Let's see... the last time the Thrashers won three games in a row was back on December 23rd, 26th and 27th as they finished up a five-game winning streak.
It's been a long time coming, and it finally feels like the ship has been righted.
Consider the following:
- The Thrashers are 3-0 since adding Keith Tkachuk and Alexei Zhitnik.
- After going a month in which he gave up at least three goals per game Kari Lehtonen has given up two, two and one in his last three starts. UPDATE: His 3-0-0 record, 1.67 GAA and .940 save percentage just earned him the NHL First Star of the Week.
- After struggling on special teams through January and early February the Thrashers have killed off nine of their last 11 penalties and have killed off an 29 of 32 (90.63%) since Eric Belanger joined the team on February 10.
- The Thrashers aren't known for having a blueline that generates offense, but the defense has picked up seven assists (two each for Sutton, Zhitnik and de Vries and one for Niclas Havelid) over the last three games.
- Since adding Tkachuk and Zhitnik the power play is 3 for 14 (21.4%).
While I'd like to see the shots for go up and the shots against go down, I really can't complain about the effort the guys have put in over the last three games. Their confidence is up and Zhitnik, Dupuis, Belanger and Tkachuk have transformed the locker room. They haven't taken over, but they're a breath of fresh air in a room that was getting frustrated. All four guys are genuinely excited to be here and looking forward to being big parts of the playoff push.
Finally, thank you to everyone for coming out for Mullet Day yesterday. It was a huge success (even Bruce Levenson and Don Waddell got in on the action according to the AJC), but I think the biggest tip of the hat has to go to Greg "Uncle Rico" de Vries who got things rolling on Wednesday at Casino Night.
By the way, if you're looking for highlights of yesterday's game your best bet is to head to the
TSN's game recap. Since either team's network carried the game the NHL wasn't able to give us our regular highlight package.
