Chris O'Meara - AP

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Watching the Thrashers last night was pretty rough. In fact, I nearly turned the game off, and I almost never think about turning off a live hockey game.

It was a night where not a whole lot went right for the Thrashers: they were beat at even-strength, they were beat at special teams, they were beat on a penalty shot. They lost an important game to a division rival that clearly wanted the win more. After a strong start, the Thrashers ended up on a couple successive penalty kills and just never regained momentum.

In a game where the Thrashers were outscored 4-2 at even-strength, the "180 Line" of Little - Antropov - Bergfors ended up as a +3 with 3 points (that's +1, 1 point each) and a total of 12 shots.

12 shots! Compare that to the Peverley line (6 shots, -5, 1 point total) and the Kane/Artyukhin-Slater-Armstrong line (4 shots, -2, 2 points between the 4)... Clearly the Thrashers have found a solid top line. More on these guys after the jump...

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Gregory Smith - AP

Atlanta Thrashers defenseman Ron Hainsey, center, jumps to avoid a save off the stick of Thrashers goaltender Johan Hedberg (1) of Sweden, against Florida Panthers center Michael Frolik (67) of the Czech Republic. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

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Atlanta Thrashers		New York Islanders
Philips Arena
7:00PM
TV: None
Radio: 680 the FAN
SBNation: Game page, Lighthouse Hockey
TSN Coverage
Johan Hedberg		Dwayne Roloson
(15-9-5, .917% 2.54)		(20-13-6, .909 2.86)

Be like Mike Ron. Hit the jump for notes.

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Thrashers got their 1st ever regulation win up in Minnesota last night. If you missed the game, it was yet another "heart in your throat" affair as the team's playoff chances hung in the balance. After blowing a 3-1 against the Avalanche, the Thrashers were desperate for points as their rivals begin to win their contests. The 2 point win puts their playoff odds at 38%--a loss would have dropped them down to just 25%.

Highlights of the win over the Wild included a standout performance by defenseman Pavel Kubina, who played almost half of the game (26+ minutes) and picked up 2 assists. He had a great defensive play to break up a dangerous rush and on several occasions used his big body to hold pucks in the offensive zone.

The Little-Antro-Bergfors line continued to be very good with crisp passing and good pressure. Bergfors continues to show some terrific hands. He reminds me a bit of Slava Kozlov in his prime in that he holds the puck to the last possible second and then makes a clean pass to spring a teammate. Bergfors ended up getting the game winner on a shot he placed just under the blocker side crossbar.

Other heroes included Armstrong who made a nice dish to Evander Kane who showed a NHL release as his one-timer beat Backstrom. Late in the third, Minnesota made a push to get the game tied. The referees basically put away the whistle and chose not to call a trip against Minnesota, then the Thrashers Kane got away with a hit on Minnesota's goalie--which also went uncalled--until Ron Hainsey scored into the half empty net and THEN the whistle came out. The refs never should have stopped calling penalties, but they realized they were going to get in trouble with their supervisor for letting that one go and changed the standard with just 2 minutes left in the period. 

The Thrashers were then facing a 2 minute kill for the rest of the period--plus MIN could pull their goalie and make it a 2 skater advantage. But just 14 seconds into the PK, the Thrashers put forth a huge effort to clear the zone and Chris Thorburn was burning time off the clock deep in the Wild zone and a MIN player stupidly cross-checked him and refs called it to even up the man power--game over.

It was personal redemption for Chris Thorburn who made two mistakes on one shift which allowed MIN to tie the match. It was also team redemption for the Thrashers who really wilted in the last 10 minutes against Colorado. I remember Marty Reasoner, Ron Hainsey and Kubina working extremely hard to preserve the lead. Coach Anderson also shortened his bench at D and did not play Bogosian and Kulda the final 7 minutes while protecting the lead.

It was far from a perfect performance by the Thrashers. The Power Play looked poor at times and Todd White continues to play ahead of Evander Kane and Bergfors for some reason I cannot fathom. But they did what they had to do to win and the effort level was good throughout the contest. Rookie Arturs Kulda looked like a veteran in his first NHL game with a couple of quality hits and good positional defense. He looked better than Valabik in my opinion and if he plays like that every game, pencil him into your Opening Night line up for the 2010-11 season.

Tonight the Thrashers take on the Blackhawks. On paper, this is huge mis-match as the Hawks are favored by many to win the Stanley Cup playoffs and the Thrashers are scratching and clawing just to qualify for the post season. The Hawks are deep and talented. But the game is hugely important for Atlanta. A win pushes the Thrashers post-season odds up to 48% and a loss drops them down to 33%. Simply put, a 2 point win would be enormous for the club's playoff aspirations.

Hopefully, the Hawks will be looking ahead to the Olympic break and the Thrashers might be able to sneak up on them. The Thrashers best hope of victory is to play in the other team's end and keep the Chicago offense bottled up. Since the Kovalchuk trade the Thrashers have done much better in keeping the shot ratio competitive. In the post Kovy Era they are winning the shot battle 139-133 which is a big improvement.

Scoreboard Watching: ATL's playoff odds are improved if the the following teams win: PHI, FLA and NYR.

Head over to Second City Hockey for their gamethread/preview.

John Amis - AP

about 1 month ago: Atlanta Thrashers center Evander Kane (9) skates to an unattended goal as Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov (43), of Russia, makes a diving attempt to defend during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010, in Atlanta. Atlanta won 4-2. (AP Photo/John Amis)

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Atlanta Thrashers		Colorado Avalanche
Pepsi Center
9:00PM
TV: SportSouth
Radio: 680 the FAN
SBNation: Game page, Mile High Hockey
TSN Coverage
Johan Hedberg		Craig Anderson
(13-9-4, .916% 2.52)		(29-15-5, .925 2.21)

Jump for game notes.

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Wilfredo Lee - AP

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		v.
Atlanta Thrashers				Florida Panthers
Philips Arena
7:00PM
TV: (none) Radio: 680 the FAN
SBNation: Game page, Litter Box Cats
Johan Hedberg				Tomas Vokoun
(12-9-4, .916% 2.54)				(19-18-9, .932 2.33)

T-Day +2.

Jump for game notes.

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Neil Davidson - AP

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Tonight's another meeting of two Russian superstars. Tonight your new-look Atlanta Thrashers travel to Washington DC to take on the Capitals. Without Ilya Kovalchuk. I have absolutely no idea what to think.

Guys, writing a game preview at this point is a futile exercise. I don't know what the line combos will be. We know that Niclas Bergfors and Johnny Oduya will play. They will wear their old numbers (18 and 29, respectively.) Outside of that, I simply don't know what to say.

I'm creating this topic so we have a place to discuss the game. I probably won't be watching live (I usually let it run for about 30 minutes on DVR so I can fast-forward through the commercials... sorry, sponsors...) so you'll hear from me after the game. And, I assume, the rest of the BWA writers.

Game's at 7. Go Thrashers!

Gregory Smith - AP

5 months ago: Atlanta Thrashers forward Rich Peverley, left, celebrates goal as Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Paul Ranger (54) skates through during the second period, of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009, at Philips Arena, in Atlanta. Peverley had two goals for the night as the Thrashers went on to win 6-3. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

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		v.
Atlanta Thrashers				Tampa Bay Lightning
Philips Arena
7:00PM
TV: SportSouth   Radio: 680 the FAN
SBNation:  Game Page, Raw Charge
TSN Coverage
Ondrej Pavelec				Antero Niittymaki
(12-13-4 .903% 3.47)				(12-9-5, .916% 2.53)

Games don't come much bigger than this. Why? Find out after the jump.

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Gregory Smith - AP

3 months ago: Philadelphia Flyers center Mike Richards (18) goes to the ice as he collides with Atlanta Thrashers forward Maxim Afinogenov, rear, of Russia, during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009, at Philips Arena, in Atlanta. The Thrashers won 1-0. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

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		v.
Atlanta Thrashers				Philadelphia Flyers
Wachovia Center
7:00PM
TV: SportSouth   Radio: 680 the FAN
SBNation:  Game Page, Broad St. Hockey
TSN Coverage
Johan Hedberg				Ray Emery
(11-8-4 .917% 2.46)				(14-10-1, .902% 2.75)

Philly hosts Atlanta. Watch for flying elbows Flyers. Jump for game notes.

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Francis Specker - AP

about 1 month ago: Anaheim Ducks' Kyle Chipchura, left, wipes the blood from his nose as he is escorted off the ice by linesman Mark Wheeler after fighting Calgary Flames' Eric Nystrom during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010.(AP Photo/Francis Specker)

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Before we get to the standard game preview stuff, I wanted to return to a question I asked at the end of December: should we be worried about the Thrashers? (For reference: A Long December for the Thrashers) At the time, they were falling precipitously in the standings.

January hasn't been much better. The Thrashers are 4-4-4 this month - I had to double-check my counts, but that's correct - and hopes of a second playoff berth for this franchise are dimming every game. Folks, 0.500 hockey will not get us into the post-season.

Some Thrashers stats for January, just in case you thought things were going better now than in December:

• Power Play: 5-for-55, or about 9%
• Penalty Kill: 37-for-47, or about 79%
• Games with 2 Goals Scored or Less: 7 of 12
• Games with 3 Goals Allowed or More: 7 of 12
• Average Attendance at Philips: 11,326 (or 61% of capacity)
• Average Attendance at Philips excluding the Washington Capitals Game: 10,238 (or 55% of capacity)
• Games Against Teams Currently Outside the Playoffs: 6 of 12
• Record in Those Games: 2-2-2

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Gerry Broome - AP

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Let's face it, the Hurricanes have earned a downgrade. At 14-27-7, they're last in the NHL. They've already begun to ask players with no-trade clauses to waive them. They've faced the Thrashers twice this season and lost both games. In the first, the Thrashers led what has been their greatest comeback victory of the year. In the second, scoring was neck-and-neck: Atlanta took the early lead, but Carolina tied it up, only to give up 2 goals and find themselves behind... before tying it up... before giving up 2 more goals.

Admittedly, the Canes have played near-0.500 hockey since week 6 or so, but with such a precipitous fall to begin the season, they're practically already eliminated from the playoffs.

The preview continues after the jump...

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