Questionable decisions cost both the Blues and the Thrashers

Remember how I mentioned before that the Blues could make up ground on Calgary and Detroit? Scratch that - there game tonight did not go as planned. A 4-2 loss in Minnesota threw a wrench into their plans for now. After a five day break, the Blues' schedule picks up from here on out, and back to back days with back to back starts or Chris Mason probably didn't do them any favors. Mason let in 3 first period goals, which opened the way for Ty Conklin to come in for relief. I know that the Blues aren't used to having a serviceable backup, but Conklin is that - he's probably of the same caliber of goaltender as Mason, except Mason gets more starts. Today would have been fine to start Conks. Bad call.

Atlanta, God, where to begin. Completely outshot Phoenix and managed to nail five posts and crossbars. Really good effort by the team, who looked like they were on a mission. Pavelec had a solid outing as well, turning aside 32 of 34 shots during regulation. Unfortunately, the shootout is not where Pavs succeeds, and that is where we lost a point. The issue here comes at the shootout takers: Antropov, Peverley, and MacArthur. The first two, totally understandable. MacArthur? He's not a proven quantity in shootouts and isn't really an offensive powerhouse to begin with. Little, Bergfors, Afinogenov... much better choices. I'm not saying that they were 100% bankable, because no one ever is in a shootout, but when you're looking at the 3rd shooter and you absolutely have to score to win, you might want to put someone who is a little stronger at scoring in the shootout.

No one, of course, asked Anderson about this at the press conference (we weren't there to ask questions, unfortunately, because God knows we all had them). Anderson stressed how much he liked the effort of the team, and frankly, the effort's been there recently. It's been the little things that've been throwing the Thrashers off, and a lot of these decisions go back to people who are higher up.

I think Timmy of Birdwatchers Anonymous said it best - he felt like he had to go kill a puppy to make up for how depressing Anderson is in the press conferences. I really wonder if he carries that over to the team. To borrow a phrase from Chasing Amy, he is one morose mother you know whater.