With a little over 24 hours until the Thrashers hit the ice again for their first game in five days, I figured it was a good time to wrap up some loose ends and share my opinion on the first month of the NHL season. Feel free to leave your own thoughts on the team at the bottom.
PAVELEC IS BACK
Andrej Pavelec was brought back from Chicago only a few days after he was sent down to clear space on the roster for Kari Lehtonen. The problem came this week when Lehtonen, who was slotted to start Friday’s game, reinjured his back during practice.
Pavelec has been outstanding in the games he’s played in, and he has to be given credit for dealing with a situation that isn’t the easiest to handle. Back when he was called up the first time, he wasn’t told how long he’d be around, and as a result he only packed clothes for two days. Since then he’s been living out of a suitcase, not knowing when his free ride at the top level would end.
Pavelec has also seemingly put everything behind him regarding the controversy that surrounded him after he was cut from the roster. When I asked him about it after his first game, he said that he hopes the fans just see him as a guy who wants to play and win hockey games, which is exactly what he has done for a team that gives up the seventh-most shots on goal.
QUIET NO MORE
With all this free-time in between games I’ve had plenty of time to scour the internet for articles on your Atlanta Thrashers. The most interesting one was on ESPN.com, describing the free agents who had least lived up to their offseason contract. Unfortunately, Atlanta’s Jason Williams was on that list.
While his contract numbers may have garnered higher expectations after one month, Williams has played quite well. Through 15 games, Williams has six goals and four assists, putting him in a tie for third on the team with Ilya Kovalchuk.
Most importantly, Williams has avoided injury. The biggest caveat with Williams was his inability to stay healthy over an 82-game stretch. Last year, Williams only saw the ice in 43 games with Chicago, struggling to overcome multiple injuries.
I think playing in the system of Atlanta head coach John Anderson has kept Williams from taking the big hit, allowing his numbers to reach career highs this season. (Hopefully this doesn’t jinx Williams in Friday’s game against Carolina).
He and his linemates, Kovalchuk and Erik Christensen, look like they are beginning to figure out each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and that line is where I will have a centered eye on Friday to see if those three can continue to build a rapport with each other after a long layoff.
NEED A BREAK FROM WORK?
Is there anything cooler than what the NHL is doing with its All-Star balloting this season? The answer is no. If you loved CNN’s hologram from Election Day coverage, or the melting colored pieces of ice that NBC brought, you’re going to love the instant results for the NHL All-Star game.
If you visit http://fanballoting.nhl.com/leaders then you can see the votes being tabulated as they come in. Unfortunately, the two Thrashers candidates for the All-Star game, Ilya Kovalchuk and Kari Lehtonen, are nowhere near the top.
As the votes sit right now, the Eastern Conference might as well not even field a team, and instead just suit up all of the Montreal Canadiens, as they are leading all three categories.
And if you are looking for a write-in candidate from the Thrashers my suggestion would be for Ron Hainsey. He is tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference in scoring among defensemen with 10 points, and tied for fourth in goals scored with three.
Boral can be reached at jboral@scoreatl.com.
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