Two Great SO Wins

Thank God for small miracles. Despite having 20 (!) SOG after the first period, the Thrashers managed to forget about keeping up the pace and nearly got out-shot by the Buffalo Sabres. Also nearly got out-scored, too, but managed to pull it out in the shootout with goals by Kovy and Kozlov. Great game - hard out of the gate the first period, and really applied pressure to Lalime and the Sabres what with a goal by Kovy about a minute and a half in and then one by Little closer towards the end of the 1st period. Yes, we allowed Buffalo to get a point, but we still managed to break their winning streak with a 3-2 SO win, and that is a good thing. The Silence of the Slugs on the way to Taco Mac for the post-game show was deafening.

Speaking of the post-game, what other hockey club offers the chance for you to say "Hey, Don, how're you doing?" to your GM (or whatever your GM's name is)... and then he just takes that chance to strike up a conversation? Nice. I kinda like the smallness factor here in Atlanta. It almost gives the feeling of being part of a family of hockey goonery.



At the other game I was keeping an eye on (I have to love waiting for every other score in the FREE WORLD to tick by before hockey comes up at a hockey game - thanks, Philips!), the Blues fought off the Blackhawks to win in a SO 4-3. The last I saw the score we were down 3-1, so you can imagine my surprise when I got in the car after the game, flipped on KMOX, and heard the score. We almost didn't make it to the shootout, but Andy MacDonald managed to squeak one by Khabbi with just 13.5 seconds left. TJ Oshie nailed the GWG in the shootout, which was a slick move of beauty.

On the uptick side for the 'Hawks, Kane scored two out of their three goals. Khabbi's proving that signing Huet probably wasn't the best choice of spending some extra dough, and Campbell's finally starting to produce. The downside? We welcomed Coach Q back to St. Louis by snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and still managing to stay on top of the Central Division. Nyah.