It's a bird ... it's a plane ... no, it is a bird.
I know, sometimes it's a little difficult to recognize that logo on the center of the Atlanta Thrashers' chest, but regardless of their outfit, the team is flying up the standings.
After a horrific start to the season, the Thrashers are now one of the most dangerous opponents in the NHL.
Just 3-8-0 after the month of October, the Thrashers finally started to flap their wings over the past month. Since December 13th, they have pieced together a 9-2-2 run.
With a brief holdout from superstar forward Ilya Kovalchuk and incessant injuries to every Thrashers goaltender, it was reasonable for the team to start the season as sluggishly as they did.
But now that rookie goaltender Michael Garnett has found his game and Kari Lehtonen, the team's original starter, has recovered from a groin injury, the Thrashers have become more consistent.
There were never any concerns about the Thrashers' offensive prowess. They have scored the third-most goals in the NHL and their power play percentage (21.8%) is also ranked third overall. With forwards Marc Savard, Ilya Kovalchuk, Slava Kozlov, Peter Bondra, and Marian Hossa, it is pretty evident that the Thrashers can light up the lamp.
The trepidations have always been in regards to how the Thrashers perform in their own defensive end. In the franchise's existence, they have never really had a reliable goaltender, but the Garnett and Lehtonen tandem looks to be the best combination of backstops yet.
It is no coincidence that the Thrashers have caught fire of late. They have won four of their last five games and Lehtonen has played in all of them, allowing an average of 2.8 goals per game. The math is simple: Atlanta averages 3.6 goals per game on offense and if they allow less than three goals per game on consistent basis, they will likely win.
Lehtonen has been tabbed as the Thrashers' top goalie and the man of the future, but Garnett has been a pleasant surprise. In his first 13 NHL starts, Garnett posted a 3.69 GAA while he was getting his feet wet. Since then, his stellar play has propelled the Thrashers into the playoff hunt, as his GAA is a sparkling 2.00 in his past seven starts.
The Thrashers are a very young team who is just starting to climb to their peak. Head coach Bob Hartley can be credited for turning the potential into a credible on-ice product and he will likely be one of the favorites for the Jack Adams Award at the end of the year
Atlanta has yet to venture into the postseason but now that they have found a scoring punch, a reliable goaltender and a smart coach, they seem poised to make their first appearance. Their blue line may be a little thin on talent, but even so, I don't think they are an enviable first-round opponent.
The Atlanta Thrashers and the NHL playoffs mix like Mondays and me.
"Adventure is not outside a man, it is within." — David Grayson
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