It's time for your daily links:

• Analysis From The Press Box: Leafs 4, Thrashers 2
• AJC: Sloppy play and turnovers lead to third straight loss
• Toronto Sun: Kovalchuk on a tear
• Chicago Herald: Lehtonen's return to Wolves successful
• Video Highlights
• AP: Game Recap
• Globe and Mail: Southern comfort
• The Villanovan: Fired coaches aren't the only things heating up ice
• NHL.com: Board of governors approves new schedule format
• NHL.com: Sale of Predators approved by league

As for the game last night- there are three things I saw that shouldn't be that hard to fix. First- there were too many mistakes and sloppy passes in the neutral zone and at Toronto's blueline. They led to turnovers and those turnovers led to goals. Second- the forwards and the defense aren't helping each other out. When the Thrashers are playing well the two groups are in sync and the forwards are ready for outlet passes form the defense when they dig the puck out of the corners or out from behind the net. Last night the forwards were waiting for passes instead of putting themselves in positions that made those passes possible. Toronto's forwards parked themselves between our defense and forwards and picked off passes all night long. Third- when you know your opponent gave up 5 goals on 17 shots in their previous game, why would you only put 20 shots on goal? Toronto only had 8 blocked shots, so it's not as if nothing was getting through. League-wide about 9% of shots find the back of the net. You can't expect to score more than 2 goals if you only take 20-25 shots night after night. The Thrashers are 26th in the league in shots per game and 29th in shots against per game. Those two stats are pretty telling at this point.

Darren Haydar is playing for the first time since November 1 and Johan Hedberg is getting the start in goal as expected. Somebody had to sit to make room for Haydar so Brad Larsen will join Steve McCarthy as a healthy scratch. As Waddell said this morning after the skate, if Darren Haydar is in the lineup he needs to be used in a scoring role. Putting him in Larsen's spot beside Holik and Dupuis doesn't really accomplish that so there's been a bit of line juggling. Here's what you should see tonight:

Kovalchuk- White- Hossa
Perrin- Little- Haydar (I might have the wingers reversed- Perrin can play both sides and I think Haydar can as well)
Kozlov- Holik- Dupuis
Boulton- Slater Thorburn

Havelid- Enstrom
Klee- Exelby
Zhitnik- Popovic

Hedberg
Pavelec

Here is video of some of what Waddell had to say.

A lot of the Toronto media were asking players if they see similarities between Toronto's situation and the one the Thrashers were in at the beginning of the season when they were 0-6. Nobody really wanted to bite and talk about another team but Hossa pointed out that Toronto is desperate for a win. I see a lot of similarities between tonight and last week's game against the Caps. Toronto is just as desperate as Washington was but the Capitals pretty much folded. I don't see the Leafs doing the same thing, and they could be dangerous with their backs against the wall. The good news is that their goaltending has been suspect lately, so hopefully scoring won't be an issue for the Thrashers.

Some other tidbits:

• This week's board of governors meeting is the first one Waddell has missed since joining the Thrashers. He says he misses it, especially since it's in Pebble Beach, but he knows his work here is more important right now. Bruce Levenson is representing the team at the meetings where the schedule is the biggest topic. there may or may not be a vote on a new schedule format before things wrap up tomorrow.
• Ilya said he's enjoying getting time on the penalty kill. It's not a role he's used to in the NHL but he said that his teams in Russia always rolled four lines and everyone got time in each role, so he killed penalties back then.
• There were plenty of inquiries about Tobias Enstrom who is getting mentioned as a potential rookie of the year. He might not outscore Patrick Kane in Chicago but you could argue he's playing a more important role in Atlanta.

First your daily links, then the morning skate update in another post.

• AJC: Wins cause pair to lose ice time
• AP: Thrashers/Leafs preview
• Globe and Mail: Obscurity suits Waddell fine (Note: anything outside of Toronto, Montreal and New York is considered obscure to the Toronto media)
• Toronto Sun: Thrashers can laugh again
• SI.com: Early contenders for NHL awards

Please read the official rules and regulations for the contest before entering and be aware that you will have to sign and return a form or two if you are selected. You also must be 18 years of age to win Submit your answers (thrashers.mailbag@atlantaspirit.com), and check back at 2:00 p.m. for the answer and to see if you've won!

Thank you to The Thomas Eye Group for sponsoring this year's trivia contest.

Abbreviated rules:
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. The Blueland Blog Trivia Contest sponsored by Thomas Eye Group (the "Contest") is open to legal residents of the U.S. and Georgia who are at least 18 years of age at the time of entry, reside within 75 miles of Philips Arena and have Internet access as of the date and time the Contest was first made known to the public. Subject to additional terms and conditions of the Official Rules. Click here for Official Rules . One (1) entry per person per Entry Period. Entry Period is from 10AM EST to 2PM EST each Thrashers home game day. Odds of winning depend on number of correct entries received. Total AMV of prizes: $2,378. Void wherever prohibited. Entry forms must be filled out in full. Contest ends April 5, 2008 at 2:00 PM EST.

Time for your daily links:

• Chicagowolves.com: Lehtonen shines in Wolves victory
• AJC: Blocked shots and sore ankles add up
• Daily Herald: Wolves beat Quad City behind Lehtonen
• Chicago Sun-Times: Homecoming victory for Lehtonen
• ESPN.com: NHL award front-runners
• CP: Weekly NHL rankings

The Sporting News has an interesting article on their site (hat tip to James Mirtle) about people posing as NHL players on MySpace and Facebook. After recent events involving player pictures being posted online the NHL has decided to go around to the teams and hold workshops on the dangers of the internet. If you go on Facebook or Myspace it isn't hard to find pages set up by people claiming to be pro athletes and the Thrashers haven't been immune. Profiles for Kari Lehtonen and Marian Hossa have recently been flagged as fraudulent and have been removed.

So if you're digging around and come across a page for Ilya Kovalchuk or another NHL superstar, odds are it isn't them. To the best of our knowledge none of our roster players have legitimate profiles on either Myspace of Facebook.

The Thrashers had Sunday and Monday off, so it has been pretty quiet on the blog front. I spent yesterday afternoon at the Georgia Aquarium with Marian Hossa and Ondrej Pavelec and a group of very excited, very energetic kids who were touring the Aquarium as part of Hossa's Heroes. You'll hear more about that later this week when we recap some of the community events the guys are involved in this week.

Aside form that there's not much to report. We should be getting another All-Star update today and hopefully you folks have been doing your part and push Ilya higher than 7th. Keep voting. 

Here are your daily links:

• AJC: Where is Kovalchuk?
• AJC: Lehtonen to rehab in Chicago
• Gwinnett Daily Post: Lehtonen to make conditioning start
• Yahoo Sports: Positive changes

We didn't do any daily link updates over the Thanksgiving holidays, so we've got an extra big dose for you today in case you need to catch up on your hockey news from the last 4-5 days.

• CBS: GM stays behind the bench to right the ship in Atlanta
• AJC: A natural selection; Tobias Enstrom feature (I highly recommend this one)
• AJC: Inside the NHL
• AJC: Thrashers Report- Hossa talks progressing
• AJC: Penguins 5, Thrashers 0
• AJC: Devils 3, Thrashers 0
• Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Kovalchuk finding the net
• CBS Sportsline: Quarter season awards
• ESPN: Reviewing the first quarter- Eastern Conference | Western Conference
• Vancouver Sun: First quarter review
• Winnipeg Sun: NHL Saturday
• ESPN: Player rankings

After an utterly depressing start there's plenty for Thrashers fans to be thankful for today. Here's what I'm thankful for today:

• A rejuvenated team
• Smiles in the locker room instead of downcast faces
• A certain Russian sniper that has averaged well over a goal per game in November
• Rookies thriving at every position- a Canadian up front, a Swede and Canadian on the blueline and a Czech in goal
• A Thrashers team that has forgotten how to quit
• Four distinct lines that know their roles and execute night after night
• A bright future with names like Holzapfel, LaVallee, Machacek, Pospisil, Valabik, Lewis, Denny, Pavelec and a spell check program that knows them all
• Stars that have been shining bright in front of the home crowd
• Reliable goaltending that doesn't make my heart-rate increase every time the opposition has the puck within 30 feet of our net
• Nic Havelid playing like we knew he could
• Newcomers like Eric Perrin, Todd White and Ken Klee who have jumped right in and made themselves right at home in Thrashers jerseys
• A GM that knew what this team needed to get back on track
• Assistant coaches that have made the game fun again for the players
  
• A Thrashers fan base that makes Blueland an intimidating place to play no matter how many people are in the stands
• An arena that feels like home every time I walk through the doors
• Being back in playoff contention way earlier than anyone could have hoped
• Marian Hossa looking like he's having the time of his life
• Owners that are going to make sure Hossa keeps having fun in Atlanta for years to come. Right?
  
• An All-Star Game in our building in just two months
• An almost certain All-Star Game roster spot for Ilya Kovalchuk
• Fans that are going to vote Ilya into the starting lineup
• Future All-Star berths for Bryan Little, Toby Enstrom and Ondrej Pavelec
• Everything I've learned and will learn from working with some of the best people in hockey
• Dedicated readers that keep coming back
• Having one of the best jobs in the world

What would you add to the list?

5-1 Thrashers. That's a whooping folks, even if it did come against the team with the worst record in the NHL. In case you were wondering, that's the largest margin of victory so far this season for the Thrashers. The win moves the Thrashers to 11-10 overall, 7-6-0 on the road and into a tie for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta finishes their stretch of eight straight Southeast Division games with an incredible 7-1-0 record.

Remember back when I said we'd back above .500 by Dec. 8? Well, I might have underestimated this team. Now the question is if they can keep it up over their next eight games to stay above .500. It won't be easy since the schedule is made up of games against New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Toronto, the Islanders, New Jersey again, the Islanders again, the Rangers and Washington. That's a tough stretch.

Enough of that though- how about that win? A four point night for Kovy (and a +3 rating), three assists from Toby Enstrom, two-point nights for Perrin and Hossa, five blocked shots by Garnet Exelby, 31 saves by Johan Hedberg, 2-4 on the power-play, a long overdue PP goal from the captain... and don't look now Vinny Lecavalier, but Ilya Kovalchuk is only one point behind you and still leads the league in goals. How are more people not voting for this kid to start in the All-Star Game?

Next up- the Devils at home at Philips on Friday (fleece blanket giveaway night) and a road game in Pittsburgh on Saturday. Odds are Ondrej Pavelec will get one of the two starts- which one will it be?

Here are the highlights from our crack PR staff:

* With a 5-1 win tonight at Washington the Thrashers are above .500 for the first time this season with an 11-10-0 record … Atlanta closed out an eight-game stretch of intra-division games with a 7-1-0 mark.

* Ilya Kovalchuk recorded four points (two goals, two assists) tonight and has 29 points (16 goals, 14 assists) in his last 15 contests … He leads the NHL with 19 goals this season.

* Forward Marian Hossa tied a franchise record tonight by recording at least two points in six straight games … Hossa has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in that span and ranks second on the Thrashers with 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 18 games this season.

* Rookie defenseman Tobias Enstrom recorded his first-career multiple-point game (three assists) and leads all Eastern Conference rookies in scoring with 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 21 games … With the win, the Thrashers improved to 9-2-0 when Enstrom tallies at least one point.

* First-year Thrasher Eric Perrin tallied his fourth multi-point game of the season with two points (one goal, one assist) … He is tied for fourth on the Thrashers with 13 points (five goals, eight assists) this year … Defenseman Niclas Havelid recorded his first goal of the season and added an assist for his first multi-point game of the year as well.

* Goaltender Johan Hedberg made his fourth-consecutive start for the Thrashers and made 31 saves on 32 shots for his eighth win of the season … Hedberg has a personal six-game winning streak over his last seven starts and has posted a 2.10 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage in that span dating back to Oct. 27. … Hedberg has allowed only four goals in his last three games combined.

* The Thrashers return home on Friday when the New Jersey Devils visit Blueland for the second time this season … New Jersey defeated the Thrashers 6-5 in their first trip to Atlanta on Oct. 13.

Sadly, the Thrashers are 1-5-1 all-time on Thanksgiving Day or the day after. The lone win was back in 2002 when the Thrashers beat the Rangers at Philips by a score of 7-4. Patrik Stefan scored the game-winner. It's a whole lot easier to talk about the bad trends when we're winning, isn't it? Here's hoping the Thrashers can break the Thanksgiving jinx this season and get a win on Friday against the Devils. Don't forget that it's fleece blanket giveaway night.

Digging a little deeper, last season the Thrashers played on the road the day after Thanksgiving (and lost) but then came home and beat Florida 1-0 thanks to an Ilya Kovalchuk goal (his 16th of the year, so he's on about the same pace now as he was last season) and a Kari Lehtonen shutout. Maybe that was the beginning of the end for the Thanksgiving slide.

Today's trivia winner is John B. whose name I didn't recognize from previous contests so we might have a first-time entrant on our hands. Congrats.

Todd White has flown under the radar so far this season but his strong play between Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa is finally starting to turn heads. Ilya himself referred to him as an "awesome player" after Atlanta's 3-2 overtime win over the Panthers Nov. 12 and suggested that he looks like a 60 goal-scorer after he scored another OT winner last night against Tampa. In his first 13 games White was limited to just six points. Then Don Waddell decided to put Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa on the same line with White between them, and since then the center has eight points (three goals and five assists) in seven games.

I sat down with Todd White a little while ago to find out more about the underappreciated player from Kanata, Ontario that joined the Thrashers on July 1 as an unrestricted free agent.

Looking back at last summer, what were the factors that came into consideration when you were deciding where you wanted to go as an unrestricted free agent?

"Well, I wanted to come to a place where there was a great opportunity to win. They made the playoffs last year and I was following what was happening out east pretty closely. The opportunity to come into an organization that's still growing. I wanted to come back east and I wanted to sign a longer term contract so my family could get settled in one place and kind of integrate into the community. Atlanta provided all of those options for us and it's been great so far"

Did you talk to any other players about the city before you made your decision?

"It happened so quick I didn't really have time to talk to anyone. Going into free agency I had a list of ten places that I'd kind of looked at. You look at the depth charts at your position and evaluate what teams might have a need for someone like you and Atlanta was on that list for me. You talk to different people ahead of time about what it's like to live in a certain city and I'd heard nothing but good things about Atlanta. Everyone told me it's a great city for families."

Who were the people you talked to? Were any of them former or current Thrashers?

"Randy Robitaille was one. Kurtis Foster was another one since I played with both of them in Minnesota. It's not like you really quiz them about the city, but you talk to guys you play with about where you've played and what you've liked and nobody had anything bad to say about Atlanta. Me and my family like it so far."

Heading into the season you were seen as a pretty well-rounded center that plays smart hockey at both ends of the ice. Is that a pretty fair assessment?

"For sure. I try to be a team guy. I want to do whatever it takes to help the team win, whether it's score a goal, prevent a goal or kill a penalty. Whatever the team needs me to do to win. I don't really come into a season with personal goals for myself points-wise. That doesn't matter. I just want to help the team build on what they were able to accomplish last year and hopefully go a little deeper in the playoffs this year."

Is there anyone you modeled your game after when you were younger? Guys that helped shape your game?

"I don't know if I'd call them role models, but two guys who I've always admired the way they are Steve Yzerman and Joe Sakic. I can't compare myself to them of course, but I try to model my game after them and the way they've played."

Versatile two-way centers?

Exactly. I try to be a guy that, you know... In the past I've played with offensive wingers and my job was to take care of the defensive responsibilities for the guy I'm playing with and at the same time help them offensively.

And now you're playing with two of the best offensive wingers in the game. Did you play much with Hossa in Ottawa when you guys were teammates?

A little bit on the penalty kill and once in a while on the power play, but most of the time he played with Radek Bonk when I was there. I played with Alfredsson most of the time, and I had my best years with him. I scored 50 points my first season and 60 my second, and both years I was playing with Alfie.

Who was your other winger those years?

Shawn McEachern was there one year with us and Magnus Arvedsson the other. He had a lot of injury problems that caught up to him after he went out to Vancouver.

Has there been a big adjustment going from playing in defensive system like Minnesota's to being depended on to play on a high-flying offensive line?

I think I'm still trying to play a little bit like in Minnesota now that I'm here, especially playing with Kovy and Hoss. I'm trying to be responsible defensively and be the third guy in a lot of times because they're so good offensively. I just try to do my thing and stay back and help them out when they need it. They're obviously great linemates. They get off a lot of shots so there are lots of chances for me to drive to the net and go for those rebounds, so it's all about reading the situation. When to jump in and when to stay back.

With Kovy signed through a few more years, as well as Slava and the young guys like Bryan Little it looks like there's a decent core in place. Was that appealing to you when you signed this summer?

"For sure. When I talked to my agent before free agency I told him if the choice was between making more money per year or having a longer term contract I'd rather have the longer term contract. I was really happy that Atlanta was willing to give me four years and this is team that's definitely moving in the right direction. Family is a big part of my life and it's important to me to not have to move them around every year. My daughter started kindergarten this year so it was a perfect year for me to settle down and get a long-term deal with an up and coming team."

How many kids do you have?

We have three now. We have a daughter that's five, a daughter that's three and a baby boy that was born just before I signed. My wife is from my home town- we grew up going to high school in Kanata (the suburb of Ottawa where the Senators play).

Growing up in Ontario who was your favorite team? The Senators weren't around back then so it couldn't have been them.

Growing up it was Detroit and Pittsburgh. Detroit had Yzerman and he played some tier two and minor hockey in Ottawa so I liked him a lot. Then Pittsburgh had a lot of offensive fun players to watch and I really liked watching them. They were a lot of fun to watch. I wasn't a Toronto or Montreal fan- believe me.

There aren't many guys on the team you've played with before aside from Marian Hossa, but you did play one game in Sweden with Nic Havelid during the lockout. Do you remember meeting him?

I do actually. When I went over there it was a weird situation. I signed with them the first week of December and they go on a long break over there so I was going to start on the 26th of December. Then right before Christmas my oldest daughter got sick and we took her to the hospital a couple of times and we didn't really know what was going on. But I'd made the commitment to go and I got there and I was just like "What am I dong?" I couldn't be aware from her so I went and practiced with them and I realized I couldn't stay. I told the coach and he asked me to play the one game so I played a game before I went home. But when you go over there you gravitate to the guys the speak English and it's mostly the NHL guys. Havelid was there and Olli Jokinen. Mikael Samuelsson. So there were a few guys. But when I signed here back in July I knew I'd played one game with Nic. It was just him and Hoss.

And there were some NHL guys you played with in college at Clarkson University, right?

Yeah, there were a few of us from those teams. I played a year with Craig Conroy and three years with Chris Clark (now the captain of the Capitals). He was my right winger for my last year. He's doing really well these days. It's fun to see. I'll get to see him on a regular basis now. Then there's Eric Cole. He wasn't there with me but I helped recruit him.

What was the farthest you guys made it when you were at Clarkson?

We were one game away from the final four. One game. We lost out to Colorado College. That was tough because they weren't very good. They were third place on their side and we'd won 19 in a row. Michigan had Morrison and all of those big guys and they were number one in the West and we were number one in the East. We had a bye in the first round and ended up losing bad to Colorado College. They were the fifth ranked team. It was tough.

And then after that you broke into the league as an undrafted player, right. What was that experience like?

There was some interest when I as coming out but Chicago was always the team that showed the most interest, so I signed with them. The first year (1997-98) I had a great year then my second year I went in and whether it was me not having confidence in my ability or me not being ready, I'd have stretches of good game and then stretches where I was up and down and didn't play very much. It took me a lot of time in the minors to learn what it would take to play up here in the NHL on a consistent basis. I don't regret any time I spent in the minors because it made me a better player.

Well things certainly seem to be going well for you now. Good luck with the rest of the season.

Thanks.

Your daily links:

• Analysis From the Press Box (this is my favorite feature on the site after the blog- please read it.)
• AJC: Clean slate on white's goal
• AJC: Thrashers Report
• AP: Thrashers 4, Lightning 3 (OT)
• NHL.com: Monday's Three Stars
• Video: Highlights
• SI.com: Hockey Today
• St. Petersburg Times: Lead goes, anger flows
• St. Petersburg Times: Insurance might help with Boyle salary
• Darren Eliot on SI: The quiet force
• CBS Sportsline rankings: Thrashers 17th
• TSN rankings: Thrashers 26th

It's interesting to see such a big difference between TSN's ranking and CBS'. Not that CBS is a bastion of hockey knowledge, but come on TSN. 26th? If the rankings are supposed to be a reflection of how teams have played lately TSN is way, way off the mark. Guess how many NHL teams have a better record than Atlanta over the last ten games. None. But you already knew that because you read the View From the Press Box last night, didn't you?

Personally, I like the rankings at Hockey Analysis, where they actually take performance into consideration.

Like we said yesterday, the trivia contest for Friday's home game against the Devils is being held today because our offices are going to be closed for the rest of the week. Don't worry though- I'll still be bringing you all of your Thrashers news as I work from home or the in-laws' house. Thrashers hockey is a Thanksgiving tradition, so that'll be the theme of today's question.

Just to recap, here's a quick refresher on how trivia works. Read the question below, go searching for the answer and then send in your best response. We'll sift through the responses, weed out all of the ones that are wrong and then randomly draw a winner from the correct responses. Trivia closes at 2 p.m. and the winner will be notified by email before we post the result.

Please read the official rules and regulations for the contest before entering and be aware that you will have to sign and return a form or two if you are selected. You also must be 18 years of age to win Submit your answers (thrashers.mailbag@atlantaspirit.com), and check back at 2:00 p.m. for the answer and to see if you've won!

Thank you to The Thomas Eye Group for sponsoring this year's trivia contest.

Abbreviated rules:
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. The Blueland Blog Trivia Contest sponsored by Thomas Eye Group (the "Contest") is open to legal residents of the U.S. and Georgia who are at least 18 years of age at the time of entry, reside within 75 miles of Philips Arena and have Internet access as of the date and time the Contest was first made known to the public. Subject to additional terms and conditions of the Official Rules. Click here for Official Rules . One (1) entry per person per Entry Period. Entry Period is from 10AM EST to 2PM EST each Thrashers home game day. Odds of winning depend on number of correct entries received. Total AMV of prizes: $2,378. Void wherever prohibited. Entry forms must be filled out in full. Contest ends April 5, 2008 at 2:00 PM EST.