SB Nation Atlanta - Rangers at Thrashers: Atlanta Hands The Rangers Their Sixth Loss In A Rowhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46601/atlanta-fave.png2011-02-12T00:25:25-05:00http://atlanta.sbnation.com/rss/stream/17526132011-02-12T00:25:25-05:002011-02-12T00:25:25-05:00Evander Kane Chats With NHL Live About The 3-2 Win Over The Rangers
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<p>From tonight’s <span class="caps">NHL</span> On The Fly (and tweeted by <a href="http://www.twitter.com/benthrashers" target="new">Ben Wright</a> of the <a href="http://www.bluelandblog.com" target="new">Blueland Blog</a>), here’s Thrasher forward <span>Evander Kane</span> phoning in to tonight’s <span class="caps">NHL</span> On The Fly recap show regarding the big game he had against the Rangers:</p>
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<p>Kane had two goals in the third period, and an assist on <span>Anthony Stewart</span>’s first period goal. Tonight’s win puts the Thrashers back into eighth place for the time being, with the next game against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.canescountry.com/">Carolina Hurricanes</a>, who they lead by just a point. Tonight’s loss was the Rangers’ sixth in a row, and dropped them to just two points ahead of the Thrashers for seventh place in the Eastern Conference, though both teams need to be mindful of the Hurricanes – the ’Canes have played two fewer games than both the Thrashers and the Rangers.</p>
<p>The Thrashers played a well-balanced game for the most part, though the first minute of the third period left a lot to be desired. An inability to move the puck coupled with some bad in-zone play allowed <span>Brandon Dubinsky</span> to knock in his 19th goal of the year to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. The Thrashers played the first two periods with some fire, partially spurred on by <span>Eric Boulton</span>’s fight with <span>Brandon Prust</span> at 6:07 of the first period. The third started off a bit flat, and threatened to get worse with <span>Brent Sopel</span> hooking <span>Marian Gaborik</span> and causing a penalty shot. Gaborik is third on the Rangers in scoring and absolutely lethal, and Pavelec absolutely stonewalled him on his opportunity:</p>
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<p>That gave the team, specifically Evander Kane, the motivation needed to net a couple more goals. Thankfully Marc Staal, who had a goal and a penalty already on the evening, took an offsetting penalty for hi-sticking to <span>Nik Antropov</span>’s tripping call at 18:01 left. The game ended with a four-on-four for the last minute and fifty nine seconds, which was enough to secure Atlanta the win.</p>
<p>There’s no rest for the wicked, as the Hurricanes blow into town on Sunday at 5:00. A win would give Atlanta their first two game winning streak since January 2nd and 5th, when the Thrashers defeated the Canadiens and the Panthers on the road. The Thrashers haven’t won back to back home games since their six game winning streak on November 19th to December 6th.</p>
<p>I also got the opportunity to speak with concussed Thrashers forward <span>Jim Slater</span> after the game, and he has no clue when he’ll get the all-clear to skate again. He said he’s judging it against <span>Sidney Crosby</span>’s concussion – Crosby got concussed the day after Slater did. He mentioned that it was frustrating for him to not be out there playing, especially during the rough patch of play. Here’s hoping that Slater can get out there and reunite the Greek Gods sometime soon.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/atlanta-thrashers/2011/2/12/1989588/evander-kane-chats-with-nhl-live-about-the-3-2-win-over-the-rangersLaura Astorian2011-02-11T14:21:33-05:002011-02-11T14:21:33-05:00Rangers at Thrashers: Atlanta Needs To Rebound Against Slumping Rangers Team
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<p>Neither the Rangers nor the Thrashers have been playing good hockey recently. Atlanta is trying to break a four game losing streak, and a stretch of games where they haven't won in regulation since January 26th. The Rangers are trying to not lose six games in a row, in what is becoming a slide down the Eastern Conference Standings.</p>
<p>These two teams always play solid hockey when they face off against each other, though in the last eight meetings the Thrashers have the upper hand, going 6-1-1 in some regular season revenge against the team that swept them out of the playoffs in 2007. The Rangers are without captain <span>Chris Drury</span>, who is going to have to undergo surgery on his left knee and will be out for up to six weeks. <span>Marian Gaborik</span> hasn't scored for the past five games, and <span>Martin Biron</span> is getting used more and more often, going 8-6-2 for a team that usually plays starter <span>Henrik Lundqvist</span> 70 games a season.</p>
<p>Of course, the Thrashers have significant issues as well. <span>Dustin Byfuglien</span> finally broke a 13 game point streak on Saturday night against Toronto in the 5-4 loss, but also caused a goal with an awful backhand pass to no one in particular. <span>Jim Slater</span> is still out with a concussion, and <span>Fredrik Modin</span> will be out tonight for a lower body injury sustained in the game Saturday. <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/gametracker/preview/NHL_20110211_NYR@ATL/rangersthrashers-preview" target="_blank">Ondrej Pavelec is 0-3-1 with a 4.01 GAA this month</a>, making the days of him being second in the league in save percentage and goals against average just a distant memory. As the AJC's <span>Jeff Schultz</span> points out,<a href="http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2011/02/10/thrashers-stanley-cup-winners-would-settle-for-a-few-wins/?cxntfid=blogs_jeff_schultz_blog" target="_blank"> the Thrashers are having less and less time to right this ship</a>. Thankfully, they're getting a shot in the arm tonight.</p>
<p>The Thrashers' number two scorer, <span>Tobias Enstrom</span>, is back after missing six games with a broken finger sustained the last time these two teams played. His defensive partner Byfuglien has sorely missed Enstrom; recently Buff has been paired with <span>Johnny Oduya</span> and a slightly-improving <span>Zach Bogosian</span> on the power play. Enstrom is the quarterback of the first PP unit, and while Bogosian is adept at firing the puck in, his aim can be off and he hasn't been strong at holding the blue-line. <a href="http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-thrashers-blog/2011/02/11/a-new-streak-begins-enstrom-to-return-vs-rangers/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_thrashers_blog" target="_blank">Bogosian will be paired with Ron Hainsey, </a>who has earned his way up the depth chart with solid play this season. Gone are the days of opponents scoring with the help of Hainsey, but the pairing of Hainsey/Bogosian didn't work at all last season. Hopefully this will be different. Oduya and Sopel will be the third pairing, with <span>Arturs Kulda</span> in the pressbox.</p>
<p>With Fredrik Modin out, the lines for tonight's game will be this (via Chris Vivlamore of the AJC):</p>
<p>Ladd-Little-Bergfors</p>
<p>Kane-Antropov-Stewart</p>
<p>Cormier-Stapleton-Thorburn</p>
<p>Boulton-Burmistrov-Peverley</p>
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<p>I don't usually offer personal commentary into the game day write-ups, but I significantly disagree with the line combinations. Sending a message to Peverley to be more responsible is great, but when the team is having problems scoring, it might behoove the team to have Peverley play in a position where he'll be able to do so. Switching Peverley and <span>Chris Thorburn</span>, moving <span>Tim Stapleton</span> to the left wing on that line, moving <span>Alexander Burmistrov</span> up to center it, and putting <span>Patrice Cormier</span> between Thorburn and Boulton would create a solid energy/checking line as well as a line that would have potentially more chances to score, Tim Stapleton notwithstanding.</p>
<p>Of course, I don't get paid to coach, so take that as you will.</p>
<p>Tonight being a Friday night game at Blueland means a 7:30 puck drop, but <a href="http://thrashers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=552073&navid=DL%7CATL%7Chome&navid=DL%7CATL%7Chome" target="_blank">if you want to snag some of the traditional Valentines Day autographed pucks, I suggest getting there closer to 6:30</a>.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/2011/2/11/2329619/rangers-at-thrashers-atlanta-needs-to-rebound-against-slumpingLaura Astorian