One point back!

And, um, in 11th place? So goes the Eastern Conference this season, I do suppose. Outstanding game by Hedberg, who was chippy (earning a crosschecking minor since no one else was clearing the crease), aggressive playing the puck, and generally must have had that puck tagged like a deer. So nice to see him only allow one goal and manage a win - actually, he has only allowed one goal in his past three starts. The Renaissance that is this season for Hedberg (Mooseaissance?) continues. Hedberg now has a .917 SV% and a 2.46 GAA, both in the top 15 in the league, His record now stands at 11-8-4. After this season he's certainly raised his value as a UFA, though I'm still in the camp that if we have some sort of stability in goal SOMEWHERE, he needs to be re-signed.

The bloggers in attendance tonight were fortunate enough to have a brief Q&A session with Hedberg after the game, as well as be there for the presentation of this month's Atlanta Thrashers Fan Club player of the month award. Moose was very gracious and appreciative of the award, and enjoyed the chance he had to speak with us. Falconer grabbed my question first (and I didn't think of another good one until I was in the parking lot - of course), but in response to Rose of the Thrashers 411's questions about the fans, he hinted that more people in the seats would probably pump the team up, while admitting that the team needed to give people a reason to be there. He specifically cited the playoffs in 2007 as an example of what a good hockey environment Atlanta can be. He also was excited about the 500 or so fans road-trippin' to Nashville Saturday, or as he called them when they went to Carolina last season, "a little bit of Blueland."

Always enjoyable experience at the bloggers' night, made even more so by a win. We're 1-4 on these things, and only have 2 Kovalchuk and a Thorburn injury to our record. It's much appreciated every time we're invited.