Things are suddenly going right for the Thrashers.
They have won consecutive games for the first time in more than two months.
The obvious questions: Why, and how can they keep this winning streak going?
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1. They found magic
One clear difference between the old Thrashers and the new ones is the addition of Rich Peverley, the center acquired off waivers Jan. 10 and paired with Ilya Kovalchuk. Peverley had six points in the back-to-back victories, including the overtime goal Friday night.
The NHL on Monday named him the league?s third star of the week.
Kovalchuk, who scored twice against Toronto and once against Nashville, was on a hot streak even before Peverley arrived and has eight goals in the last nine games. But adding Peverley clearly makes a difference for the Thrashers? captain.
?I think Kovy?s a lot more dangerous now,? Thrashers coach John Anderson said. ?He doesn?t have to carry it from end to end. You saw a couple of plays where the passes to Kovy were beautiful. It just puts another weapon in our arsenal.?
The change of scenery has been great for Peverley, too. He had more points in his last two games than he did in his last 2 1/2 months with the Predators.
2. Confidence plus defense
?We?ve got to believe in what we?re doing,? forward Eric Perrin said. ?When we start to question ourselves, that?s when we start playing sloppy. When we believe in what we?re doing and everybody does it together, we have success.?
It?s one thing to be confident against Toronto and Nashville, two of the NHL?s worst 10 teams. The next test is handling Montreal and Philadelphia, two of the league?s 10 best. The key to continued success might be matching confidence with patience, because cutting down on turnovers and miscues might be even more important than generating and capitalizing on scoring chances.
?When things are going well, you tend to be very confident,? Peverley said, ?but you don?t want to get overconfident, because then you maybe start cheating offensively and not playing a better defensive game.?
He plays one of the better defensive games of any Thrashers forward. One reason: Though he?s on a scoring line in Atlanta, he was on the third and fourth lines in Nashville.
?You?re counted on to be there defensively,? he said, ?or you wouldn?t play.?
3. Goalie steps up
Kari Lehtonen stopped 38 of 40 shots in the victories over Toronto and Nashville.
?If you don?t have good goaltending, you?re not going anywhere,? Anderson said. ?We need Kari to be Kari.?
4. Take the body
The big hit Saturday night was Colby Armstrong?s collision with Nashville?s Jordin Tootoo in the Thrashers? zone, which led to a goal for Kovalchuk at the other end of the ice. The Thrashers aren?t one of the NHL?s more physical teams but are capable of delivering some solid checks.
?When we?re playing good hockey, we?re doing that,? Armstrong said. ?When we?re playing well, we?re playing hard, we?re playing in your face and we?re doing little things right.?
Anderson pointed out that Armstrong?s hit on Tootoo followed a Tootoo hit on Peverley.
?I liked our composure,? he said. ?Nobody went nuts. But when Tootoo came back up the ice and tried to cut across, Army saw the opportunity, knocked him down and we scored a goal. I love that type of thing.?
5. Play hard
Perrin scored the first goal Saturday night by taking advantage of Ville Koistinen?s turnover, which wouldn?t have happened if Perrin hadn?t been skating hard after the puck.
Anderson said it?s important for his team to play hard not just every game but every period and even every shift.
?The most important thing is to work hard,? Kovalchuk said. ?The last two periods against Toronto and the three periods against Nashville, that was the key for our team.?
They have won consecutive games for the first time in more than two months.
The obvious questions: Why, and how can they keep this winning streak going?
??????????
1. They found magic
One clear difference between the old Thrashers and the new ones is the addition of Rich Peverley, the center acquired off waivers Jan. 10 and paired with Ilya Kovalchuk. Peverley had six points in the back-to-back victories, including the overtime goal Friday night.
The NHL on Monday named him the league?s third star of the week.
Kovalchuk, who scored twice against Toronto and once against Nashville, was on a hot streak even before Peverley arrived and has eight goals in the last nine games. But adding Peverley clearly makes a difference for the Thrashers? captain.
?I think Kovy?s a lot more dangerous now,? Thrashers coach John Anderson said. ?He doesn?t have to carry it from end to end. You saw a couple of plays where the passes to Kovy were beautiful. It just puts another weapon in our arsenal.?
The change of scenery has been great for Peverley, too. He had more points in his last two games than he did in his last 2 1/2 months with the Predators.
2. Confidence plus defense
?We?ve got to believe in what we?re doing,? forward Eric Perrin said. ?When we start to question ourselves, that?s when we start playing sloppy. When we believe in what we?re doing and everybody does it together, we have success.?
It?s one thing to be confident against Toronto and Nashville, two of the NHL?s worst 10 teams. The next test is handling Montreal and Philadelphia, two of the league?s 10 best. The key to continued success might be matching confidence with patience, because cutting down on turnovers and miscues might be even more important than generating and capitalizing on scoring chances.
?When things are going well, you tend to be very confident,? Peverley said, ?but you don?t want to get overconfident, because then you maybe start cheating offensively and not playing a better defensive game.?
He plays one of the better defensive games of any Thrashers forward. One reason: Though he?s on a scoring line in Atlanta, he was on the third and fourth lines in Nashville.
?You?re counted on to be there defensively,? he said, ?or you wouldn?t play.?
3. Goalie steps up
Kari Lehtonen stopped 38 of 40 shots in the victories over Toronto and Nashville.
?If you don?t have good goaltending, you?re not going anywhere,? Anderson said. ?We need Kari to be Kari.?
4. Take the body
The big hit Saturday night was Colby Armstrong?s collision with Nashville?s Jordin Tootoo in the Thrashers? zone, which led to a goal for Kovalchuk at the other end of the ice. The Thrashers aren?t one of the NHL?s more physical teams but are capable of delivering some solid checks.
?When we?re playing good hockey, we?re doing that,? Armstrong said. ?When we?re playing well, we?re playing hard, we?re playing in your face and we?re doing little things right.?
Anderson pointed out that Armstrong?s hit on Tootoo followed a Tootoo hit on Peverley.
?I liked our composure,? he said. ?Nobody went nuts. But when Tootoo came back up the ice and tried to cut across, Army saw the opportunity, knocked him down and we scored a goal. I love that type of thing.?
5. Play hard
Perrin scored the first goal Saturday night by taking advantage of Ville Koistinen?s turnover, which wouldn?t have happened if Perrin hadn?t been skating hard after the puck.
Anderson said it?s important for his team to play hard not just every game but every period and even every shift.
?The most important thing is to work hard,? Kovalchuk said. ?The last two periods against Toronto and the three periods against Nashville, that was the key for our team.?
