game goal-less streak with the tying goal Saturday night. He seems to score in bursts, so keep an eye on him over the next couple games.

The team will be without forward Dallas Drake, who injured his knee in a collision with Ottawa’s Dany Heatley on Saturday. Though the team is calling the injury minor, he has missed two practices because of it. Aaron Downey will dress tonight instead and will skate with Tomas Kopecky and Kirk Maltby. That should help the team be a little more physical, which has been something of a problem lately.

Matt Ellis is a healthy scratch for the fourth straight game.

Here are the lines from practice, as recorded by Bruce MacLeod:

Filppula-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Hudler-Zetterberg-Cleary
Draper-Franzen-Samuelsson
Downey-Kopecky-Maltby

In another piece, MacLeod reports that the Wings are putting Franzen in the middle in order to test him against another big center, Bobby Holik. The move is in preparation for next week’s trip to California, in which they’ll face oversized forwards such as Joe Thornton and Ryan Getzlaf.

The defensive pairings should look like this:

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Lilja
Lebda-Chelios

Hopefully Babcock will stick with that look and not resort to this.

As per the goalie rotation, Chris Osgood will get the nod tonight for the Wings. As pointed out by Ansar Khan, Osgood is 7-1-0-0 in his career versus the Thrashers.

For more of the Wings’ perspective, see Snapshots, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, Red Wings Nation, yzerman is god, Detroit Hockey, LetsGoWings, and Winging It In Motown. Todd has some numbers over at HTT and OklahomaWingNut has a GDT at Kukla’s Korner Forums.

Tonight is an important game for the Wings as they look to pull out of the dive they’ve been in over the last week or so and get back on track as they near a big road trip. You can bet the Trashers, who are looking to climb the standings, will play hard and that Ilya Kovalchuk will make things interesting more often than not. Hopefully the Wings will be prepared for that. A return to the dominant play of earlier this month would be nice, as would a return to their formerly dangerous power play.

1/14 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 14, 2008
in Aaron Downey, Andreas Lilja, Brett Lebda, Dallas Drake, Injuries, Thrashers and Trade Rumors
. 1 Comment

Update (11:05 PM): Be sure to read Pete’s well-thought-out followup post on the Trade Question. Nonetheless, I remain unenthusiastic about trade possibilities.

I guess part of my reluctance in this is due to my belief that too much tinkering (read: any tinkering) would mess up what’s already a good thing. The Wings can always try to “trade up,” I suppose, but why? I’m in basic agreement with HockeyTownTodd on this (from the comments):

I am reluctant to play wannabe GM, and think the Wings should stand pat. The girl should dance with the guy who brought her to the prom.

As long as the Wings are healthy, why would they want to risk screwing up team chemistry for what may only be marginal potential gain? - Matt

Update (10:40 PM): I feel I should clarify my position on the Blake/Lebda/Meech thing. As I said below, I think the argument that the Wings will look to improving their defense at the deadline makes sense, given the consequences of injuries last post-season. That said, I don’t know that a move is really all that necessary.

Derek Meech has played in a grand total of nine games for the Wings this season. In those nine games, he put up zero point. So the kid hasn’t dazzled offensively. But what do you expect? He’s a rookie in the NHL with a precarious spot on one of the deepest teams in the game. It’s perfectly understandable if he plays a conservative game in his position. Heck, it’s probably demanded of him.

He’s minus-2 and that may not be impressive, but this is: he’s taken zero penalties. For comparison’s sake, Kyle Quincey had zero penalty minutes through six games with the Wings in the regular season last year, and just two through 13 playoff games. I’ve frequently seen Quincey touted as a rock-solid young defenseman and part of the reason for that was his conservative play. Why doesn’t Meech get the same credit?

When Meech has been in the lineup, I generally only notice him the first time I see his #14 and think “Shanny…” In my experience, hardly noticing a young defenseman is a good thing. I don’t think Meech is an exception to that rule. There’s no need for him to be flashy or to “show anything.” He just has to do his job, and I think he’s done it pretty well for someone relegated to a practice drone.

There are far worse things than having Derek Meech as a seventh defenseman. A way to improve the situation would be to get him in the lineup more often in the second half. Give Chris Chelios a rest more often. Bench Andreas Lilja after a bad game in order to motivate him. Another “conditioning stint”(I’m told Derek has been “awesome” in his brief return to Grand Rapids, by the way. He should re-join the team late this week.). Whatever it takes to get him some playing time. Then Meech will gain the confidence he needs to stand out more. He’s not going to put up huge numbers, but he’s more than capable of being a solid, steady depth defenseman.

That said, I did write below that, “The team may be better off including Derek Meech in such a trade.” Of course, there I meant relative to trading Brett Lebda, whose upside is greater than Meech’s. I certainly didn’t mean to imply I think they should trade Meech. I’m not a fan of the idea of trading either of them, though if I had to choose, Meech would be the one to go.

My point is this: The Wings can go get a veteran (such as Keith Carney, as suggested by Todd below) if they feel they must and that they can get a good deal. It probably can’t hurt (they’re generally good at finding players that fit with team chemistry). But they also can stick with what they have and probably do okay as well, assuming everyone stays healthy. - Matt

… Bruce MacLeod, George Sipple, and Ansar Khan report that Dallas Drake missed practice today due to a knee injury sustained on the same collision in which Ottawa’s Dany Heatley separated his shoulder. The collision happened around the 3:42 mark of the third period Saturday night and was the last time Heatley saw the ice.

Drake, however, was able to play two more shifts before hitting the bench for the final time at 11:21, finishing with just under seven and a half minutes. Drake has started to get less time since the return of Kirk Maltby, so the low TOI wasn’t necessarily due to his knee. He is, however, questionable for the game against Atlanta tomorrow night, though Mike Babcock told Sipple that he thinks Drake will be available.

… All three beat writers also note that a possible replacement for Drake in the lineup, Aaron Downey, hurt his knee in practice when he fell and hyper-extended it. He  did return, though, and seemed none the worse for wear. According to MacLeod, he shared time with Matt Ellis skating on the fourth line.

… According to MacLeod, the team “spent significant time” practicing their power play today. That’s good news as they’ve been pretty ineffective with the man-advantage for a while now. MacLeod has a good piece on that topic here.

… Ansar Khan addresses the Trade Question by claiming Rob Blake would be a better acquisition than Mats Sundin. He presents a good argument, though I wonder if Blake isn’t at the end of the road at 38. He would, as Khan points out, be cheaper than Sundin, though. He’d also fill in an actual need (making the defensive corps an experienced seven), whereas the Swede would be somewhat extraneous on a team already full of forwards.

Pete at yzerman is god is all for Blake and outlines a possible trade scenario involving Brett Lebda.

I have to say that I’d hate to see that happen. As Pete points out, that would probably result in a third pairing of Andreas Lilja and Chris Chelios. Whereas Pete considers that an upgrade over Chelios/Lebda, I’d call it a nightmare. The two slowest defensemen in the same pair? One of the reasons Chelios remains so effective is that he has a smooth skating partner in Lebda. The same goes for Lilja with Lidstrom.  Put them together and they’ll both be relegated to pylon status.

Sure Lebda doesn’t have the size. Sure he’s not producing offensively like he should be. But his speed and skating ability alone makes him worth keeping.

The team may be better off including Derek Meech in such a trade. It would go a long way in clearing the logjam and would give the kid an actual chance to play in the NHL.

Who knows, though, whether the Wings will actually look to Blake to fill out their defense? It stands to reason that they’d want to shore up against injuries this time around, as losing Mathieu Schneider while already down Niklas Kronwall was probably the single biggest reason they were eliminated, but Blake may not be their man. Holland likes to go for guys few people were expecting and the more I hear the Blake rumor, the less I’ll believe it.

… Lastly, the Thrashers are pumped to be visiting Detroit tomorrow night.

Kozlov re-signs with Atlanta

Published
by
Matt Saler
on July 4, 2007
in Links, Slava Kozlov and Thrashers
. 3 Comments

Update (2:35 PM): Ansar Khan takes a look at some of the other possibilities for the Wings. - Matt

Well, there goes that possibility. Not that it was all that likely after the Rafalski signing, but we could still hope, right? The Wings probably could have afforded Kozzie’s new 3-year, $11 million ($3.6M a year) contract. Oh well.

Tkachuk traded to Atlanta

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 25, 2007
in Links and Thrashers
. 0 Comments

Update (3:00 PM): This means the Wings won’t be getting Bill Guerin because the Blues will demand the same, if not more, for him, and that price is just too high. - Matt

Via Spector’s: “… in exchange for forward Glen Metropolit, Atlanta’s 2007 1st round pick, 3rd round pick, a 2nd rounder in 2008. There is also a conditional pick based upon whether Tkachuk resigns in Atlanta or not….”

Wings 6, Thrashers 7

Published
by
Brian List
on December 14, 2005
in 2005-2006, Game Reports and Thrashers
. 2 Comments

The Wings fell their second game on the extended schedule against the Eastern Conference, losing 7-6 to the Thrashers in what turned out to be a power play emphasised, pond hockey style game. Jimmy Howard got the start for the Wings, but was pulled early in the 2nd as an attempt to spark the Wings. Brendan Shanahan had 5 points on the night (1 G, 4 A), and dominated down low behind the Atlanta net. I hated the Thrashers’ powder blue home jerseys. For an expansion team that had my favorite modern jersey, they just ruined it. Also, I totally forgot Hossa was a Thrasher. It’ll take a few years before that sinks in for a guy who was so successful as a Senator.

First Period

The game started out with the Thrashers on the attack. At 3:00, Howard made a great save in traffic, Eric Boulton falling on top of Howard and getting a goaltendering interference call. With the Wings’ injury troubles, especially at goaltender with Osgood and Legace injured or recovering, it was a bit more scary seeing Howard bumped around.

With the Wings on the power play, the Thrashers continued their momentum and caught the Wings deep in their zone, capitalizing on a steal for a Jean-Pierre Vigier breakaway goal. It was a sloppy turnover by the Wings, and a 2-on-0 break ensued, so it definitely wasn’t Howard’s fault. The shorthander made it 1-0 ATL.

The Wings were still sluggish midway through the period, but Atlanta got two quick penalties with holding calls on Jim Slater and Serge Aubin. The Wings had a 5-on-3, and a chance to gain some momentum. And they did just that. Shanahan fed Pavel Datsyuk with a cross crease pass from the left side, and Pavs slam dunked it to make it 1-1 at 11:23. Assists to Shanahan (obviously) and Lidstrom. Since the Wings scored on a 5-on-3, they still had a one-man advantage power play remaining, but failed to convert.

At 15:13, Howard made a tough save that stung him near the mask. Soon after, at 17:05, the Thrashers scored on a goal from Patrik Stefan, to make it 2-1 ATL. On the play, Howard played a rebound out in front bad, and got caught out of position near the top of the crease.

At 19:37, Chris Chelios had an awful giveaway that exposed Howard, but the rookie made a key save, allowing the Wings to escape the period down only one, with shots 14-10 ATL.

Second Period

The Wings opened the period well, getting an early goal from Datsyuk at 2:04 - his second of the night. Assists to Shanahan and Ledba. On the play, Shanahan was near the right circle and passed it in between the circles to Datsyuk, who had a wicked wrist shot that beat Michael Garnett. 2-2 tie.

But the excitement was short-lived for Wings fans. At 3:07, the Thrashers capitalized on a 3-on-2 rush, centering the puck to Bobby Holik, who deflected it and got his own rebound to make it 3-2 ATL. Not much Howard could’ve done. Wings Coach Mike Babcock pulled Howard at this point, not necessarily because he was allowing bad goals, but more to try and spark the Wings into a win. Osgood came in.

At 3:47, Mathieu Schneider got called for a 4-minute high sticking penalty. A minute or so into the penalty kill, Daniel Cleary got called for hooking, giving the Thrashers a 5-on-3. Former Wing Vyacheslav Kozlov scored at 6:05, with a back door pass from Kovalchuk. Not much Ozzie could’ve done. 4-2 ATL.

With things going from bad to worse, Lilja was called for hooking at 6:30, on a bogus call that should’ve instead been diving on the Atlanta player or at the very least offsetting minors. And of course the Thrashers took advantage of their fortune, getting a 5-on-3 goal from Hossa at 6:48. It was a tough play for Osgood, as the puck took a weird bounce out in front, and left him out of position as Hossa shot. 5-2 ATL.

At 8:01, the Thrashers literally had a 3-on-0 breakaway (the Wings still on the PK, down one), with Petrovicky smartly taking it all the way, but with option passes in Modry and Stefan. 6-2 ATL.

Towards the 5-minute mark, the Wings generated some good pressure in the Atlanta zone, with Franzen getting a chance on Garnett. This continued into the remaining minutes, as Datsyuk had a big chance followed by a Zetterberg rebound that should’ve been a goal if he could’ve put some air under it.

At 1:40 left, Shanahan tried a wrap around on Garnett, and dug after the puck in vain after the save. At 1:17 left, Franzen had a semi-break on the right wing, and drew a Brad Larsen hooking call. Schneider drew another Atlanta penalty, giving the Wings a 5-on-3 going into the third. Definitely not game-over, yet. Shots 13-8 Wings in the 2nd.

Third Period

The Wings capitalized on the 5-on-3 just 24 seconds in, with a left circle, farside top corner blast from Shanahan, his 18th of the season. 6-3 ATL. Assists Lidstrom and Schneider. The Wings had some good chances on the remaining power play, but just had one shot.

At 2:02, Jason Williams scored from the left circle, picking up a Shanahan rebound from the opposite side and catching Garnett out of position. Assists Shanahan and Lebda. 6-4 ATL.

At 2:48, Osgood made a beautiful save on a Kovalchuck breakaway, keeping the Wings just two goals down. At 5:16, Lebda hooked Hossa to prevent a dangerous scoring chance. It was a good penalty to take. At 6:28, Draper drew a Modry penalty in the Atlanta zone, after grinding in the corner after the puck.

At 7:08, Hossa was called with holding, giving the Wings another 5-on-3 and a glorious chance to get even. At 8:01, Schneider scored with a shot between the circles, again off a Shanny feed. Assists Shanahan and Holmstrom. 6-5 ATL.

At 8:41, the Wings still with a man advantage, Tomas Holmstrom scored by trailing a streaking Zetterberg and picking up the rebound. Assists Zetterberg and Datsyuk. 6-6 ATL.

At this point the game went to a stalemate for the next five minutes, with both teams on the edge. But Atlanta drew next blood at 15:49, making it a 7-6 ATL lead with a Stefan breakaway goal. On the play, Lilja lost his stick and was unable to block the shot.

The Wings pulled Ozzie at 19:11, but couldn’t generate many, if any, chances on Garnett. 7-6 ATL, final. Shots in the period were 13-10 Wings, for a total 36-32 Wings.

If was a tough loss for the Wings, especially especially charging back early in the 3rd. A tough night for the goaltenders for sure: Howard 13 saves on 16 shots, Osgood 12 saves on 16 shots, and Garnett 30 saves on 36 shots. The Wings gave up 3 power play, 3 even strength, and one short handed goal. The Wings had 4 power play goals and 2 even strength.

A for Shanahan, it turned out it was his 1300th game and he was sick. Says Babcock:

“It was his 1,300th game and he gets five points, so that shows you where he’s at. He was sick tonight. He should be sick more often.”

As for pulling Howard, Babcock admitted its ineffectivity:

“It didn’t work tonight. Would I do it all over again? Absolutely.”

GameDay: @ Atlanta (11-16-4, 26 Pts) 7:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on December 13, 2005
in 2005-2006, GameDay and Thrashers
. 0 Comments

Tonight is the one and only game between these two teams this season. The Wings won the last meeting, on December 31st, 2003, a high-scoring 6-5 thriller. Henrik Zetterberg scored the game winner in overtime and Ilya Kovalchuk had three points to move to second place in NHL scoring with a total of 43.

The Wings have already faced two of the NHL’s newest stars in their past two games, winning both, first in Washington Friday night and then at home against the Pens last night. They held the two highest scoring rookies to three points (Alexander Ovechkin 1G, 1A and Sidney Crosby 1A) and will hope to have the same success against Ilya Kovalchuk, an established young star who is as dangerous as anyone in the league. The Wings lead their division by 5 points over Nashville with 44 and are chasing Ottawa for the league lead at 46. Their power play leads the league at 25.8% and their offense is ranked third in the league in goals-for at 115. They have never lost to the Thrashers, going 7-0-0 all-time against the relatively new expansion team.

The Thrashers have won just one of their last seven games (1-4-2), with that win coming Friday against Columbus, 5-2. They have a fairly high scoring offense, putting up 106 goals so far but they have allowed 117. Only Pittsburgh has given up more (122). They are coming off a 5-4 shootout loss to Chicago Sunday in which Ilya Kovalchuk scored twice after a six-game goal drought. Kovalchuk and Marc Savard are in the league’s top ten in points with 41 and 42 respectively. Atlanta’s penalty kill is 26th in the league at 78.8% and should be something the Wings can work with.

Chris Osgood should get his fourth start in a row tonight.

Steve Yzerman is out with a groin tear and will miss the next 2-4 weeks, as mentioned last night. He suffered the injury during Sunday’s practice and was replaced by Mark Mowers in the lineup last night against the Pens.

Niklas Kronwall has been skating for a week now and is beginning to push himself harder, according to the Freep. They’re looking at a March 1st return. Ken Holland is searching the market for a suitable defenseman to fill the gaps left by Kronwall and Jiri Fischer’s absence but says he won’t rush things, acknowledging that the Wings will not find anyone who will be able to fully replace either of those players. They just want someone who can shoulder some of the load. Players such as Brett Lebda and Andreas Lilja have played capably, he says, and they also have Jamie Rivers if needed.

The Wings will be taking their fathers or mentors with them on this three-game road trip.

I remember the December 31st, 2003 game as being one of the most exciting games of the 03-04 season and while tonight’s game likely won’t live up to that, I still expect a good game. The Thrashers have struggled but they do have some very good talent and it’s always exciting to see Ilya Kovalchuk play.