The Atlanta Thrashers got their season off to a great start with a 4-2 win over the rival Washington Capitals. However, the game began with a very scary moment. Early in the first period starting goalie Ondrej Pavelec collapsed and was found to be unconscious on the ice. The Thrashers reacted very quickly, but there was no response from Pavelec. He was rushed to a local hospital and eventually regained his senses. There is no word as to what caused him to fall to the ice, flat on his back. “I don’t know a lot, he’s alert, he’s awake,” said head coach Craig Ramsay. “He’ll be kept for observation and tests and then we’ll find out more tomorrow.” No one saw him go down, because the puck had been iced on the other end. “We were all looking at the other end of the ice. I don’t know of anybody that saw it from the bench,” added Ramsay.
Backup goalie Chris Mason came in after a very long delay following Pavelec’s collapse. The Capitals scored less than a minute later and it looked like the Thrashers might be in for a long night.
That’s when left winger Evander Kane put the team on his back and began to carry them for the rest of the night. A poor clear by the Capitals led to Kane keeping the puck in Washington’s zone. Then, he turned quickly, took two strides and blistered a shot past the goalie to tie the game at one. “I saw a loose puck, made a move and then put it away,” said Kane. Time and time again, Kane, along with Zach Begosian, Andrew Ladd, and Alex Burmistrov, kept Atlanta onsides and created chances. One of those chances produced a penalty shot. Evander Kane made the most of the opportunity and deked the puck past Washington goalie Michal Neuvirth to give Atlanta the lead, 2-1. “It was good to get the team ahead, and everybody responded well after that,” said Kane. It seemed like the young forward was everywhere. He played the role of pest by checking defenseman Mike Green into the boards and that seemed to frustrate the Washington star. He drew two penalties that were basically whistled because of his aggressive play. The second penalty was a hooking call at a crucial moment in the third period. Atlanta held the lead 3-2 as Kane went to the box with over eight minutes to play. The penalty kill was strong and it kept Washington from scoring the tying goal. “I gotta thank the guys, they did a great job killing that off and kind of saving me there. All the credit goes to them,” said Kane.
A couple minutes later, new acquisition Fredrik Modin flipped the puck over the shoulder of the goaltender to make the score 4-2. Washington would never seriously threaten again.
Goalie Chris Mason had the tough task of replacing Pavelec in the first period. “It’s hard to even think about playing when something like that happens,” said Mason. “It was really tough. You think about his family. I didn’t even think about playing hockey.” Despite allowing a goal shortly after entering the game, Mason played very well, making 29 saves on 31 shots. “Our goalie went in and was just wonderful,” said Ramsay. “To me it showed the character of a great group of guys.”
The Thrash will go on a 4-game road trip starting Saturday night in Tampa and then head to the west coast to face the Kings, Ducks, and Sharks. This was a key win, especially after not gaining a win through the preseason and facing a tough trip ahead.
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