The second period hasn’t been kind to the Thrashers during their slump – they seem to run out of gas, only to find themselves climbing uphill during the third period. As softly as the team has been playing recently, playing to win two out of three periods isn’t a recipe for success.
Just 1:21 in, Dion Phaneuf scored his first goal as a Toronto Maple Leaf in the ACC Center. He came to Toronto from Calgary at the trade deadline last season, if that gives the reader any idea of how often he scores. Mikhail Grabovski tied the game at two at the tail end of a five-on-three, as Tim Stapleton was in the box for hooking and Chris Thorburn was in for a delay of game penalty. Grabovski is up to 22 goals for the season, and Clarke MacArthur added his 27th assist to the point.
Thirty nine seconds later, Nik Antropov caught his own rebound in front of the net to put the Thrashers back up 3-2, but the lead was not to stay. Clark MacArthur scored a career-high tying seventeenth goal. MacArthur had two goals in the last meetup between these teams. Apparently he enjoys taking it to his old team.
After eighteen shots on goal during the first period, the Thrashers only managed seven in the second period. The tempo needs to increase and the defense needs to play more responsible hockey if the Thrashers want to recapture the momentum that they had in the first period.