SB Nation Atlanta - Atlanta Thrashers Schedule: Carolina Hurricanes Rally To Defeat Thrashers In Shootouthttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46601/atlanta-fave.png2010-12-17T09:43:47-05:00http://atlanta.sbnation.com/rss/stream/16439852010-12-17T09:43:47-05:002010-12-17T09:43:47-05:00Final Score: Carolina Hurricanes Down Atlanta Thrashers In Shootout, 3-2
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<p>The upshot from last night’s game is that the Thrashers sit currently just one point out of first place in the Southeast Division. The downside? If the team would have won last night, they’d be in first place. The Thrashers hopped to a two goal lead at the end of the second period, though it is debatable over whether it should have been a two goal lead, or a three goal one. <span>Tobias Enstrom</span>’s shot from the circles on the power play at 8:35 of the second flew over the shoulder of Hurricanes’ netminder <span>Cam Ward</span>, but it was ruled a non-reviewable no-goal due to <span>Nik Antropov</span> being in the crease when the goal was scored. Replays of the goal showed Antropov to be well clear of the blue paint and the goaltender when the puck went into the net.</p>
<p>Ten seconds later, <span>Evander Kane</span> scored the goal back, and ten minutes later <span>Anthony Stewart</span> scored his ninth of the year to put the Thrashers up 2-0. As Ben Wright of the <a href="http://www.bluelandblog.com" target="new">Blueland Blog</a> noted, all points scored last night were scored by black players, which was an <span class="caps">NHL</span> first. Stewart and Oduya got assists on Kane’s goal, and Kane and Byfuglien netted assists on Stewart’s goal.</p>
<p>The third period was a period that the team would have liked to have had back. The lead was cut to one after <span>Brandon Sutter</span> tipped in a shot from <span>Tuomo Ruutu</span>, and at six minutes, <span>Eric Staal</span> snapped one home from directly in front of the crease. No coverage on Staal = bad idea.</p>
<p>After a scoreless overtime that gave control to the Hurricanes, <span>Sergei Samsonov</span> scored the game winner in the shootout. Cam Ward stopped 45 of 47 shots, while <span>Chris Mason</span> turned in his fourth two goal game of the year, stopping 27 of 29 Carolina shots. His <span class="caps">GAA</span> improves to 3.74 and his SV% to .897.</p>
<p>The announced attendance was 11,043, though it should be significantly higher Saturday night when <span>Ilya Kovalchuk</span> and <span>Johan Hedberg</span> return to Blueland. The Devils are in second-to-last place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 9-19-2, good for just 20 points (second to last in the <span class="caps">NHL</span>). In contrast, the Thrashers have the 8th most points in the league.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/atlanta-thrashers/2010/12/17/1881832/final-score-carolina-hurricanes-down-atlanta-thrashers-in-shootout-3-2Laura Astorian2010-12-16T11:44:25-05:002010-12-16T11:44:25-05:00Atlanta Thrashers Schedule: Carolina Hurricanes And Eric Stall Finally Come To Town This Season
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<p>The Thrashers end yet another back to back set this season with tonight's game against the <a href="https://www.canescountry.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Carolina Hurricanes</a>. The Thrashers have four back to back sets in December alone, and had four in October (all consecutive Friday and Saturday games) and two in November. They'll see just one in January, none in February, two in March, and one in April. The first half of the season's the most grueling for the team, and if they can finish December in a playoff position, chances are good that they can finish April that way too. So far the team is 17-11-4 and in 7th place in the East, so things are looking up.</p>
<p>The team that they're playing tonight is on the outside looking in. The Carolina Hurricanes recovered from a disastrous start at the beginning of last season, and are continuing to play better hockey as of late. They're in 9th in the East with a 13-12-8 record, and the recent acquisitions that the team from the <a href="https://www.matchsticksandgasoline.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Calgary Flames</a> (<a href="http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=543783" target="_blank">Ian White and Brett Sutter for Anton Babchuk and Tom Kostopolous</a>) and <a href="https://www.anaheimcalling.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Anaheim Ducks</a> (<a href="http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=544344" target="_blank">Ryan Carter in exchange for prospects Stefan Chaput and Matt Kennedy</a>) seem to be helping the team.</p>
<p>The issue with the Canes recently has been some untraditionally shaky goaltending from starter and former Conn Smythe award winner Cam Ward. Ward allowed two goals in the first two minutes of last night's game against the <a href="https://www.litterboxcats.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Florida Panthers</a> (which the Hurricanes still managed to win, 4-3) and was pulled. In his wins, Ward is brilliant, but in his losses he seems to lose his focus.</p>
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<th></th> <th>GP</th> <th>MIN</th> <th>W</th> <th>L</th> <th>EGA</th> <th>GA</th> <th>GAA</th> <th>SA</th> <th>SV</th> <th>SV%</th> <th>SO</th>
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<td class="td-name td-first">2010 - <span>Cam Ward</span>
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<td>25</td>
<td>1408</td>
<td>12</td>
<td>9</td>
<td></td>
<td>61</td>
<td>2.60</td>
<td>792</td>
<td>731</td>
<td>.923</td>
<td class="td-last">1</td>
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<p>Ondrej Pavelec was solid last night save for his flub on the lone regulation Lightning goal:</p>
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<p>That's a forgivable flub the way that Pavelec has been playing recently; why not give him the start again tonight?</p>
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<th></th> <th>GP</th> <th>MIN</th> <th>W</th> <th>L</th> <th>EGA</th> <th>GA</th> <th>GAA</th> <th>SA</th> <th>SV</th> <th>SV%</th> <th>SO</th>
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<td class="td-name td-first">2010 - <span>Ondrej Pavelec</span>
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<td>21</td>
<td>1166</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>6</td>
<td></td>
<td>35</td>
<td>1.80</td>
<td>617</td>
<td>582</td>
<td>.943</td>
<td class="td-last">2</td>
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<p>Line-ups for tonight have not been released, so it's unclear if <span>Fredrik Modin</span> and <span>Tim Stapleton</span> will still be in the line-up for Atlanta, or if <span>Ben Eager</span> and <span>Niclas Bergfors</span> will make it back in. The team has been relatively spark-free without the duo, and last night's listless play showed that the best out of all of the games that they've missed. Bergfors would be useful on the powerplay, which went 0-for-5 last night.</p>
<p>Puck drop is at 7:00 at Philips Arena. Two notable promotions tonight - the team is serving $1 hot dogs, soda, and pretzels from 6:00 to puck drop at the remaining December home games. Also, it's a Thirsty Thursday, which means $3 Budweiser products in Headlines Bar & Grill.</p>
<p><a href="http://thrashers.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=66566" target="_blank">Thrash is still behind bars though,</a> so it'll be up to the crowd alone to get the team going.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/2010/12/16/2326455/atlanta-thrashers-schedule-carolina-hurricanes-and-eric-stall-finallyLaura Astorian