I hope Slava Kozlov has something in his contract about shootouts. He’s so automatic, he deserves a big bonus at the end of the year. He’s amazing.
Ilya Kovalchuk, who has been amazing recently, still needs to take a lesson from his countryman. I think he needs to pretend he has five guys chasing him — it seems like he’s better when he’s got people hot on his heels.
Kari Lehtonen was stellar tonight. I still don’t dig his new mask, but lately he’s shown far more flashes of the brilliance we know he possesses.
Thrashers were robbed. Most of the time it’s their fault. Not this time. I think after two disallowed goals, the Thrashers were just deflated. Kovalchuk was flying though. Looked like vintage Kovy. Overall, the Thrashers looked far better than they have lately. Kari Lehtonen continues to play solid. I am starting to think the Thrashers are just cursed this season. Even when they play well, the Universe seems to conspire against them.
On a different note, I swear Blackhawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin was drinking grape Pedialyte on the bench during a timeout. The label was ripped off the bottle, but it was definitely a Pedialyte bottle. This information has no real value.
It is hard to be a Thrashers fan. You have to find amusement where you can.
War … What is it Good For? Absolutely nothing? Or maybe, among teammates it can serve as a wake up call?
Two members of the Vancouver Canucks fought each other in practice yesterday.
Losers of eight straight home games, the Canucks’ tension and frustration boiled over with a practice altercation involving defenceman Willie Mitchell and winger Mason Raymond.
Mitchell ran at Raymond during a drill and, when the speedy sophomore came back at the veteran in the corner, Mitchell punched Raymond in the head and cross-checked him hard on the shoulder.
The fracas drew several players and coaches, and tough defenceman Shane O’Brien skated to Raymond’s defence and challenged Mitchell to fight before tempers calmed.
I can’t help but wonder if the Atlanta Thrashers could use some teammate-on-teammate butt kickings after the way they’ve been playing lately. They’ve shown little heart and determination (Kari Lehtonen’s outstanding play in Dallas being pretty much the one exception).
Speaking of the Atlanta-Dallas game, I was at the game and witnessed the bad and bobbled passes, lackadaisical play and general boredom of the Thrashers firsthand. Kari showed exactly what kind of goalie he can be when he is on — and when he is on, he is a wow-the-crowd, “who is this guy?!” kind of player. Unfortunately, you can’t win a game as a goalie unless the team in front of you scores.
Finally, there’s a “Top 10 Teammates Fighting Each Other” video that features three different sets of Canadiens players squaring off in practice (including one of my favorites, Richard Zednik). Take a look.
Could fighting help the Thrashers? Hmmm … I don’t know, but maybe it’s worth a shot. I kid … sort of.
Earlier in the 2008 season he debuted a “Transformers”-themed mask, with Optimus Prime on the side. OK. How old are we, Kari? Rumor has it, he stopped wearing this mask after repeated razzings from the other team (and probably his own).
Now he’s on with a Batman theme. Only thing is, he’s using The Joker. I’m not some big moralist or anything, but The Joker was a bad, bad dude. And somehow it seems exploitative to have Heath Ledger’s face on your mask so soon after his death. But that’s just me.
Frankly, I’d like to see Kari play up his supposed family nickname “Kärppä” (I could be misspelling that. I’ve seen it with a “t” on the end. Oh well, I am sure I’ll be corrected). But the word means “weasel” in Finnish. He could have a nasty, mean-looking, yellow-toothed weasel on his mask. Hey! It’s just an idea. I could have suggested using the Hamburglar, which is what they used to call him when he played for the Chicago Wolves. Apparently he has had an affinity for the fast food.
Loading ...