Atlanta Thrashers

By Greg Wyshynski • Speaking of fights, check out the one-punch wonder from Ruslan Fedotenko of the Pittsburgh Penguins against Colby Armstrong of the Atlanta Thrashers. HockeyFights.com gave Ruslan the rare 100-percent voting victory for this. [YouTube]

By Greg Wyshynski At 1 p.m. EST today, we're going to have our weekly rumors, scuttlebutt and innuendo chat this a bit of additional focus on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Questions about Therrien's job security have arisen for good reason and won't go away just because the Penguins beat the sad-sack Atlanta Thra...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Atlanta Thrashers at Pittsburgh Penguins (7:30 p.m. EST; TV: SS, FSPI). The Pens try to break out of their slump against a Thrashers team that should have Kari Lehtonen in net but will miss center Bryan Little, the key to their best offensive line this season. (That the name "Kovalchu...

By Greg Wyshynski • The Los Angeles Kings have shown so much promise this season that Matt from Life in Hockeywood has declared that their winning the Stanley Cup this season no longer matters to him: "The only hardware I want to see in the hands of a Kings player this season is the Calder Memorial Trophy. The Ca...

By Greg Wyshynski Honorable Mention: Jose Theodore (31 saves) and the Washington Capitals overcame some bad history in the HSBC Arena to defeat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-2. ... Stick-tap to Chris Bourque of the Caps and Ottawa's Brian Lee for their first NHL goals. ... Maxim Lapierre scored the winning goal in the shoo...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Atlanta Thrashers at Toronto Maple Leafs (7:30 p.m. EST; TV: TSN). Curtis Joseph begins his swan song two-game stint between the pipes for the Leafs. Preview: New Jersey Devils at St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. EST; TV: VS). Seriously, Versus?

By Greg Wyshynski • Maxim Afinogenov of the Buffalo Sabres can make fans swoon with pretty moves before failing to deliver anything substantial. It's official: He's the Pussycat Dolls of hockey. [Buffalo News] • Mike York is back for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

By Greg Wyshynski Honorable Mention: Loui Eriksson of the Dallas Stars had the night's other hat trick, scoring twice in the first period and then adding a power-play goal in the second period to help Dallas keep pace with the Columbus Blue Jackets in its 6-5 skills competition victory. ... Evgeni Malkin had tw...

By Greg Wyshynski Honorable Mention: Rookie Fabian Brunnstrom avoided a Nicklas Lidstrom poke-check and beat Ty Conklin for what would be the game-winning goal in the Dallas Stars' 3-1 upset of the visiting Detroit Red Wings. Marty Turco had 37 saves in a strong effort. ... Ryan Miller blamed bad ice for Ian Whi...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs at Buffalo Sabres (7:30 p.m. EST; TV: RSN, MSG). Or as it's better known, "When the Sabres gouge the Leafs fans with variable pricing." National Post headline: "Finger dipped in ice cream when drafted." You had us at "dipped."

By Sean Leahy With the Thrashers currently toiling at the bottom of the Eastern Conference yet again and attendance resembling that of your local Sons of Italy's "Bingo Night," what Waddell does with Kovalchuk will determine the fate of the franchise.

By Greg Wyshynski • Did Roberto Luongo suffer a setback at practice for the Vancouver Canucks? [Vancouver Sun] • The 1974-75 Washington Capitals, 1980-81 Winnipeg Jets and 1992-93 Ottawa Senators all make the Sports Illustrated gallery for worst seasons for a team. "Lose-ipeg." Still funny. [SI]

By Greg Wyshynski • Let's say the Atlanta Thrashers do end up trading Ilya Kovalchuk for the betterment of the franchise. Bill Tiller makes a vital point: "Exactly what is it in the history of Don Waddell's dealings that makes anyone believe that he is capable of bringing in the highest yield in exchange for I...

By Greg Wyshynski Honorable Mention: Having rejected the New York Rangers' offer of a 10-day conditioning assignment in Hartford, Peter Prucha returned to the lineup and cashed in a plum rebound of a Scott Gomez shot to tie the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-2. Dany Sabourin gave up goals on all three Rangers shoo...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers (7 p.m. EST; TV: FSPI, MSG, Yahoo! Sports). Sometimes, all you need to get those juices flowing for a critical division showdown is an image and some words from The Pensblog: "The Rangers have played every night of the regular season it seems l...

By Greg Wyshynski UPDATE: Sports Business Journal has opened up its article on the Turnkey Index for Puck Daddy readers; as you can see, the Montreal Canadiens (12th), Buffalo Sabres (13th) and Carolina Hurricanes (20th) have cracked the Top 20 for the NHL. Meanwhiile, only the NBA's Pacers, Nets, Knick...

By Greg Wyshynski Honorable Mention: Sidney Crosby had two second-period goals to rally the Penguins. ... Jeff Carter scored his league-leading 16th goal for the Flyers. ... Michael Ryder had two goals and Phil Kessel notched his 12th in the Boston Bruins' emphatic 7-2 win at the New York Islanders. ... Marian Hossa no...

By Greg Wyshynski With four goals scored, the second period of the Atlanta Thrashers' 6-3 victory at the Toronto Maple Leafs was already pretty interesting. It became downright memorable when Ilya Kovalchuk sparked a spontaneous rivalry with Ian White of the Leafs after this shot to the head:

By Greg Wyshynski On a night when the Thrashers played a tough and gritty game at the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kovalchuk was a factor throughout their 6-3 victory. His second-period unassisted snap shot past Curtis Joseph was his only point of the night, but the goal was a momentum-killing play that gave Atlant...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Atlanta Thrashers at Toronto Maple Leafs (7:30 p.m. EST; TV: LTV). Two teams going in the wrong direction, at least on the ice. Eyes are beginning to focus on Ilya Kovalchuk, who hasn't scored in his last four and has just six goals on the season. Lee Stempniak will be in uniform tonight f...

By Greg Wyshynski Honorable Mention: Jiri Hudler scored two impressive goals in the Detroit Red Wings' 4-3 win at the Edmonton Oilers; the Wings were 3-for-5 on the power play. ... Crosby had at three-point night in leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-2 victory at the Atlanta Thrashers. ... Radio analyst Sherry...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Washington Capitals at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. EST; TV: CSN, FSW). No Alexander Semin again for the Capitals tonight. Here is your obligatory Alexander Ovechkin valentine from local media that see him visit as often as the Hale-Bopp comet. 

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Chicago Blackhawks at Phoenix Coyotes (9:30 p.m. EST; TV: CSNC, FSAZ). Chicago begins a six-game, 11-day road trip in Phoenix, and Coach Q is happy the Hawks are hitting the road. Did you know only six Coyotes players have more than one goal this season? 

By Greg Wyshynski Honorable Mention: Stick-taps to Erik Christensen of Atlanta, Bret Hedican of Anaheim and Jeremy Roenick of San Jose (in another return to Chicago) for their first goals of the season. ... The St. Louis Blues dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the Montreal Canadiens, but winger Steve Regier s...

By Sean Leahy The Atlanta Thrashers debuted their "Southeast Division opponent only" third jerseys last night during a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Before the game, the team also introduced their new pregame "Keys to the Game" anchor: A man who will only appear when the team sports the new bur...

By Ross McKeon The free-agent lured from Columbus in the summer was a pillar of defense in helping the Thrashers win a fifth straight game. In addition to blocking two shots and logging a team-high 25:40 of ice time, Hainsey added the second assist on what turned out to be the deciding goal in a 3-2 victory o...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Carolina Hurricanes at Atlanta Thrashers (7:30 p.m. EST; TV: FSS, Yahoo! Sports). The Thrashers, on a four-game winning streak, try to continue to close in on the division leaders Washington and Carolina. No Kari Lehtonen tonight, however. And why doesn't Atlanta have a captain ye...

By Greg Wyshynski Atlanta Thrashers star Ilya Kovalchuk recently gave one of those great, wide-ranging interviews to Igor Arkhipov of Sovetsky Sport that covered everything from free agency to Barack Obama to Alexander Ovechkin's contract. You never became the captain of your team.

By Greg Wyshynski The Southeast Division boasts a failing chemistry experiment in Tampa Bay, a Florida Panthers team that some are claiming is already done for the season and an inconsistent Atlanta Thrashers squad that remains extremely beatable.

By Greg Wyshynski • Two Stanley Cup rings from the Montreal Canadiens were stolen as part of a million-dollar heist. Police describe the Ottawa Senators as "persons of interest." [Kuklas] • A postmortem on the San Jose Sharks' first home loss last night to the Nashville Predators. [Two for Elbowing]

By Greg Wyshynski Honorable Mention: Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Joe Corvo scores the game-winning goal against his former team, as the Canes beat the Ottawa Senators, 2-1. Corvo: "It's just a little extra in the Kool-Aid before the game," Oh yeah? ... Johan Hedberg made 28 saves for the Thrashers, none b...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Atlanta Thrashers at Buffalo Sabres (7:30 EST; TV: SS, MSG). The Thrash have back-to-back wins, as the Moose will get the start in goal against Ryan Miller. Jochen Hecht was expected back for tonight's game, and Lindy Ruff was being coy about roster moves earlier today.

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: New York Islanders at Atlanta Thrashers (7 p.m. EST; TV: MSG, SS). This could be a fun little game between two aggressive teams. That said, the Thrashers are right now the worst team in the NHL because LA has a game in hand. And yet Waddell's checks still clear.

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Nashville Predators at Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. EST; TV: TSN). Well, what do you know: Martin Gelinas is off the scrap heap and playing for a Swiss team. The focus in Vancouver is on special teams; our focus is on the potential feistiness in this game. 

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Atlanta Thrashers at New York Rangers (7 p.m. EDT; TV: SS, MSG). The Rangers attempt to extend their preposterously good start against the struggling Thrash, shaking up their lines a bit. The Rangers traded away Hugh Jessiman to the Nashville Predators today for futures. The Ranger...

By Greg Wyshynski • Rookie defenseman Zach Bogosian suffered a fractured fibula in the Atlanta Thrashers' loss to the Flyers and is out indefinitely. No surgery needed, according to Ben Wright. [Blueland Blog] • With the team losing, attendance down and Rick Nash centering the top line, the spirits of Colu...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning at Toronto Maple Leafs (7:30 p.m. EDT; TV: TSN). The hapless Bolts mingling with the Toronto media ... no good can come from this. Prepare for 10,000 stories about Steven Stamkos's ice time and Barry Melrose's coaching on Wednesday morning, and maybe one or two about...

By Greg Wyshynski Hell to the no. But he's clearly advocating that empty net goals shouldn't count as "real goals" either, and he's "outing" players like Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins (five EN goals out of 47 last season), the Atlanta Thrashers' Ilya Kovalchuk (five EN out of 52) and Los Angeles K...

By Greg Wyshynski There were actually two instances of former players' vengeance tonight. Nikolai Zherdev returned to Columbus with the New York Rangers, playing through cheers and boos for a three-point night (1-2-3) in the Rangers' 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets. But Hossa gets the nod here, breaking a 1-...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: Atlanta Thrashers at Detroit Red Wings (7:30 p.m. EDT; TV: SS, FSD). Playing the Red Wings makes you do wacky things, and Atlanta coach John Anderson is no exception after refusing to reveal his lineup for tonight's game after the pregame skate. While the focus is on Marian Hossa faci...

By Greg Wyshynski • Nikolai Zherdev returns to Columbus tonight with the New York Rangers, skating on a line with Chris Drury and Markus Naslund. How will the Columbus Blue Jackets fans react? [Blue Notes] • Detroit Red Wings winger Marian Hossa will face the Atlanta Thrashers tonight in Detroit. Ben Wright...

By Greg Wyshynski There's a certain blissful irony in the fact that no one outside of the arena could watch last night's Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers -- their first of the year, Coach Barry Melrose's first since the year "Waterworld" was released. A team that's been operating i...

By Greg Wyshynski Forwards like Ryan Malone and Steven Stamkos continued to struggle and the Tampa defense continued to be woeful, as the Atlanta Thrashers rallied from a 2-0 deficit to send the game into overtime. But there's a reason Lecavalier wears the 'C': His slot blast past Kari Lehtonen, on a rare ov...

By Greg Wyshynski Preview: New Jersey Devils at Atlanta Thrashers (7 p.m. EDT; TV: MSG, SS). Something tells us that even if Bobby Holik loved his time in Atlanta, the Thrashers will not be delaying the start for a number retirement ceremony this evening.

By Greg Wyshynski • Def Leppard's Joe Elliott blames NHL for Stanley Cup goof, because he used a coffeemaker during practice. [Snapshots] • Uh, wasn't Brian Rolston supposed to make the New Jersey Devils power-play more gooder and stuff? [Fire & Ice]

By Greg Wyshynski Nashville Predators Boston Bruins New Jersey Devils Calgary Flames Chicago Blackhawks Los Angeles Kings Vancouver Canucks Tampa Bay Lightning Toronto Maple Leafs New York Islanders Ottawa Senators Buffalo Sabres Carolina Hurricanes Columbus Blue Jackets Atlanta Thrashers Wash...

By Greg Wyshynski Honorable Mentions: Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils stopped 25 shots, including a Kyle Okposo penalty shot, as the Devils beat the New York Islanders, 2-1 ... Brian Campbell lost his first game with Chicago, but made a nifty end-to-end rush to set up a Patrick Kane goal and played clo...

By Greg Wyshynski • Speaking of the Toronto Maple Leafs: One lone fans has decided to stake out his territory for the team's Stanley Cup parade this season. [FanHouse] • The Vancouver Canucks sign defenseman Alex Edler to a $13-million, four-year deal. [CP]

By Greg Wyshynski • The Pittsburgh Penguins acquire Mike Zigomanis from the Phoenix Coyotes. Just in case you need another "Z" for your NHL alphabet drinking game. It's the "I's" that usually kills us. Well, and the "X's." [Penguins] • Ondrej Pavelec stopped being a child and has reported to the AHL for the Atla...

By Greg Wyshynski 1 * Philadelphia Flyers 2 * Pittsburgh Penguins 3 * New Jersey Devils 4 * New York Rangers 5 New York Islanders Southeast Division 1 * Washington Capitals 2 * Carolina Hurricanes 3 Tampa Bay Lightning 4 Florida Panthers 5 Atlanta Thrashers

By Greg Wyshynski • Nikolai Khabibulin makes the Chicago Blackhawks opening night roster. For now. [Sun Times] • The Atlanta Thrashers unveil their new ad campaign: "Become One in Blueland." Easy: "Sit in any section of the upper deck on a Tuesday." [Thrashers]

By Greg Wyshynski • Luke Schenn wasn't a stunner, as he had earned a ton of praise for the Toronto Maple Leafs during the preseason. Drew Doughty making the Los Angeles Kings, and playing with Sean O'Donnell, also made sense. But if Alex Pietrangelo sticks around with the St. Louis Blues and Zach Bogosian does t...

By Greg Wyshynski Patrik Elias (New Jersey Devils, LW, Round 6/Pick 98) Milan Lucic (Boston Bruins, LW, Round 10/Pick 170) David Perron (St. Louis Blues, LW, Round 12/Pick 206) RELEASED: Fredrik Modin (Columbus Blue Jackets, LW, Round 20/Pick 350)

By Greg Wyshynski The bottom six are the Buffalo Sabres (258.6), Carolina Hurricanes (259.8), St. Louis Blues (262.2), Los Angeles Kings (272.9), Colorado Avalanche (275.8) and the Atlanta Thrashers (280.4). The ranking was based on last year's stats, which would explain the completely asinine assertion tha...

By Greg Wyshynski • In Round 1,967,000 of the Alexander Ovechkin/Sidney Crosby Wars, Japers doesn't agree that the Pittsburgh Penguins star should be drafted ahead of the Washington Capitals star in fantasy hockey. Meh, we'd take Stortini over both those bums. [Japers Rink]