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Gameday: Islanders at Thrashers

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Hopefully the Thrashers are well-rested after the All Star break because they have some work to do. After a strong start to the season, the Thrashers lost a lot of ground during the months of December and January. For several weeks, the Thrashers were sitting in the middle of the Eastern Conference playoff pack, but now they're just barely in 8th.

Luckily, the scheduling gods have given the Thrashers an opportunity to move up in the standings. In February, the Thrashers play 11 games against teams that combine to a single game under 0.500. That's incredibly low and a great opportunity to make up ground.

Also helpful? Tonight marks the re-return of Evander Kane. This Thrashers team plays noticeably different without Kane in the lineup and he'll be needed to make the most of the month.

Ideally, we'll see the Thrashers go 3 or 4 games over 0.500 for the month into the trade deadline. This would put them 8 or 9 games above 0.500 and in solid playoff position. 6-3-2 is my rough guideline for the difference between us as buyers and sellers: if we can't pick up 14 points this month, I'm not sure it's worth paying dearly for extra pieces.

Here's your stats box from NHL.com:

STATS
49 GP 52
15 W 24
27 L 19
7 OT 9
37 P 57
0.378 P% 0.548
2.41 G/G 2.86
3.22 GA/G 3.08
17.6 PP% 20.4
82.5 PK% 76.0
28.4 S/G 30.4
32.6 SA/G 34.4
51.5 FO% 49.4