The third period was not necessarily one for the Thrashers to remember, but it did give them three more goals to seal the deal over the New York Rangers.
Eric Boulton scored his first of the season at less than a minute in on a wrap-around, with assists from Anthony Stewart and Rich Peverley. Four minutes later, Dustin Byfuglien ripped a slapshot for his third goal of the season to make it 5-2 Thrashers.
Then the third period meltdown threatened to commence. Chris Mason had problems last season keeping pucks out of his net in the third period, leading to many Blues overtime losses. At 7:56 of the third period, former Thrasher Todd White scored his first of the season. White has been fighting for ice time, only playing in four games this season. A little over two minutes later, Bryan Boyle added a goal to put the Rangers within one.
Andrew Ladd sealed the deal with an empty net goal late in the period, giving him a goal and an assist on the night, and so far ten points in eight games. This is the best start to a season in Ladd’s career.
The Thrashers finished with 26 shots on goal, and limited the Rangers to 28, which is the first time this season that the Thrashers have managed less than 30 shots allowed in a game (Chris Mason has faced the most shots in the league as of this writing). The Thrashers succeeded in being much more disciplined, which led to the victory. The previously mentioned Byfuglien penalty was the only one of the night.
Ten different Thrashers got their names on the scoresheet tonight, with both Ladd and Niclas Bergfors netting a goal and an assist.
The Thrashers’ next game is this Friday night at 7:30 against the Buffalo Sabres. This is the second and final time that Buffalo will come to Blueland.