Take small solace in the fact that the Thrashers scored first on an Andrew Ladd power play goal at 4:01. Yes, it was the Thrashers’ 17th PPG of the season, but Atlanta has only won one game in which they’ve scored first. The powerplay was solid, but the penalty kill was weak.
Jason Spezza scored high on Chris Mason at 11:05, and then not long afterwards at 15:34 Rich Peverley got a call for a slash, giving Ottawa’s power play a chance to strike. Jason Spezza won the offensive zone face-off, got the puck directly to Sergei Gonchar on the point, and Gonchar fired a one timer past Mason.
Impressively, Atlanta leads in SOG at a 11-10 margin. The key to winning tonight is limiting powerplay chances and shots on goal; one of those two the Thrashers are occasionally sharp at. I’ll let you guess which one.