Returning to the Fold - Thrashers Are 6-9!

Well, well, well - look who's back? Forget about your blogger, let's talk about those Atlanta Thrashers! When I last left the Thrashers (or maybe when they left me for a couple of weeks), they just collected their first victory over the New York Rangers, Eastern Conference rivals ever since the Rangers swept the team out of the playoffs last season. Also, Bob Hartley was just canned, or "relieved of his duties" as some might say. There was also the dismissal of Kari Lehtonen, via his groin struggles. The "kid" line of Brett Sterling, Bryan Little, and Darren Haydar was coming into its own and providing a great deal (not that that was saying much at the time) of spark for the team.

How would this squad respond to these events?

After, uh, "busting" out of the gates with a sparkling oh-and-six record and causing all havoc in the Atlanta area about the status of this hockey team, interim head coach (and general manager extraordinaire?) Don Waddell transformed this team into a winner, going 6-3 in the nine games since Hartley's dismissal, including that barn-burning victory against the Rangers.

The games in that span haven't been the best hockey, but six of them have provided the best results possible - wins! At times during the nine-game span, the team has looked sloppy, sluggish, and a little discombobulated. The morose Thrashers returned promptly after that last win at home, suffering a deflating 2-6 defeat in Tampa. A messy shootout win in Toronto was followed up with a performance that was mailed in to Nashville, losing 0-3 to a backup goalie's first start. Things were looking up for a minute when we collected wins against a young Blackhawks team and a fairly decent (just not that evening) Canadiens team. However, many wondered how the Thrashers would respond to these victories when faced with real game-time adversity for the first time all season; the Thrashers then met the league's best team, the Ottawa Senators, at the ScotiaBank Place in Ottawa.

Things didn't fare well, or did they? The Thrashers played a good first period of hockey in that game, then completely collapsed in the second, facing four-goal deficits twice. However, this oddly didn't signal the end of the game. In games earlier in the season, when the Thrashers were like zombies on the ice, they didn't play for pride and certainly didn't attempt to show up in losses to Tampa (2-5), Buffalo (0-6), and Philadelphia (0-4). During those "games", the team faced one-goal deficits early and backed down immediately, providing absolutely no sense of hope for anyone in Blueland Nation. This was when Ilya Kovalchuk was medicated and kept caged up. Apparently his time spent in a figurative choke-hold was long enough and he came out charging more than ever. Recording a hat trick in the Ottawa game, the Thrashers made the last 10 minutes of that game very interesting for the league's premier team. After being down 0-4, the Thrashers made a game of it and came within one goal in the final minutes. While the end result of the game was one for the loss column, the game itself was surprising. The morose Thrashers returned, but the real team was turned on with the flip of a switch, seemingly. This team had the potential to stomp the best team in the league on their own ice. Was there something the fans didn't know about, but Donny Waddell did? Could he actually be hailed as a hero? The early signs of that were possibly manifesting themselves.

The end of the road trip was met with the same team that appeared in Ottawa. No matter the time of the season, it always sucks to play three games in Tampa Bay in a 15 game span, forget about the struggles we're going through. The Thrashers never seem to have any kind of luck in the St. Pete Times Forum. The terrible combination of Tampa players raising their game (Vinny Prospal in particular), Thrashers players not showing up, and our losing ways didn't provide any promise. But apparently the Thrashers (or hockey gods) felt otherwise. Down 1-4, the No Quit Thrashers reappeared and were once again led into battle with the superhuman Ilya Kovalchuk. The 6-4 comeback victory was capped off with another hat trick from this human-machine hybrid.

While I hate to say it, but it seems that this team is all Ilya, all the time right now. I don't like the thought of that one bit. I, like the rest of us, want more contributions from the team. There are others out there who are doing their part in the scoring. Dupuis, Little, and Perrin are all throwing their two-cents into the mix and having some say in the matter, and even Kozlov is starting to wake up from his early season slumber. The logical question after naming those names is, "What about Hossa?" Game after game, the same theme repeats itself - all Hossa needs is a big game and he's back. Sure, that could be true, but I'm not too sure if I believe it. I know Marian Hossa's potential, we all do, as evidenced by his 100 point campaign from last season. This time last season, Hossa was getting recognized for his play and was mentioned by several analysts as a possible MVP candidate for his leadership and play. He can turn it on, but when will this happen?

What's interesting is that because of our record, Ilya is getting almost no recognition for his role in the team. He has been by far the best player this team has ever had at any given moment in their history. Career year doesn't do it justice and franchise player is like an understatement. I'm waiting to see when this guy takes off his jersey and unveils a Thrashers shield over his chest. Either that or a tattoo on his arm. But in all seriousness, the play from Ilya is remarkable and no one is paying attention. I guess two hat tricks in a row gets a bit of praise from The Hockey News and the NHL. It's about time and it's obviously overdue. This guy needs to be paraded around town for a while because he's almost single-handedly pushing this team forward and pwning the competition.

Up next - the Florida Panthers in Sunrise on Friday. With our recent win over the Washington Capitals, we hurdled over them to escape the basement of the Southeast Division. Depending on the result of tonight's Lightning/Hurricanes game, with a win on Friday, we could be tied for second place in the division! It's unfortunate that the game won't be broadcast by any local media outlets, but definitely make your way to the local bar that has CenterIce (Taco Mac is a good alternative, but I always make my way over to Y-Knots in Peachtree City) or to a friend who has it, if you don't. While the Panthers have never scared me, this game is a big one because of the possibilities.