Usually there are very few lessons to be taken from a preseason game, let alone one played without a team’s full complement of players. However, one thing was apparent after the Thrashers’ first preseason game back in Atlanta: Detroit is a Stanley Cup Champion. Atlanta, at this point, is not.
Now I know I’m not splitting the atom over here, but on Wednesday the Thrashers had a perfect model to look up to as far as how to play team hockey. Detroit won 4-1 in a game that was much closer than the score indicated, but one that the Red Wings controlled by exploiting a young team prone to mental errors. The Red Wings scored twice on power plays with less than 20 seconds expiring on Atlanta’s penalties. Henrik Zetterberg also took advantage of a Kari Lehtonen puck-handling mistake to score his first goal of the night. Good teams take advantage of mistakes, which is exactly what the Red Wings did.
Fortunately during the game you could see flashes of Atlanta doing the same. Atlanta’s only goal came on a puck that Erik Christensen stole in Detroit’s zone and was able to sneak into the net. However, the team lacked that same spark on the power play, going 1-for-3.
Christensen wasn’t the only acquisition of the last 365 days to make an impact. Zach Bogosian, Atlanta’s No. 3 overall draft pick, performed well in his first game in Atlanta and wasn’t afraid to take a few shots on goal. Jason Williams, a free agent from Chicago, also managed three shots working on the first line with Christensen and Ilya Kovalchuk.
It is an understatement to say that Don Waddell’s moves of the last year will decide if this team is a playoff contender or lottery participant. Atlanta may have been criticized often over the summer for its free-agent spending, but it is safe to assume that this team is better than it was this time last year, and it showed Wednesday night.
So many questions still remain after four preseason games—we still haven’t even see Mathieu Schneider play—but whether or not Atlanta has the ability to hang with the Stanley Cup Champion for sixty minutes isn’t one of them. What head coach John Anderson must now answer is, will they be able to hang with teams of Detroit’s caliber at any point this year, and how often?
Check back soon for a more detailed preview of the team, the division and the NHL as a whole, as we are only a few days away from the puck dropping overseas.
Boral can be reached at jboral@scoreatl.com.
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