A Long Weekend

After starting out with such promise the Atlanta Thrashers have hit a considerable road bump as of late that has apparently shaken their confidence and penalty kill in equal measure. Since we last spoke the Blue Birds have lost two out of three games whilst being outscored 15-9, that’s an average of 5 goals conceded over that period with Ondrej Pavelec in net for most of that time (more on him later). An alarming stat I saw is that in the two losses, to Carolina and Toronto respectively, the Thrashers have conceded 7 power play goals which even a relative hockey novice like myself knows is not a good thing. I’m sure someone with a better understanding of the game will be able to explain why the Thrashers have struggled so mightily when facing superior numbers against these two teams but, to the untrained eye over here at Birds and Braves, this penalty capitulation coincides with Coach Ramsay having to deal for the first time this season with a raft of injuries, the latest of which has seen Evander Kane heading to injured reserve. The constant line shifting and player movement appears to have upset what was becoming great chemistry in the Thrashers locker room. This is not to say that players suddenly don’t like each other but, when faced with playing next to an unfamiliar face, players tend to alter their games just a tiny bit to make up for the unfamiliarity, this happens in any sport. The best thing Ramsay can do to rectify the struggling penalty kill D is practice and lots of it!

The other issue that seems to have arisen from the ashes of the lost weekend is the toll this season has put on Pavelec. This is a net minder that slid from second best Goals Against Average in the league last week to now sitting at number nine on that same list. Before Friday night Pavelec’s save percentage in individual games had been below .900 only five times: November 11^th against Pittsburgh and then four times in December on the 2^nd, 10^th, 23^rd and 28^th twice against those same Penguins and once each against Boston and Colorado. Friday and Sunday marked the first time this year he was sub-.900 in consecutive games with Friday being the low point when he only managed a .792 mark. In my mind a lot of Pav’s horror weekend can be attributed to his heroic season prior to seeing the Maple Leafs. I am going to fully honest and admit I haven’t been able to apply the eyeball test to Pavelec as much as I would have liked but statistics do tell a lot of the story (as all Baseball fans will tell you). Currently Ondrej has faced 977 shots in 31 appearances on the ice which is the fifth most in the NHL, his save percentage against this bombardment sits at second whilst he is fifteenth amongst goalies in time on the ice. Basically Pavelec is being worked harder in less time than 90% of the other goalies in the NHL and also working a lot better than 98% of them. Having seen some of the performances he has produced this season, the win against Washington on December 4^th springs to mind, it is important for Craig Ramsay to make sure his potential superstar healthy and fresh until April in order to keep the Birds in the play-off picture. Health providing, and this weekend notwithstanding, Pavelec should still be on the cusp of joining and short list in the long debate for who is the best goalie in the NHL.