The Tampa Bay Lightning have been a thorn in the Thrashers’ side by taking each of the previous four meetings this season. On top of that, Atlanta had lost nine straight to the Lightning going back to last season.
The results were similar Thursday night with Tampa prevailing 3-2 in a shootout. Head coach Craig Ramsay was frustrated after the game, but he did like the way his players gave an effort. “It is what it is. We played well, we battled and we got one point instead of two,” said Ramsay. “That is a frustrating thing, but we have to stay focused on the fact that we did get a point and we have another opportunity coming up.”
The Thrashers were able to cash in on an early opportunity in the first period. Freddie Meyer let loose a hard slap shot that caromed off Tampa’s goalie Dwayne Roloson. Nic Bergfors was able to quickly put the rebound away and give the Thrashers a 1-0 lead 5:26 into the game.
The Lightning got a goal later in the period to tie the score. Steven Stamkos knocked the puck into the net after several attempts by the Thrashers to clear the puck out of the crease.
Atlanta took advantage of another carom off of Roloson in the second period. Nik Antropov shot the puck to the net and Anthony Stewart cashed in on the rebound to put the Thrash up 2-1.
They carried the slim advantage into the third period, but Steven Stamkos struck again just 32 seconds in, to tie the game at two. Things began to look bleak just thirty seconds later, as Dustin Byfuglien took an uncharacteristic tripping penalty. Fortunately, Atlanta was able to kill that penalty off and regroup.
A tight battle ensued for the rest of the third period and into overtime. The ice was tilted in favor of Tampa, as they had a number of scoring chances. The Thrashers were able to hold their own and block shots, while Ondrej Pavelec provided the team with great play in the net and 29 saves. Unfortunately, he could not stop the Lightning’s Dominic Moore from scoring the winning goal in the shootout.
Brent Sopel tallied an assist and liked the team’s smart play overall. “I thought we played a pretty good game. We played smart and we played hard,” said Sopel. “(But), we need to find a way to win these one goal games.”
The next two games loom large in the Thrashers fight to keep eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The red-hot New York Rangers come into town on Saturday night. On Sunday, the Thrash will travel to face Tampa Bay for the final time this season. “We feel good going into the weekend,” said Anthony Stewart. “Tonight, we played well and you’ve got to take the positives out of the negatives.”
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