A few updates

I apologize for the lack of updates. I didn't really expect to be able to have daily updates and game recaps all the time, but I should be able to be less sporadic, at least over a week.

I'll have a full blog up tonight with my latest rambles from The Bulb, including Kovalchuk trade talks and Lehtonen's AHL assignment.

Atlanta is 2-2 in last four (since I last blogged) and there's nothing bad about that. A big 2-1 win over the Ducks last night that featured a 34-save performance by Johan Hedberg.

More to come tonight.

Mitch

Game Recap: Thrashers vs. Panthers

Panthers 1, Thrashers 0

Man, what a crappy way to start this blog.

I thought maybe Atlanta would sneak out a win in this one and give me something good to blog about in my first recap.

Not so much.

Instead, the Thrashers (21-20-7) let the Panthers jump over them in the division standings, pushing Atlanta back to third in the Southeast. So not only is this team losing ground in the conference, but now it can't even keep it's head above water in arguably the worst division in the NHL.

The Panthers (21-20-8) are now a single win away from cracking the top eight for first time in what seems like eons.

And these losses hurt the worst. One-goal losses are at least kind of bittersweet when it goes past regulation, salvaging a loser point.

But when your offense can't even manage a single goal in 60 minutes of hockey, while the other team only needs one for the win, it only makes you realize how one decision change could have made the night a lot different.

But it's not all that bad. The nights have been worse.

This could be a completely different tone of post if Atlanta had been struggling to score for a couple of games. Saturday's 5-3 win over Carolina reassures us that the offense is still there, and that tonight's game was nothing more than a solid outing by Panthers goalie Tomas Vokoun, who had 27 saves for his fifth shutout of the season.

Of course, the Thrashers were outshot, as usual. But only by a small margin. 27-24 to be exact. Atlanta had a small surge with 14 shots on goal in the third period, so something was going right. Once again, nothing more than Vokoun playing solid hockey.

But props as well to Johan Hedberg playing solid goal at the other end. 26 saves is a relatively easy night for an Atlanta goalie.

Other things:

Both teams sucked on the power play. A game total of 0-for-7, which is a surprise, seeing how Atlanta and Florida are 21st and 22nd, respectively, in the NHL on the penalty kill.

Eric Boulton had four shots on goal. Probably because he's getting more playing time with offensive-minded players, now that he's been broken up from Chris Thorburn and Jim Slater. But there's no reason that he should be the high shooter for the night.

Slater was good on the faceoff. Winning seven draws. As for a team total, Florida had a 27-20 advantage. Tsk tsk.

A typical goalie's game. Vokoun and Hedberg both played well, and a small miss on Moose's part ended up being the difference maker. Shit happens.

With Toronto in town tomorrow night, Ondrej Pavelec will likely get the start. He's been hot as of late; his GAA is under 2 the last three games. But at this point, you can't make any assumptions about the goaltenders. Pavelec has been known to ruin his hot streak with awful games.

I'm out. Bed awaits.

Mitch

And so it begins...

I always told myself I'd do something like this.

Become a blogger for one specific team that I could go on and on and on about. A beat blogger, if you will.

I tried it on my personal blog (which is here, by the way), but then if I wanted to delve into something about my personal life and not sports, the varying entries would awkwardly offset each other.

Well here, it's nothing but Thrashers hockey. Probably too much Thrashers hockey. The one thing I probably know too much about. Believe it or not, there are Thrashers fans out there that have a strong following for this suffering NHL franchise. Believe it or not, there are Thrasher fans.

And despite the hard times, I've sat through it all. Sometimes laughed, mostly cried (or just left the room and stopped caring). And now, after ten years of just being "another fan," I'm sitting through it all, with a blog in front of me.

So what are my credentials?

I'm a who-knows-what-year senior at the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!), majoring in Journalism with a concentration in Newspapers-

No, you don't have to remind it's a dying industry. Print is suffering, yes, but a whole new world of online journalism is gaining epic ground every year.

-Anyways, I'm also taking some classes to get an interdisciplinary certificate in New Media. This basically means I know how to use the web for media-related purposes, something that will probably not likely take me far in terms of careers if once I actually graduate.

In terms of fan experience (wouldn't that be something to put on a resume?), I have followed Atlanta Thrashers hockey since the team came to life in 1997, then began play in 1999. As a chubby six-grader, my Dad and a couple of his colleagues split season tickets for the inaugural season, and I've been hooked ever since. Since then, I've been to more games than I can count.

Now an old man of 21, hockey is the one sport that I just can't pry myself away from. And give me extra props for sitting through the 10 years of almost complete garbage that has become the Thrashers.

So as a hopeful sportswriter, it's time to put my thoughts on imaginary Internet paper and get to work.

Should you choose to commit (and you, as in, the zero people who are reading at this point), keep these things in mind as you go along:

1. I will post often, but I can't obsess over this thing. Remember, I'm in college. I have to study and drink occasionally. I might be a few days late on big news. But once I deliver, I can guarantee entertainment and good web times.

2. I don't go to games as often as I used to. Once again, I'm in college. It's hard enough to get out of Athens. Therefore, if you want a play-by-play breakdown, I'm not your man. If you want some decent post-game analysis based on overall observations and statistical analysis, then we're set. When I go to games, I'll probably live tweet. My twitter is here. Feel free to follow.

3. I will sometimes rely on stats alone. Yeah, yeah. It's a major no-no on HF Boards, but if I can't get to a TV or a live stream, I'll be breaking down stats and watching highlights. And yes, I completely understand hockey numbers.

4. Yes, the three facts above may negate me as a die-hard fan. But dammit, I love this sport. And I love this team. And I have opinions. Every Thrashers fan has opinions with how much we suffer through.

And so today begins what will hopefully be a collective and intriguing adventure into the the thicket of Atlanta Thrashers hockey.

Enjoy.