Practice - 2007/10/15

I woke up early enough to make the 1+ hour drive up to Duluth this morning to watch the Thrashers practice. The statement about "Moose" Hedberg and practice will always ring true - first on, last off. While he wasn't the last lad on the ice, he was getting his head together and flinging pucks up and down the ice at least 10 minutes earlier than anyone else.

I tried to take some pictures but I realized that I was missing the bigger picture, i.e. the practice. I was kinda surprised to see Mr. Hossa with the squad, but apparently that's a good sign that he made an appearance today. Considering the rumors that circulated about Hossa's disapproval with the ice at the IceForum, I noticed a little slip-up by the boards. I'm sure that didn't win over Hoss.

There was some early work with the power play/penalty killing units. Started with some 5-on-4 action, which led to 5-on-3. The first PP team consisted of Hossa, Kovy, Kozlov, Bryan Little, and Tobias Enstrom and the second unit involved Todd White, Darren Haydar, Brett Sterling, McCarthy, and Zhitnik. While I'm glad that he's getting time on this, Bryan Little's appearances on groups like these is surprising. It's proof that he's ready for whatever comes his way and that he's being rewarded for playing some smart hockey, something that's kinda a rarity these days in Atlanta.

Penalty killers were pretty predictable - Ken Klee, Exelby, Dupuis, Slater, Larsen, Havelid.

It's times like these that make me wonder what's the priority here. Obviously you want both units excelling to the most of their potential. But our power play is terrible, along with the penalty killing. Maybe it's because I'm a more offensive-minded person and I always have a tendency for looking out for plays that generate some kind of goal-push, but it felt like there was more importance when the power play units were doing something right as opposed to the PKers.

What's unsettling is that Kari looked a little shell-shocked. Maybe these games are getting to him, and how can you blame him? When faced with 30-40 shots a nite, you can't save every single one. Sure, Kari has to step up if that's the case, but it really shouldn't be. Those high shot totals are the result of an inept defense. All of these things must be creeping into his head because he just didn't look that into it today.

Then there were some odd-man plays going on in the offensive zone. And some face-off work. And some dump-n-chase tactics.

It's also clear to me how significant the number nine is for whoever is wearing it for the Thrashers. I don't know about earlier in the team's history, but I remember Marc Savard and I certainly remember Glen Metropolit. I seem to remember Savard being a jokester with the team. Metropolit definitely had personality in the few times I saw him up close. And now there's Pascal Dupuis. I'm glad we have him on the team simply because he's a character, plain and simple. Some would take this as immaturity or forgetting about what's really at stake here but I interpret it as someone who's able to lighten up the situation that the Thrashers find themselves in right now. No. 9 was trying to hold people up with his stick while the warm-up skate was going on. He was making remarks to other players in line for drills that would result in some light giggling. And then as he's about to get off the ice at the end of practice, he takes his sticks in both hands and kinda slams 'em into the boards like he's about to lose his balance, only to be met with some laughter and smiles from teammates blocking his way and the fans who are seeking autographs of their heroes. While we're still oh-and-five, you can't hang your head in disgust 24/7. Looking for a pity party doesn't get you out of the basement, it just keeps you there longer. Guys like Dupuis don't necessarily put up the points like others on the team do/should, but his personality goes a long way during stretches like this. I commend him for that.

I don't know if it was contagious either, but I did notice that there were some other players trying to have a little fun out there. Yeah, practice is serious business, but you have to know how to go about it to be truly effective. It's good that some guys on the team have the ability to push out the negatives for a bit and just play.

I surely hope they figure their zhit out before tomorrow's tilt against those damned Flyers with public enemy no. 3, Danny Briere (behind gnat Marty St. Louis and fathead Sean Avery). Last season, the Flyers had us on a leash and we did whatever they wanted us to, which was apparently to play like crap and lose in the worst ways to the worst team in the league. I say a bit of revenge is due in the next couple of games. We either go to Philly and beat the pants off the Flyers and that damned Finn, Antero Niittymaki or we come home on Thursday and beat those effin' Rangers for the first time in a loooooong time. I'm hoping it's not an either/or type deal, too. Derian Hatcher and Elisha Cuthbert, I'm coming for y'all! Taking Hatcher out of Philly's, uh, arsenal means that the physical play gets a little evened out (sigh) and taking Ms. Hottie out of the picture means that Mr. Avery gets a little too retarded for humanity and gets banished from society for doing something way too dumb to mention. I guess it's a good thing that he's out for a while.

LET'S GO THRASHERS!

SKY IS FALLING?

Let's look at this first, all courtesy of the NHL.com stats section.

Points: 0 (30th in NHL, and only winless, and pointless, team in the league)
Goals per game: 1.8 (Tied for 19th in the league with Chicago, last)
Goals against per game: 4.6 (Tied for 18th in the league with Los Angeles, last)
Power play %: 9.5 (third worst in the league, with only Minnesota and Edmonton trailing)
Penalty kill %: 68.8 (second worst in the league, with only Calgary trailing)
Shots per game: 22.0 (last in league)
Shots against per game: 34.6 (third worst in the league, with only Toronto and Washington trailing)

Well then. Actually, there's no need for these stats and other numbers; just look at the results on the season up to this point.

Is this team as hopeless as they appear on the ice? Absolutely not. In the Thrashers lineup resides premier NHL forwards like Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa. While he isn't exactly premier material, Slava Kozlov definitely has the ability to put up some serious offensive numbers, as noticed last season throughout his 80-point campaign.

After that, however, we kinda drop off the cliff. It was mentioned during the off-season that Coach Hartley, General Manager Don Waddell, and Bobby Holik all expect Mr. Captain (i.e. Holik) to become more offensive this season. Has that happened? One goal and one assist have been added to his career stats, and that means he's played a role in two of the Thrashers' nine goals. Yeah, you don't expect this guy to put up monster numbers, or even rival Kovalchuk, but you do plan on him setting up some guys for the goals. His best offensive season was ten years ago with the Devils (29g, 36a). Granted, he's 10 years older now, but you'd think that with help from some of either the more marquee guys (i.e. Kovy, Hossa, Kozy) or some of the younger fellas (i.e. Little, Sterling, Enstrom, etc.), he'd be able to have more of a say in the point production and set more plays up, especially with his experience.

Then we have players like Todd White, Eric Perrin, Pascal Dupuis, and a few other players who have been around the block for a bit. Now I don't expect massive numbers from any of those guys, but I'm most surprised by the play of White. Considering he was our first signing in the off-season, signaling that he was a priority from the get-go, and the fact that he's locked up for a few more years in Atlanta, I'm not excited about him AT ALL. I know that he has tallied two assists in the 0-5 place that Atlanta is in, but he's been unnoticeable in the games that I've watched. When I think of Todd White, I think of soft and invisible. You don't plan on your "priority" signing during off-season as either one of these two descriptors. He was initially put with Kovy and rookie Brett Sterling to center that line and be the center that Kovy hasn't had since Marc Savard departed before last season. In the five games that we've played (and I've watched most of 'em), I haven't noticed Todd White at all. This is a problem. If he's already this far off the map, I can't dare to imagine how it'll be throughout the rest of the season... forget about the upcoming years he's with us.

And what can be said about the mouth-dropping numbers of grinders like Jim Slater and Brad Larsen? Looking at their offensive numbers is pointless (punnery!), but just glance at their plus/minus rating for five games into the season. I said glance because if you actually look at them for too long, they'll burn into your eyes and you'll never see the same again. Minus six and -5, respectively. Weren't these guys supposed to be the next great penalty killers that the Thrashers had? Well, not exactly that, but that's kinda what they were billed as during the summer and throughout training camp. Larsen's fair at killing penalties, but I'd rather have him out there than Slater. As far as I'm concerned, he's no better than Bambi on the rink, please note:



Now this is turning into pessimism central. I don't want it to be that way, I really don't. I could go on and on - about how the defensive corps looks tiny, frail, and immovable, how the rookies are surprisingly holding their own rather well despite the fact that they certainly didn't want to start out their NHL careers with a team that's oh-and-five. There are other blogs for that (look to the right!).

I'm just saying that I, as well as everyone else who has a share in Blueland, am completely baffled at how poorly the team is playing right now.

My parents suggested to me that, after reading about last nite's score, the Thrashers "look like they're turning this around." Sure, getting five goals looks nice, considering they've only scored four in four games prior to last nite's tilt, but compare that to five goals on 17 shots... one goal in threeshots. I don't care how good of a team you have, you cannot anticipate a winning result with opportunities like those. That third period (the one I did not witness, BTW) must've been a screaming fest between yourself and the team/TV.

There's a practice tomorrow morning at 1030AM. I'm gonna see if I can make it. We'll see how things turn out during and after that. Hockey Buzz' Stan Hauseman brought up a nice point about the Thrashers' next game in Philly:

If you remember last year, a stronger Thrashers team lost to Philly in the shootout. You remember the game. It was the one where the Thrashers switched goalies for the shootout. Philly was 1-6-1 entering that game. The Thrashers were 7-1-2 landing in Philly for their first time that season. The Flyers are a strong 3-1 entering this game. So maybe revenge will be a dish best served cold for the Thrashers.

I clearly remember sitting in a parking lot in Tyrone, trying to break through the poor signals of AM radio and listening to the game and the outcome of it and wondering why Hartley was basically "subbing" Kari in for Hedberg, who played a wonderful game (at least that's what came across over the airwaves), for the shootout. Kari's record during the shootout was actually pretty good at the time, so the game was for him to "come in relief" of the Moose and close out the game (i.e. the Yankees' Mariano Rivera, who Hartley actually compared Kari to after the loss). It ended up (as I just mentioned) that the Thrashers blew it and I think that was Philly's only shootout win all of last season.

Something's gotta give. I never knew it would be like this, but it just felt weird and creepy to have a lead last nite, especially when it blew up to a two-goal lead during that second period. Sure, it was awesome, but I felt pretty uneasy about it, basically because of the play of the previous four games, because the team never played with a lead in the previous four games, because who could know how the play would've turned for the worst during that third period that only yielded three shots.

Could a win really kick-start the season for this team that appears to be free-falling? Most definitely! It would be awesome to finally get some points and something to show for in the wins column. I'm tired of every other analyst in the hockey world speaking the truth about the current state of the Thrashers. I'm exhausted from the misery that I constantly put myself through by reading the various Thrashers blogs and media reports from the losing games. I hate to think that I'm going to turn off the TV or question about going to a game because the team is playing so poorly. I don't want it to have to come to that point... ever. But this losing business must stop immediately.

LET'S GO THRASHERS!

The time is now, Atlanta!

Yeah, it's been a while since the last hockey-related post. But that's ok. I mean, I could've responded to the San Jose game from last week, but nothing pleasant would've come from that. I would've posted about how I went to practice yesterday morning, but I honestly don't have much internet access at the new job, so that just wasn't possible. However, pics from that will be posted either later on tonite or tomorrow.

Here's something I just thought about, and it's a completely honest thought. April 7 is a HUGE day for Atlanta fans, and for Tampa Bay fans as well. That's the day that both of our seasons come to a colliding end at Philips. And, of course, we all know what's at stake here - a division title and home-ice advantage in the playoffs. That's nothing to take lightly for sure.

I've noticed that a lot of Thrashers fans are concerned about this race to the top culminating on that dreaded day - April 7. Bunches of people are worried to all hell that this creates the ultimate problem - choking when it counts.

Here's where I could get blasted for my opinions...

I say, let that happen. Let the ultimate precursor to the playoffs happen right here in Atlanta on the 7th against the Lightning. If a division title is on the line, our spot is already guaranteed for the playoffs, and that's what Thrashers nation has been pulling their hairs out all season long. This was the make-or-break year for the team, the players, the organization - EVERYTHING. If we're worried about a division title at the end, that's when we know we've made it.

Of course, it's great to want more, and I'd love to secure the division days before that and really put it to the Lightning. For me, the number one priority is to win the division, not simply to get to the playoffs.

So why am I really hinting at that if that's what it comes down to?

We need this kind of atmosphere. We need the residents of Blueland to feel what it's like to arrive at crunch time. Let's face it - the city will get wrapped around the team for THIS ONE DAY and it will create a sensation before the push INTO the playoffs occurs. Win or lose, a great mindset will happen to Atlanta fans, something that has yet to happen EVER in the six or seven years of the team's existence. Let's get playoff fever started.

Like I said, if we can really rid ourselves of the stress that this race to the top created, I'm all for it. But if the moment arrives on April 7th for our PLAYOFF POSITIONING glory to be secured, I'm not going to run away, duck, and cover, and come out when it's all over. I'm going to be there louder than ever, ready to get the Lighting back to Florida to figure out what they did wrong and how they couldn't top us that one time when it all mattered.

I'd be more concerned if the entire PLAYOFFS were on the line for this matchup. But, seriously, if we're worrying about playoff positioning as opposed to simply living another few days in the league, I think things will be OK if we lose one game, but know that we'll be back around in the coming days - something that was the plan from day one of this season for the Atlanta Thrashers.

The time is now, Atlanta! Get behind your team while you still can, because they sure as hell are going to need you now than they ever have before! Let's lock this one up in the easiest way possible - WIN! And if we face a few struggles along the way and all the marbles are on the table on April 7, don't you dare turn away then! Let's play a TREMENDOUS role in getting the team to the next step in their short history in the National Hockey League and propel them to the top of the division!

Let's go Thrashers and let's bring it on the 7th, Blueland faithful! This is what we've all waited for!