Final
Thrashers-Lightning Preview
Mar 6, 2010 - 1:42 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS WriterAtlanta (28-24-10) at Tampa Bay (26-26-11), 7:30 p.m. EDT
It has been a month since the Atlanta Thrashers traded away the player who holds nearly every offensive franchise record, but they're not having problems scoring goals.
Offense has never come easily for Atlanta, however, against Antero Niittymaki.
The Thrashers look to continue their unlikely playoff push with a third straight victory Saturday night against the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning, who will likely have Niittymaki in net as the goalie tries to improve to 17-0-0 against Atlanta.
The Thrashers figured to have a hard time replacing Ilya Kovalchuk's offense when they dealt the team's longtime goals and points leader to New Jersey on Feb. 4.
But after losing its first game without the Russian, Atlanta has averaged 4.0 goals during a 4-0-2 stretch that straddled the Olympic break. The team has won twice since the NHL resumed play, moving into an eighth-place tie in the Eastern Conference with the New York Rangers and Montreal.
"I think we feel good about ourselves," Atlanta coach John Anderson said. "I don't know if it's momentum or confidence or maybe a little bit of both. If we can keep on this roll the playoffs are right there."
The Thrashers (28-24-10) scored four goals in the first 15 minutes of their 6-3 win over the New York Islanders on Thursday night, getting major contributions from some of their newcomers.
Niclas Bergfors, acquired from the Devils in the Kovalchuk trade, had his fourth goal in seven games with the Thrashers and added an assist, while Evgeny Artyukhin and Clarke MacArthur each scored in his Atlanta debut after trade deadline deals.
"I thought that we had instant chemistry with the new guys. That's a hard thing to find," Anderson said. "If you score a couple of goals for your new team, it endears you right away."
Atlanta has scored a power-play goal in each of its last four games, but it is 0 for 15 with the man advantage in its last four meetings with the Lightning, going 0-2-2 in that stretch since a season-opening 6-3 win over Tampa Bay.
Niittymaki was in net for three of those Lightning wins to continue his amazing run against the Thrashers. He's won all 16 career appearances against Atlanta dating back to his days with Philadelphia, compiling a 1.74 goals-against average.
The Lightning (26-26-11) badly need another victory from Niittymaki, who has a 6.92 GAA in his last three starts overall. Tampa Bay lost its final three games before the Olympics and its first two after the break, slipping to 11th in the East, three points behind Atlanta.
The deficiency has been clear for the Lightning, who have allowed five or more goals in each game during the skid, which would match their longest of the season with one more defeat.
"I don't know, I really don't know," Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said after a 5-4 loss at Washington on Thursday. "You've got to block a shot or dive to get the puck out of your own end. Bite the puck to get it out of your own end. We need those types of players. There are five or six guys that are costing us right now."
Steven Stamkos is probably not one of the players who has drawn Tocchet's ire. The 20-year-old phenom has five goals in his last four games, extending his franchise-record points streak to 15 games.
- -------------------------------------------
Atlanta
1 1 0 --2
Tampa Bay 3 1 2 --6
-------------------------------------------
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Atlanta, Nicklas Bergfors 18 (Bryan
Little, Nikolai Antropov), 03:22. 2, Tampa Bay, Martin St. Louis 23
(Steven Stamkos, Steve Downie), 08:47. 3, Tampa Bay, Steven Stamkos 39
(power play) (Kurtis Foster, Martin St.
Mar 6 10:08 PM - -------------------------------------------
Atlanta
1 1 0 --2
Tampa Bay 3 1 2 --6
-------------------------------------------
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Atlanta, Nicklas Bergfors 18 (Bryan
Little, Nikolai Antropov), 03:22. 2, Tampa Bay, Martin St. Louis 23
(Steven Stamkos, Steve Downie), 08:47. 3, Tampa Bay, Steven Stamkos 39
(power play) (Kurtis Foster, Martin St.
Mar 6 10:07 PM - --------------------------------------
Atlanta
1 1 --2
Tampa Bay 3 1 --4
--------------------------------------
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Atlanta, Nicklas Bergfors 18 (Bryan
Little, Nikolai Antropov), 03:22. 2, Tampa Bay, Martin St. Louis 23
(Steven Stamkos, Steve Downie), 08:47. 3, Tampa Bay, Steven Stamkos 39
(power play) (Kurtis Foster, Martin St. Louis), 13:06. 4, T
Mar 6 9:11 PM - ---------------------------------
Atlanta
1 --1
Tampa Bay 3 --3
---------------------------------
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Atlanta, Nicklas Bergfors 18 (Bryan
Little, Nikolai Antropov), 03:22. 2, Tampa Bay, Martin St. Louis 23
(Steven Stamkos, Steve Downie), 08:47. 3, Tampa Bay, Steven Stamkos 39
(power play) (Kurtis Foster, Martin St. Louis), 13:06. 4, Tampa Bay,
Paul Szcze
Mar 6 8:17 PM
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