Atlanta Thrashers At New York Rangers: Woo, National Broadcast!

Exciting. A meaningless game for Atlanta that they might very well implode in. Let's highlight it on national TV so everyone can laugh.

Actually, I'm sure that the intent is to show the Rangers clawing for their playoff lives against the Carolina Hurricanes. As Puck Daddy points out, the fate of the Eastern Conference's 8th place apparently rides on us. So, basically, we could throw the game Friday, win tonight, and help the Canes get into the playoffs. While the thought of three Southeast Division teams in the playoffs makes me laugh - a lot - I'd really rather not see the Thrashers throw any games. Or suck as badly as they did Tuesday. Hell, I'd like to see them finish the season above .500? Why is that always so much to ask with this team?

Fun fact: Dustin Byfuglien can break Ilya Kovalchuk's record for shots in a season. So, yay. Here's your NHL.com statistical match-up for the evening:

	STATS
79	GP	80
33	W	43
34	L	32
12	OT	5
78	P	91
0.494	P%	0.569
2.68	G/G	2.74
3.18	GA/G	2.38
18.2	PP%	17.1
77.5	PK%	83.5
31.6	S/G	29.9
32.4	SA/G	29.5
48.8	FO%	47.5