Two notes of awesomeness...

1 - Apparently the Real Tony Twist (no, that's what his screenname is, so I'm guessing it's true) is following me on Twitter.

This is how Tony tenderizes the meat at Twister's Pub in O'Fallon - free beer Wednesdays, 8-10.

2- My Hockey Orphan story is up at Cycle Like the Sedins! Please to enjoy - click on the logo below.

Blues Love in the Press.

Yeah, we're awesome. Maybe the hockey gods love us most. Maybe, just maybe, they're cutting us some slack. OR, um, maybe we're playing harder and we have young kids with some sizeable skill. Six of one, half dozen of the other... When did all the good mojo start? Bahston, of course! The team credits the Miracle on MLK Day with their cohesiveness as a team.

Do I have to burp him *every* time?

The Hockey News just thinks it's all because the Central Division is now the strongest in the league, reasserting it's 1990s dominance. Better than Darren Eliot saying it was all because we need to catch up to Detroit. NEWSFLASH - not everything is about them. Sorry. I like to think that they're not our inspiration. And, of course, there's the awesomeness of the power rankings. THN has us at 8, mostly thanks to our 7-2-1 record in the last 10 games. We are one of the hottest teams in the league, and while not a lock to make the playoffs, would anyone *really* be shocked?

Naaahhh.

Puck Daddy needs to highlight TJ more often.

No, really. They publish a great, glowing article on the King of St. Louis... and we whomp on the Blue Jackets for the 2nd day in a row, winning 5-3. Oshie not only had a great goal, but he laid out Rick Nash again - and Nash was the one checking Oshie. Osh just kind of pushed back, and Nash went boom. Everyone on the Kid Line scored, making it 19 points in 14 games. The Blues were in 7th place (!) for about 2 seconds until the Preds came back and beat the Wings, because Chris Osgood is about as effective of a goaltender as this:

Artist Interpretation of Osgood's Performance against the Preds.

As it stands, we're in 8th place as of the posting of this - if Edmonton loses, we're solid. I am still in awe of this season. It's just so... so... brilliant.


Speaking of things I'm in awe of, the Thrashers end March with a 9-4-0 record. That's their best month of the season. People aren't looking at me funny anymore when I say how good we're going to do next year, or that I'm glad I renewed my season tickets.

Before I go to bed...

... I just need to share 2 things. 1) Congrats, MOOSE - win #100 and he's got a winning record on the season! For a Thrashers' goalie, that's pretty special. Couldn't happen to a better guy - way to go, favorite goalie! (yeah, I said it - WHAT?)

And, probably more important (sorry, JoJo)... 2)... THE BLUES ARE IN 8th PLACE. End the season! END IT.

In case you needed photographic evidence.

Moose + Shootout = Sure Thing?

Knobler has a pretty good write up on Hedberg...

He has the highest save percentage in the league this season during the shootout (.923). But... and this is the awesomeness... he has the second highest all-time save percentage amongst all active goaltenders.

I always knew he was solid in the SO, but good lord.

Turps gets the call.

After Kari's "upper body injury" yesterday (no clue what it is), we needed a goalie. The Wolves need Pavs, so we get the Turplenator. Hedberg will obviously be the starter. Moose had a very shaky 2nd period yesterday in relief for Kari, but shut out the rags through 3rd period, OT, and 7 rounds of a shootout.

I love Moose (and so does Knobler), though he is getting up there. He hasn't had the best season, but we only have, what, 7 games left? He's been in this position before, and I think he can handle it just fine. God, I want a goalie with a winning record to end this season. Neither one of them have had the best luck.

I don't know whose kids I'd have first...

And Mason says NO.

Chris Mason's or Patrik Berglund's.

Ok, Bergie's. He's young and hot. Mason looks like Eric the Red. But based on both of their performances last night, paternity tests'd have to be broken out. Berglund got both of the Blues' goals in our 2-0 shutout (!) of the Kings, moving us 1 point out of 8th and 2 out of 7th. Mason faced the same number of shots Kari did (22) but managed to stop every single one of them, including 10 in a row on a Kings powerplay. Mason's a major cog in our wheel - ESPN's even noticing. I'm proud that they know who he is.

We're on a serious roll. We won't go away until April 12th, and after that? God and Mason willing, we'll be taking on someone in the playoffs, completing the 5 year rebuild plan that only took 3.

WTF?

And *kick* 2-3-4 and *hold* 2-3-4 and JAZZ HANDS!

Ok, the Detroit game... 6 goals. Yeah, it was Detroit and Kari just came off of his streak of *awesome* so it seemed ok.

Last night - 6 goals on 22 shots. What? Against the Habs? Who we OUTSHOT? And we supplied 3 goals? *sigh*

Let me preface this by saying that I like Kari and I think that he has tons of potential. My question is this - what is going on to keep him from reaching it for stretches longer than 5-10 games at once? All goalies have bad games - Luongo laid a massive egg Saturday night against the 'Yotes that was just embarassing. Chris Mason and that last Detroit game? Oh my GOD. Chris Osgood on any given Tuesday...

The thing is... 6 goals on 22 shots on his next start with a .727 SV% is inexcusable. OUR POROUS DEFENSE ALLOWED 22 SOG BY THE HABS. That's not bad.

He has 6 games where he's allowed more than 5 goals - 2 where he's allowed 6 and 2 where he's allowed 7. The other goalies who have played 44 games or so (+ or - 1 game. so I've chosen a similar sample size: Giguere - 44, Luongo - 45, Rinne - 43) have allowed that many goals this number of times: 2 games for Luongo, 3 times for Giguere, 3 times for Rinne - and none of them have allowed more than 6 goals in a game save for Luongo once.

You just simply can't have a starting goaltender having that many brainfarts in one game so many times. Yes, a lot comes back to the D, but when you can sit there, look at the 6 goals, and blame the goalie for 4 of them? I don't care who that goaltender is - there's an issue. Kari seemed to be doing better... he was sitting down and working with Hedberg, right? Things like puck control, passing, whatnot - it seemed to be working. Did he just take an overextended lesson from Weeks or something? Kari needs to find a coach that gets him in that top form ALL of the time, or else he's just not going to pass muster. We need something to fix this, stat. I'd rather have a new coach than a new goalie. But something HAS to be done to fix this issue.

Knobler be stealin' my running Todd the Taxman joke...

Anywho, nice li'l write-up on Todd and his silent success this season.

I did not realize that he's tied with Heatley and 2 ahead of Spezza for points.

“I try to anticipate,” White said. “I’m not skilled enough to beat guys one on one. There’s not many guys in the league that are. I try to work little give and goes. … [I] try and use smarts to get around the ice rather than pure speed and pure one-on-one ability.”

“He doesn’t try,” teammate Colby Armstrong said. “He just does it.”

Getting props after his latest successful corporate audit

I admit that my poking fun at him this season stopped about after the 2nd week of the season. I'm still not sold on him being a #1 center, but he is having a hell of a year.

Quote of the year:

“He gets all my jokes,” Thrashers coach John Anderson said. “He’s a pretty quiet guy, but he’ll throw you zingers every once in awhile when you least expect it. You see him off the ice, he looks like a freakin’ accountant.”

Power of Positive Thought...

There are actually quite a few positives to take away from this season if you're a Thrashers fan. Yes, the record is not one of them. At all. But we have had a few good things go down.

• 2 winning months in a row - for our team, that's an accomplishment. We were 6-5-1 for Feburary, and so far with 3 games left in March we're 7-3-0. Not half bad, especially our March record so far.
• Slava Kozlov leading the league in power play points and being 6 for 7 on the shootout. Unreal.
  
• Rich Peverley being the best waiver wire pick up of the season
• Having 4 (and potentially 5 with Army having 17) 20 goal scorers on the year: Kovy, Little, Kozzy, and White. Kovy's got 37 and Little has 31, good for 2nd most among league right wingers (tied with Ignila behind Hossa - and if you're doing a search on NHL.com, Little's still listed as a center).
• Todd White breaking his previous season record for points - he currently has 66.
• Marty Reasoner managing to be +10 on this team.
• Toby Enstrom and Zach Bogosian being a fun and exciting defensive pairing that's effective and can score - Toby is +7 with 4G 21A, and ZBo is +6 with 5G 8A during a shortened season.
• Captain Kovy being #7 in the league in points and 4th in goals - one good streak and he'll be #2 again - so much for the slow start.
• Bryan Little being #4 in the league with a 19.7 shot percentage.
• Our 10th ranked powerplay, which is pleasant since our PK is #29.
• Kari, when healthy and motivated, has the ability to be a total beast. His stats don't show how well he's played recentlty
  

Anyone have any other positives? Please, leave 'em in the comments.

This is some edge of your seat stuff.

Now where do my fingers go? ASDF, JKL;, right?

Ron Hainsey blogs. Frankly, I enjoy the BogoBlog that Ben occasionally posts to the Blueland Blog slightly more, but it's fun to read the musings of players. I know they're hockey players for a reason, but it would be mildly more thrilling to read if they were, I don't know, more fluid writers. But I guess that's why I'm on my couch drinking a beer writing this, and he's making like $5 million a year.

And because I'm a girl. Damn you, Title IX! YOU FAILED ME.

Wow - didn't expect to see this so soon...

Next season, maybe. 2 years? For sure. This season? Talk about a pleasant surprise:

Quick fun from a game in progress...

Apparently Hedberg's in timeout.

No need to be... the game's tied 2-2, but neither of those goals had anything to do with Moose.

Holy cheese.

Check THIS OUT:

The Four Horsemen are on their way.

This comes with our surprising 3-2 win over Calgary last night. MacDonald and McClement scored 2 quick goals in the 3rd (right after I got home and turned on the TV, thank you very much). We're in it. Now if God could smile on us and allow other teams ahead of us to lose (Edmonton? Looking at you), we might be able to sneak in.

And interesting stuff from Bleacher Report. Cam "the Flasher" Janssen needs to play every night. In the 55 games he's played in, the team has been 36-19. The opposition tends to be playing on pins and needles when he's out there and are unable to make the plays that they need to win.

Jesusmarianhossa.

Ok, I expected the Wings contingent to be quite huge last night. But... good GOD. I now know what it feels like to be in Detroit, and I never want to feel that way again. But, at least I figured out why the Joe's so empty - everyone's left the city and spread out to annoy everyone else in the US and Canada.

Not a pleasant game, but a few upshots - we nearly matched them on SOG, Slava's on a 7 game point streak, Stewie scored his first even strength goal, and we almost got a few Red Wings to drop the gloves.

Oh, and this guy was there:

This photo sums up the whole game.

Hossa was booed by the half of the crowd that wasn't made up of Wings fans. I didn't boo him, because I don't think he dogged it on purpose when he was here, and I think he's one of the best in the game and never pretended to want anything other than the Cup. He's also had a lot of nice stuff to say about Atlanta. As someone who was once trapped in a job that she hated, I actually sympathized with him last year. He did pretty ok last night, scoring a goal and all.

Osgood's probably why they won - he's their new road goalie because he plays better away from Detroit. Wouldn't you?

Russian Press interview with Kovy...

... from From the Rink.

I dig what he says about being a major star.

"No, the most important thing is to always be yourself. I don't need to suck up to anybody, and I've never done that in my life. Let other people suck up. If you just be yourself, no matter the situation, people will respect you. If you suck up, then you're just a wanna-be."

I wonder if he's referencing anyone in particular, or if this is a blanket statement.

Good news for Friday.

We'll have players on the ice. Well, ok, SOME players. Like Kovy, Hainsey, and Bogosian. Boris is iffy, and Slater's a nay. This won't be a total Motown Murderfest (just like the kind they have at home) after all!

More news on the Bogosian hit. I know how this is how rumours get started, so DO NOT THINK THIS IS FACT. This's from the message boards and the statement hasn't been backed up by a link yet, so I'll post that when it's found. As of right now, I would take this with a grain of salt:

Here is what is going on concerning last nights pens/thrashers game. Betman’s office has asked for video to review. Other than the hit by Cooke on Bogosian, they will also look at Crosby’s high stick to Enstrom, Guerin’s stick to Boulton, and the big brawl. Waddell has made a call to Bettman to voice his displeasure. A report will be made by the officials and there will be an investigation of comments made by players and staff on both teams including threats from Atlanta towards Cooke, Malkin and Crosby, and comments made by Cooke and Crosby.

Apparently Bettman is not too happy about this going on the same night as Broduer’s big night. I don’t expect him to do anything about it though because it will only take attention away from the “good NHL news.”

Threats by us? I'm sure that if there were any said, then they were directed at Cooke after his hits. Why we'd say anything to Crosby and Malkin, I'm not sure. Of course, Ian White got away with making public threats against Kovy for a while, so I don't see this coming to anything. Because, well, unless someone makes a stupid sexual joke, a suspension or fine doesn't happen. Discipline in the league is a joke, regardless of what team you're a fan of.

Thrashers...noticed...by... THN...

...picking...self...off...floor...

Anyway, The Hockey News has a list of the 10 best lines in hockey now, and the Little White Russian (Kovy) version is numero 10! I really... I don't know what to say other than THANK YOU FOR NOTICING.

Next step... someone noticing that we have 4 20 goal scorers and 2 30 goal scorers. But hey - one game at a time. Congrats, guys!

Class move by The PensBlog.

Sorry, Moose. Didn't see you there.

Thank you for a) Not completely mocking the Thrashers, b) not justifying what happened to Bogosian, and c) still managing to give props to Hedberg after one of his not very good games. Granted, that wasn't entirely his fault, but still unpleasant to watch. There's a short blurb in the Pittsburgh P-G about Moose remembering his days with the Pens. Wow... he got to play on a team with Lemieux and now he gets to play on a team with Kovy. Niiiice.

Cookie Sammich.

Cooke NAILED Bogosian with what looked like a knee shot but the refs called as tripping. Cooke's a good pest and he does his job well. That being said, does Bogosian have a target on him, because people go for him every game. Oh, my bad... it's because he's a better defensive player than almost any team could dream of having. Big Boris (who dislocated his shoulder in the continued smack-down from God), had this to say:

“I just don’t understand how that is tripping,” Valabik said. “He’s an 18-year-old future superstar, and if people are calling to protect superstars in this league, that was a knee in my book and anybody’s book. The question to me: Is that the same trip as if you trip somebody that slips on your stick. Make your own opinion. I don’t know. I saw what happened just like you guys.”

On the flip-side, Geno got 5 points on the night. My fantasy team likes you. Quite frankly, Malkin = beast, and in my opinion, Malkin>>>Sid. Watching games against the Pens is like watching a game against the Caps... I still want to win, but you always see some amazing stuff. 90% of the time it's not being done by the Thrashers, but... it's still fun.

Ohhh shiiiiiiiiiii...

Recap of the two games last night coming later, if/win I feel like waking up. Stupid Blues game starting at 10... what a letdown.


BTW, congrats to the Professor, Slava Kozlov, for now holding the most consecutive games played by a Thrasher! We love ya, Koz.

Words cannot describe...

... how awesome last night was. Seriously, amazing stuff happened on the ice at Philips. Kari faced 50 (!) shots and stopped 49 - he had a shut out going until the last minute and a half or so. We wound up beating the Caps 5-1, denying Ovy the chance to score his 50th goal against us like he thought God had ordained. Heck, he was so ticked off last night he refused to speak to reporters. I love the guy, but I still find that entertaining.

You stick your left hand out...

Weirder yet is that we did this without Kovy, without Slater, and without Reasoner who hurt himself and missed the 3rd period (and who, like the other two, might not make the trip to Pittsburgh for tonight's game). Amazing hockey is being played now that we've dumped the dead weight and really have nothing left to play for but personal pride.

If Kovalchuk doesn't re-sign here after watching what's been going on, he is insane. Bring it on, Crosby and Malkin. We can take you.

Well, ok, Moose can take you, since he's starting tonight. At least the Pens fans still like the guy... I expect to hear some Moose calls in the Igloo tonight.

We're one point back!

And then Godzilla comes out all like *aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrggggggghhhhh*

With a win over the Oilers, we are in the playoffs. At least temporarily. Took care of the Wild, the Sharks took care of the Ducks... I am getting more and more optimistic as the days go on that we will squeak in.

Yet, oddly enough, I cannot manage to finish watching a game without that weird feeling in the pit of my stomach that something will happen. I wonder why...



Oh. Yes. Our inability to maintain a solid lead. Guys, please... I'd like to not have a heart attack every time I watch you, ok?

So much for the tank.

Thank GOD. Sorry, but I disagree with Sam McCaig over at THN - we don't NEED to tank. Why, with all of the young kids that we've gotten together on this Thrashers squad, would we want to lose every last game? Why would we want to humiliate ourselves and alienate the dwindling fan base for a #1 or #2 draft pick that while excellent in their own right might not work with the team?

We have someone far more important than Tavares or Hedman to worry about - we have Kovy. He's a UFA at the end of next season, and there's a push to re-sign him. Who would he rather sign with - a team that rolls over and fails when he's hurt and out for basically 2 games, or a team that steps it up and wins those 2 games by putting in an excellent team effort? Last night could have been horrible - no Kovy, and Slater gets taken out (again). We blow a 1-0 lead in the 2nd thanks to the awkward pairing of Hainsey-Bobo, who don't seem to understand what the other's doing (on the upside, our new guy, Samella, looked sharp). All of a sudden we decide to come back and WORK in the 3rd. Perrin goes after Connolly, earning 12 minutes of penalties, because of the elbow to Jimmay's head. It sparked the team (thank GOD we didn't mess up when Perrin was in the box, b/c he's one of our best PKers) and helped get us going. Reasoner scores with about 6 and a half minutes to go.

Weeeeeee! Again!

We pull Kari with a minute and a half left - that whole "last minute push" to score. Out of nowhere, with 3.5 seconds left, comes The Todd to tie it. Shootout? Multi rounds, you ask? Of course! So many rounds that the call-up for Kovy, Brett Sterling, gets a chance? Sure! And who wins it? Sterling. Why was he in there?

"I had him for a couple of years in (the AHL with) Chicago," Anderson said. "I saw him score 55 goals and go about 60 per cent on shootouts. When he gets around the net with a little bit of time, he's usually pretty deadly."

Oh, ok - makes sense. I guess it's helpful to have a coach who understands the abilities of not only our current guys but also our AHLers.

We have a chance to set the franchise record for wins in a row tomorrow night against the Caps. I always enjoy those games - Ovy's so much fun. I'm just hoping that Kovy's back and that Slater's ok. And that people show up and HAVE FUN at this one. This team's playing soooo well right now it's unreal. They need a bit of support from the fans right now to show them that we notice.

Oh, and here's something interesting... an article from the Edmonton Journal emphasizing how Kovy wants to stay here. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeird.

Sometimes things just come back to bite you in the butt.

Last night, that thing was Marty Reasoner.

You will lose and you will like it, Edmonton.

The Thrashers are now winners of 6 of their last 8 and are currently rolling with a 4 game winning streak, and that's good part to Reasoner's overtime GWG. The Oilers and Thrashers were fairly well matched last night, with 33 SOG to 32, and both goalies (Hedberg and Roloson) having 29 saves. It was nice to see Moose get the win, even though he was REALLY overly aggressive last night and probably could have been tethered to the goal for his own protection. Nice solid 3rd period.

Slater, Little, and Bogosian (who will be in ASGs for years to come, I swear) had our regulation goals, and Reasoner won it with a shot through the 5-hole on a breakaway. It was fun to listen to Rexall go DEAD silent like that, though the boos during the 3 stars was a bit tacky. Oh well. We won, we're not in last place, and it's nice. I don't care if we're playing our way out of Hedman (the Isles have Tavares locked up anyway) - the draft is deep this year and it's really nice to see our boys win.

Kovy did leave during his first shift with an upper body injury - it looks as though he pulled something on a shot. It's good to see the rest of the team step it up and step in - proof that we're making strides. Not too long ago we just would have shut down.

Snatching victory from the jaws of... well, Jaws.

It's nice not being the team that's injury plagued for once, isn't it? I mean, we still are, but we've had enough time to gel and get some people healed that it's not noticeable anymore. The Sharks, on the other hand, have just been bitten by the injury bug and haven't had time to really bring it together. Oh well. Blues win last night, 3-1, which is good enough for 70 points and 2 out. Of course, we were in 13th, but we were 3 out before this game. How do we manage to wind up only a point better in the race, you ask? Because the stupid teams ahead of us (Minny, Edmonton, Dallas) either managed to lose in OT or just win the game in the Stars' case.

Something that does look good, though, is that we're only 1 game behind the Preds, so at the very least we should be able to finish not last in the conference. If we don't make the playoffs, I'll be disappointed, but I'm still of the firm belief that the youth movement worked, and I'll still consider this season to be a success. These last few months have actually been full of meaningful hockey for me to watch - I'd forgotten how much fun it is.

Proof Positive.

Cam Janssen in the Post-Dispatch gives the reason that we never should have even thought about trading Walt away:

Janssen was on the ice with Brad Winchester and Keith Tkachuk on the face-off, and Janssen said Tkachuk winked at him, signaling him to take on Barch.

“Was it best for me to fight there?” Janssen asked. “I’d rather me be off the ice than anybody else. He was looking to head-hunt, he was looking for something. I’d rather me get it over with and calm everything down, then have him running around and doing it later on in the game when I’m not out there.

“I looked at Walt (Tkachuk) and he’s our leader, our father in the locker room,” Janssen said. “When he gives me that nudge in the face-off to say, ‘Hey, you do it now, it’s the right time because (Barch) was looking for something.’ Walt gave me the wink and said, ‘Do your thing’ and I did. If Walt would have said no, then you know what . . . I wouldn’t have done it. But I look at Walt as a leader, he gave me the wink, and I respect that.”

Sweet, in a "hey this involves beating the crap out of someone" way.

Can the Hockey Gods just take 10 minutes...

... and smile on the Blues? We won Tuesday, pounding the Stars 5-2. What happens? Every single team ahead of us loses - IN OVERTIME. They got the extra point, and instead of 2 points back, we're 3. The one game last night that we needed the Sharks to win, they lose - to the Ducks, which prompts them to hop one spot ahead of us. Seriously?

The Blues are playing the Sharks tonight, and with all of their injuries they might not be that much of a problem. We're still only 3 points back. Here's hoping (for many reasons, but mostly this one) that the Thrashers pull out another win tonight against the Oilers. Heck, maybe we can shut them out like we did the Habs and Avs.

Careful, Craig... we're comin' for you next.

We've already gotten Guy Carbonnenau and Tom Renney fired, as well as injured Marty Brodeur. What other kind of havoc can we wreak? *muhahahaha*

Boo YAH.

Big 'ol HA to the Canadian media, who I am sure are still licking their wounds over this one:



BTW, sorry on the mucking up of your national anthem. Usually we find competent singers. If we don't, we find some that notice that the words are up on the LED board - that was the FIRST time I've ever seen anyone whip out index cards to help themselves out.

Town Hall and a Win? All in ONE NIGHT?

All in all, a fairly productive town hall meeting for season ticket owners. No majorly stupid questions (the dude making the comment about Philips going green had a point, but the guy responsible for management didn't need to talk for 10 minutes about recycling programs - if they're gonna do that, just ask Slater to speak), but I sensed a bit of a disconnect between the STH between what's good for them and what is good for the team.

I understand people complaining about not having a ton of perks and giveaways. Yeah, that'd be nice for the STH - I wouldn't say no. But our ownership really isn't paying attention to either us or the Hawks. It's not gonna happen. I find it very illegitimate to complain about pricing and the ticket discounts for the average guy. First off, they have cut the number of deals this year (Waddell said that and I've noticed it - they've been giving away more of the food vouchers and stuff) because of the response to them at last year's town hall. Honestly, though, due to revenue sharing, the Thrashers have to average a certain attendance every night. Would you rather have the team lure people in with cheap tickets - people who buy stuff while they're in there and bring in dough that the team needs? Or, would you rather have the team buy up seats themselves, like the 'Yotes had to do? Which screams "pathetic?" Monetarily we're fine (Don said we're paying the bills on time, and there are a few teams who aren't), and it's because of this marketing strategy. Yeah, the marketing for the team could be better - scads - but free or reduced pricing for the tickets is nice.

Also, I got my renewal package in the mail yesterday (I renewed Thursday before I got it), and it has a list of renewal perks. $25 gift card to Team Gear, 4 free Hawks tickets (going on Ebay), and money for ticket upgrades for my seat as well as an allotment for purchases for another ticket to select games for friends and family. Total cost of my perks? Around $496. Total cost of my tickets? $968 (a 30% discount off of box office pricing). I think that's a great deal, personally.

On top of an interesting TH with a special guest appearance by Kovy to take the heat off of Don on a particularly touchy ownership querey, we shut out the Habs. Rough game... 98 penalty minutes called total, including several misconducts (a few of which were BS calls on us for trying to make sure that Perrin wasn't ridden like a pony and Boris wasn't jumped). When he complained about the overwhelming number of calls, Exelby wound up getting a 10 minute misconduct as well. The Habs were very frustrated and it showed because they were more interested in roughing us up than actually playing and scoring.

Little banged in a goal and Pevs got the EN. 21 points in 21 games as a Thrasher. Brilliant.

Photo of the night, by Mikki Harris of the AJC: Thorburn looks like he's rubbing one of those static electricity balls:

The morning after.

Quick trade-deadline re-cap...

Quote from Bob Murray regarding EC:

“He’s pure-skill,” Anaheim general manager Bob Murray told reporters. “I think he’s the type who can play with good players, and we have good players on our top two lines. He’ll get that opportunity here.”

This leads me to question how thoroughly EC was scouted. He is the type who can play with the good players, just not well and for an extended period of time because he tries too hard to catch up with them. Then he suffers a panic attack, and he winds up on the 4th line. He's also going from a conference that is about skill and speed (where he fit in despite his inability to finish) to a conference built on grit and defense. He's not a Western Conference player, at least right now. I doubt his ability to be shaped into one.


Niclas Havelid seems content to be reunited with Bobby Holik. I wish Havs the best of luck there - he deserves another good Cup run, and he wasn't going to get it in Atlanta.

Finally, it appears that the Blues DID get some good offers for Walt, but figured keeping team chemistry together was more important for trying to tweak a bunch of stuff as we try to go into the playoffs. Wise move by Davidson.

Deadline wrap-up.

Hi, new new guy! Welcome to Atlanta. Our thoughts & prayers are with you.

No one offered anything earth changing for Walt, so thankfully he will remain a Blue through the end of the season, and is a probable re-sign for the summer. Why wouldn't he want to re-sign? He's played well here, he loves the city, and this season should be an incentive for ANYONE to re-sign. Rumors abound about the Blues being in play for Pronger until the Ducks asked us for T.J. Oshie. That was a definite "hell NO," and so Pronger remains a Duck. Good call by Davidson. Don't give away pieces of our future for someone who was a part of our past.

The Thrashers had another un-busy day, with the biggest shock being the non-moving of Marty Reasoner. It gives me hope for a re-sign. He's good with the face-off and he's a solid 3rd line center. Army apparently got interest, but Don wanted people, not pics. Waddell mentioned on TSN that he would entertain the movement of a goalie (Kari or Pavs) if the right package came along. There were rumors of a deal with Philly (and the Flyers had a deal that didn't go through in time), but Kari remains a Thrasher for the duration of the season. The summer, though, could be different. Kari needs to play for his contract. No weird goals like the ones allowed last night.

I'm actually fairly OK with Don this year as far as some of his acquisitions go. Reasoner's been solid, Hainsey's solid, good draft choice in Bogosian... Schneider should have worked out better than he did, but I'm convinced that wasn't his fault or really Don's - that was just the team not knowing what to do with him and vice versa (watching MS now against the Sabres - he looks like he's back to normal). The 2 pics for MS basically mean that we got a 2nd rounder this year for Klee and a 3rd rounder next year for Larsen.

The new kid he got for Havs is someone I'll have to see before I judge, but he was specifically cherry picked from the Finn leagues by a GM known for getting solid talent, and O'Dell is a 2nd round pick chosen by a solid team for EC, who was a 3rd rounder in a draft not as deep.

People jump all over DW, and I can occasionally be in that camp, but he's not as incompetent as people say he is. A lot of it is the people above him.

D Day, 2009.

It's trade deadline day! Yaaaaaay! The Thrashers have already moved Havelid (and GOD, could you tell it last night - blech), but who else is on the block? Rumors abound around Army, Kari, and a few others. For the Blues, apparently, they've taken Walt off the market unless the deal's too good to pass up, which is doubtful. No contending team will give up pieces big enough to justify moving him, and we're still only 4 points out (amazingly).

"All you have to do is look around the league," Davidson said Tuesday night. "If Walt (Tkachuk) was a player we were going to trade tomorrow, as of right now, he might not be playing tonight. He's playing ... he's playing. He's a Blue."

I am currently breathing a sigh of relief... until Don Waddell makes some horrible trade. Which should take him 5 minutes.

Almost famous!

Special thank you to James at Cycle Like the Sedins (link at right) for giving me the chance to write an overblown post on what I would do if I were the GM of the Blues. Interesting reads over there... it must be hard to pretend you're the GM of the Wings and 'Hawks and just say "nuttin."

If you can't say anything nice before the deadline...

Perrin, showing what he's made of.

... keep your damned mouth SHUT, Eric. He completely killed his trade value with comments yesterday in the AJC regarding how he'd like to be traded. Apparently no one would take him, and Waddell figured just not having him around complaining was an improvement - he was put on waivers today. Looks like the only team he'll be showing his true potential to is the Wolves, because I doubt anyone picks him up on the cheap.

Anyone else notice that Jon Sim's mentioned as being waived, the day of being named as the NHL's first star for the night? I'd take Sim over Perrin any damn day.

Oyster's sick.

Apparently tonight's line-up against the Kitties is going to be... interesting. Oystrick's sick with the flu, so Grant Lewis will be filling in for him tonight. Salmela got hurt a few games ago (whack in the head) so he'll be down with the Wolves through the end of the week, with his first game probably being our away game against the Avs. Jimmay(!) is back, and Colin Stuart has been doing a fine job... so Mr. "I want a trade," Eric Perrin, will be the scratch tonight. Yep, those comments are helping your trade value, aren't they, Eric? I don't know in what alternate universe he thinks he'd be anything more than a 3rd or 4th liner on a better team, but I hope that karma comes back to chomp him on the butt in the form of a trade to the Isles.

Save Walt!

I am NOT a fan of dumping Walt at the deadline for a prospect, a few pics, and a 3rd liner (we have all of the above, thanks). We are only 3 points out of a playoff spot, and I'm of the firm belief that the team needs his leadership in the locker room and on the ice. You can't have a team that's so young (as my mother put it at the Blues/Thrashers pre-season game - "My God, they're all 12!") and not have someone who is a solid vet. Legace's gone and he was pouty while he was here. Brewer has the emotionality of a stick and is out for the rest of the year. Kariya is gone getting a bionic hip installed.

Looking at the roster, it's Andy MacDonald, Barrett Jackman, and Keith Tkachuk who are the vets. Jackman has been with the team since 1999 as their 1st Round, 17th overall pick. AndyMac's still a new addition. Walt has been here since 2001. There is little doubt in my mind that he cares about the team. As he mentioned in the Post-Dispatch today:

"You know what ... I'm prepared for anything," Tkachuk said after Saturday's 3-1 victory over Phoenix. "If they tell me I'm a Blue Wednesday, I'll be very happy. If they tell me otherwise, then that's something I'll deal with. It's a situation that's going to be what is best for me and my team.

"I'm enjoying myself right now. I hope to be in the playoffs with the Blues. ... The guys know inside (the locker room) how I feel, and that's what is most important to me."

He has a commitment. He waived his NTC once to help the team and wound up getting stuck here in Atlanta (yes, playing with Kovy - but still getting sweeped in the 1st round). He promptly turned around and returned to St. Louis. He doesn't seem to want to uproot his family, and all indications are go on his wanting to retire here.

The guys in the locker room want Walt to stay, too.

"I feel that we need Keith," Mason said. "He's probably the biggest part of our team and our dressing room. He holds everybody accountable. I've never played with a guy like him in my life ... I definitely don't want to lose him."

Mason took it one step further.

"I'll help lead the charge," he said. "I'll go make the 'Don't trade Keith Tkachuk' signs. Personally, from my standpoint, I would love to see Keith stay. But that's part of the game. Management will do whatever they think is best for the team."

It really *would* be demoralizing to take a leader away from a team right at the cusp of them making the playoffs for the first time since the lock-out. It would be Davidson sending a message of being a seller, instead of getting an asset that could strengthen the team. What kind of team is a seller at the deadline? The Isles. The Thrashers, the Sens (if they weren't it denial), the Avs... teams dwelling at the bottom of the standings looking to get picks in a deep draft.

A team 3 points out of a playoff spot is NOT a seller, regardless of how hard the upward climb is. You want support to make that climb - you don't want the bunjee cords cut.

The first Thrashers Trade...

Nic Havelid to Jersey for prospect Anssi Salmela, a Finnish D-man who I am assuming will be on the Wolves for the rest of the season here. Best of luck to Havs. I've appreciated what he's done here for the past 3 seasons - he's helped develop Enstrom and he's always been a solid d-man even when we were lacking. Hopefully we can re-sign him in the summer.

Another trade could be pending if Eric Perrin has his way. After his whining to the Montreal press earlier this season and continued whining in the AJC today, if he doesn't get shipped out of here then he needs to be benched. He apparently doesn't realize that the reason his TOI has been dropping has been due to lack of output and willingness to try to be compatible with Anderson's system.

Anderson had this to say:

Thrashers coach John Anderson gave Perrin very little time with the team’s top scorers. Perrin had a stint with the second line early in the season. It didn’t last long.

“If you don’t have production, that’s the way it is,” Anderson said. “But again, I don’t think I was really relying on Eric to score 50 points this year. If he did, great, he would have had that opportunity.

“I love Eric Perrin. I really like him as a player. I’m not that concerned about his scoring production.”

Anderson was coaching the AHL’s Chicago Wolves last season when only Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa scored more points for the Thrashers than Perrin did. To Anderson, that season is history.

“The game is ruthless in the sense,” Anderson said. “It’s what have you done for me today?”

I know it probably sucked when Dupuis got shipped out, but Perrin has to remember that we gave him a chance after Tampa dumped him (after a crappy season like this one). He has the potential to be a decent point scorer, and that's what's been lacking this season. Maybe it's a conflict with the system, but to blame it on the whole organization? Eric, you've been part of the problem recently. You live in a glass house... put the rock down.

Kovy 1st Star, Mason 3rd for February.

This has been a good month for my two teams, and it's always nice to see some love reflected in the NHL's stars of the month.

Congrats, boys - now, no pressure, but could you keep that up? Especially you, Mason. Please? Thanks.

Niiiice.

Kovy's a beast. 2 goals, 3 assists? A come-back win in front of a bunch of Canes fans who road tripped down here? Hell yeah. Last night rivaled the comeback against the Leafs for game of the year, hands down. Pevs managed his first multi-goal game, including yet another game winning goal (4th of the year, if I'm not mistaken). Talk about egg on your face... the Preds must have it all over them after letting him go - though they managed to wipe some off with an 8-0 stomping of the Wings.





Unfortunately, the Preds win last night kept us from jumping them yet again, but the Blues have won 3 in a row with a 3-1 win over the 'Yotes last night. We're in 12th place, 3 points back... I don't see Walt, after how largely he's figured in our wins, going anywhere. Davidson said that these three games before the trade deadline were the deciding factor. We've won two of them.