vs. Slugs - 2007/02/06

What really drove me crazy about this game was, a. seeing too much of the above, only sub out Kotalik for Briere, and, b. yeah, the crowd.

I do initially regret the timing of this post because this is happening two days after the game and my memory of how things played out is kinda fuzzy. About the game, since I've apparently started a trend here, two things really stick out: a. how much Daniel Briere is a tool (in a purely competitive way), and, b. how the third Sabres goal was just karma acting against us... for some reason unknown to me or the team at this point.

The stuff about Briere that gets me the most is the ridiculous, over-the-top fist-pumps after the goals he scored. I know, I know - it's all out of passion and I won't deny that. And, believe me, I love it when I see Kovalchuk go nutty after scoring a crucial goal. As a matter of fact, I've envisioned myself doing one of those knee-to-the-ground, fist-in-the-air kinda poses... well, that would happen after I get a powerful strike in bowling, but that never seems to happen when I plan out the celebration. Regardless, I love seeing passion in the game and Briere had it. If he were on the Thrashers, he'd be a savior. As a member of the Sabres, he's a tool. That's just how it is.

And about that third Buffalo goal - total crap. Granted, I saw the "penalty" against deVries from the other side of the rink, but it definitely did not look like a clear hook on Max (if that's who it was, which I'm pretty sure it was him)... or much of a hook at all. You know, I would've settled for an old-fashioned penalty kill and it was looking just like that... until the blunder by Sutton that basically cost us the game. Without much around him and a puck that was not obstructed in the slightest, he attempted to push the puck out of the zone or just away from the opposition. Instead? He completely whiffs at it, it magically goes into Buffalo's possession, and Briere takes care of the rest. And cue the previous paragraph.

That goal made me so mad at just about everything in the world. It's probably a good thing for you readers (if any!) that this post is delayed only because it would've been a rant fest that would've featured a pissed-off blogger. Yeah, we all want that.

Uh, what?

A few words with regard to the crowd from that night, too... seriously, where did all of those fans come from? During that first period, I forgot where I was because there was soooo much Buffalo support there and they definitely made their presence known. An assortment of jerseys (confused team, I say), signs, and rampant Buffalo-themed chants were all over the place and stayed that way until the third when the Thrashers fans could finally have the energy (and getting over the shock) to at least even out the so-called "home ice advantage". Early on, it was very scary, as I've never encountered an arena that was filled with so many fans from the opposition before. As we got through the game, though, I really felt like were were at, like, game five of the playoffs... with all of the back-and-forth fans had with each other, as well as the scoring and playmaking. It was ridiculous. I heard talk that some of those fans were actually bussed in - from where?

I mean, if all of those bandwagoneers were from the Atlanta area (probably transplants, but whatevs), seriously why go into an arena where you live and openly be jerky and ass about being a fan of the visiting team? Sure, I'm a New York Mets fan. But when they come to Turner, I don't become overtly pricky about where my allegiances lie. I don't have a need to seek safety in numbers - I do all of the celebrating to myself, or it spills over to my family members. More often than not, the Braves own the Mets, so I really don't have much celebrating to do in the first place! But with saying that, I just don't see how all of those Buffalo fans at the game were from out of town, were into Buffalo for yearrrrrs, and safely went to their North Atlanta home after the game, had a nice night of victory sleep (the best kind!), and further continued their lives IN GEORGIA the next day. This mentality spilled out everywhere after the game and it really blew my mind. From almost seeing a fist-fight in the food court to reciprocating chants while killing time waiting for a MARTA train (that took FOREVERRRR, BTW), I've never witnessed more punkish behavior from a specific group of fans before. While it was nice to see the crowd feeling the game and really getting into it, let it die soon afterwards. When the Thrash tore it up on Long Island back in November, yeah, I won't lie, I let out a few "Let's Go Thrashers" chants in the parking lot that weren't too over-the-top (subjective there). But I let my jersey do the talking the rest of the night. There's no need for opposing fans to have continual knives in their back as they leave their HOME arena. Ridiculous.

Let's just hope it isn't as vicious on March 18 when the Slugs return to the Phil for what is sure to be an important meeting for these two teams.

vs. Sabres - 2006/12/30

So you've got to hand it to Buffalo in their win last nite over the second best team in the Eastern Conference. It's clear that Buffalo's the better team in matters like this. More depth, more speed (like woah), and some amazing scenes of great teamwork all account for what could possibly be the best team in the NHL. While I missed the last contest between these two teams, it's a sure thing that when these two squads match up, it's going to be close and incredibly hard-fought.

Kari Lehtonen's ability to see the puck and anticipate where it's (most likely) going next keeps the Thrashers in contests that could easily be slaughters, i.e. Buffalo's first period onslaught earlier on this month against Washington. Of course, there were times that you simply cannot beat a scoring tandem like Afinogenov/Briere/Vanek, as displayed here (sorry, Kari):



Did I really think that the Thrashers outplayed Buffalo last night? To a degree, I can say yes. But there were times when Atlanta were putting the pressure on Miller and Co. and after a few minutes of heated pressure in Buffalo's end, there would be an amazingly quick surge of blue and gold heading towards Kari and getting off a chance or two. It was like for every five minutes Atlanta spent in the Buffalo zone, there was at least one or two high-quality changes Buffalo had immediately after to follow suit. Eventually things evened out over the duration of the game, but it was proven to me last nite that Buffalo has a knack for turning plays around to their advantage... and really making something happen from that. Between the Briere goal and the unnecessarily high amount of three-on-one opportunities Buffalo had (and eventually capitalized on with the second goal from Pominville on one such play), Buffalo's talent lies in how well they play as a team and that's kinda the most important thing.

But after speaking this much about the Sabres, it kinda makes me sick to an extent because I'm just gushing about the opposition, right? Ugh. I had to catch myself there.

Le Thrash did come out from the beginning and somewhat carried that kind of momentum thoughout the game. Early penalties from Buffalo created great chances for the Thrashers to come out on top in the first few minutes of the game... and that got me particularly excited. The Thrashers' power play, however, remains to be quite stagnant in these high intensity situations when, if there's an opportunity to make a powerhouse like Buffalo pay, you take the chance and put it on and get something out of it. I'm not discrediting their power play teams, but something's not clicking and it needs to be worked out. We all know the power play can turn it on (as was evident during their October rout of the Ice Cats), there's no doubting that. But to compare power play abilities against teams like Buffalo and Florida... that's ridiculous. Atlanta needs to keep this a constant element of their game in order to be regarded as one of the better teams in the conference, if not the league.

And there are always these questions about Atlanta's depth... about how they aren't deep enough once you get past Kovy/Hossa, or even Kozlov... and that their defense isn't that strong. Well, compared to the fortress that Anaheim has in Pronger/Scotty Nieds (don't want to spell it out, egh) or the tandem of Toronto's McCabe/Kaberle or Montreal's Markov/Souray, sure, Havelid and Sutton doesn't look that intimidating. But judging from the defensemen's recent play (and not just those two), they are keeping the Thrashers in games and playing a complete game. Goals from Havelid, Vishnevsky, and especially Shane Hnidy are holding up... from their own play (and probably the play of Kari, too, but whatevs) in their own zone. To talk about Le Thrash's defensive corps as something even close to high-and-mighty is astounding.

It's a shame that the score turned out to be 4-1 because that was not representative of a team that put up as much of a fight as the Thrashers did last night. What's not a shame is that the next two times the Thrashers meet Buffalo will be at Philips, February 6 and March 18. Depending on what happens in the next few months, those games will be huge regardless, but for positioning purposes in the playoffs and possibly home-ice advantage as well.

Can a Thrashers fan really talk about the playoffs and not be talking too much...?