don't know if they will be looking past them, but the thrashers are playing hard and with effort right now...they will need 3 goals for a shot a win tonight...tough call.
good luck if you play it.
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Thrashers still have reasons to play hard
Tonight, for the first time this season, the Thrashers take the ice knowing that whatever they do there is zero possibility they will make the playoffs.
The Thrashers say that will make zero difference in the way they play.They?ve known for months that they were really out of the postseason picture, even if, technically, the slimmest of playoff possibilities existed. Despite that knowledge, they have played their best hockey of the season, with winning months in February and March.
More than a third of the 19 Thrashers expected to play tonight don?t have a contract for next season. They?re pro athletes with money ? and in some cases careers ? at stake.
Forward Eric Perrin, unclaimed when put on waivers before the trade deadline, wants some team to sign him as an unrestricted free agent this summer. Center Marty Reasoner and defenseman Nathan Oystrick will be unrestricted free agents if not signed by the Thrashers before July 1. (General manager Don Waddell has said he plans to re-sign Reasoner.) Colby Armstrong, Kari Lehtonen, Jim Slater and Chris Thorburn will be restricted free agents this summer.
?Some guys are playing for contracts. Some guys are playing for pride,? said Perrin, who has a goal and three assists in his past seven games. ?I think it?s important to finish the season strong. We?re playing a lot better hockey. You see it in everybody?s game.?
You could see it in Thorburn in Tuesday?s loss at Montreal. Thorburn was finishing checks in the third period though the game and the season were long since out of hand. He was already playing with a bandage on his forehead and could have saved himself some additional bumps and bruises, but he kept delivering blows. He made four hits in less than eight minutes of ice time.
?It?s just my game. It?s what I?ve got to do,? Thorburn said.
Why bother?
?That?s really not a thought that goes through my head. Nor should it go through anyone else?s,? Thorburn said. ?We?re getting paid to do what we?re doing. You?ve got to have some honor in that and some pride.?
Oystrick, who has played 47 games as a rookie, said he would like to be back with the Thrashers next season.
?I try to go hard no matter what,? he said. ?It?s going to be a different summer for me. There?s a lot of question marks. I like it here. I like the guys here. I like the organization. I?m sure [the Thrashers] and my agents will be talking. We?ll see what comes of it.?
There?s more than money involved. Athletes don?t like to lose, and they don?t respect themselves when they don?t play hard.
?I think we owe it to not just all of ourselves as a team, we owe it to our fans,? Perrin said. ?We?re professional athletes. We?re still getting paid good money to perform, to entertain. It?s important you take that pride onto the ice and respect your fans that are cheering for you and make sure you give it everything.?
The Thrashers have eight games left, including tonight?s. Coach John Anderson said he doesn?t expect any challenge keeping his team or himself motivated. It?s a new situation for him; the one time he missed the playoffs as a minor league coach his team wasn?t eliminated from contention until the second-to-last game.
One reason the Thrashers haven?t lost interest is that so many of their players are rookies or second-year players. They don?t get jaded or blas?.
?Sometimes the young guys push the older guys.? Anderson said.
His motivational approach was to focus on building something for the future, so that next season is better than this one.
?I told them I know we?re better than what we?re showing, and we?ve got to find it,? he said.
The message got through.
?We?re all playing for something,? Armstrong said. ?We?re trying to build on something for next year. There?s nothing else we can do.?
Note: The Thrashers sent Joey Crabb back to the Chicago Wolves Wednesday because center Jim Slater is ready to return to the lineup after suffering head and shoulder injuries March 14. The move was no reflection on Crabb, Anderson said. ?He played very well. We really like Joey and expect him to be here full-time next year,? Anderson said. The Wolves need Crabb as they attempt to qualify for the AHL playoffs.
