Leaving the ice had to feel strange for the Thrashers on Wednesday night. They had taken the second best team in the Eastern Conference to overtime, earning a point before losing on the second bad bouncing puck of the night.
It wasn’t a win, and it wasn’t it a loss; well, at least in terms of points. Instead it was a 3-2 overtime loss to the New York Rangers, Atlanta’s third point in two games against teams from the Big Apple.
“We had our chances to win and it was just how the year has gone so far,” first-year head coach John Anderson said. “If it’s a bad bounce it’s going to go against us. A bounce here and a bounce there and the game’s different.”
Bad bounces were around every corner for Atlanta as New York’s final two goals came off strange ricochets before trickling into the net. The first came in the third period when Ryan Callahan skated hard towards the net, only to have Atlanta goalie Johan Hedberg knock an attempted clearing pass right into Callahan’s body as he fell into the net.
Hedberg found himself in a similar situation just 18 seconds into overtime. This time Hedberg hedged his bets and tried to freeze the puck. Instead, Wade Redden poked it into the net with his stick to give the Rangers the extra point. “I tried to freeze it, and before I could put my hand on it, he poked it in under me,” said Hedberg about the game-winning goal.
“You try and keep playing the game and usually the breaks go to the team that works the hardest, and I think we should have won that game.”
Hedberg’s sentiments almost came to fruition, but just as on the previous roadtrip Atlanta found itself one step behind its opponent throughout. Twice Atlanta needed game-tying goals in the second and first period.
Joey Crabb scored the first of the game, and the first of his career, just a few minutes after New York’s first goal of the game. He found some open ice, and like a receiver avoiding a zone coverage, sat before a teammate found him. He then broke free with the puck, shooting it over the shoulder of Stephen Valiquette, his third point since being called up a few weeks ago.
Crabb was so open because of the pass from Nathan Oystrick, who split the Rangers defense to get Crabb the puck. Oystrick noticed Crabb skating freely along the Ranger blueline. Without hesitation he sent the puck up the center of the ice, leaving Crabb with only the goalie in the way.
“[Crabb] has been playing great. He’s really solid on our fourth line and he’s been a great surprise so far,” said Anderson.
But Crabb wasn’t the only new face supplying excitement, Boris Valabik even got in the scoring column as he set up another game-tying goal. After falling behind for the second time during the third period, Atlanta tied the game at two when Ilya Kovalchuk scored his tenth goal of the season, tipping in a cross-ice pass in from Valabik. Both Valabik and Crabb showed the talent of veterans in just their first few weeks at the NHL level, leaving curious minds to wonder if these two are the next faces for the Thrashers.
Anderson saw these guys perform when he coached them in Chicago, and he’s still trying to bring that same energy to his current team. “We’re trying to bring that excitement to the Atlanta Thrashers. We’re trying to be an up-tempo team.”
But even with the two surprising offensive plays by Crabb and Valabik, the fans who attended Wednesday’s game found the most excitement in an altercation that brewed throughout the game between Ilya Kovalchuk and the Rangers’ Scott Gomez.
Halfway through the second Kovalchuk mixed it up with Gomez before Gomez dropped him to the ground with a right hook to the face. The two were each given double minors before eventually returning to the ice. Soon after, the two found each other again this time trading slashing minors just before the end of the period.
“I said a couple games ago I wanted them to play gritty. I want them to play like that. Maybe that’s how we had a chance to get a point. I want us to be intense, and we’re responding to that,” said Anderson.
With the intensity problem solved, the Thrashers have to respond with games in the win column. But don’t expect any cupcakes; their next chance will be Friday night against the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins.
Boral can be reached at jboral@scoreatl.com.
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