Thrashers use hot start to beat Habs

The Atlanta Thrashers opened up an early three goal lead and hung on to cool off red hot Montreal by a 4-2 score at the Phillips Arena on Tuesday night.  Despite a solid 27-12-6 record good for 60 points, the Canadians have struggled to make up ground on the Boston Bruins who lead the NHL’s Northeast Division with a 33-8-5 record worth 71 points.

Erik Christensen and Chris Thorburn scored just over a minute apart in the early stages of the first period to lift Atlanta to a 2-0 lead at the end of one.  Rich Peverly “put the biscuit in the basket” less than four minutes from the start of the second period to give the Thrashers a 3-0 lead at which point Habs coach Guy Carbonneau had seen enough and yanked starting goalie Jaroslav Halak.  He was replaced by All Star game starter Carey Price, who saw action for the first time since December 30th due to a nagging ankle injury.  He stopped nine of the first ten shots he faced, and buoyed by the goaltending change his team quickly got back into the game.  Max Pacioretty scored on the power play at the 4:54 mark and Steve Begin tallied just a minute and a half later to cut the Thrasher’s advantage to 3-2.

Atlanta would get an insurance goal midway through the third period when Zach Bogosian shot through traffic in front of the net got past price to extend the Thrashers’ lead to 4-2.  Atlanta goalie Kari Lehtonen shined in the final minutes of the game as he turned back a furious Montreal attack to preserve the win.  Habs coach Carbonneau suggested that he provided the margin of victory for Atlanta while praising his own netminder:

"Lehtonen saved the game in the end. I thought Carey Price played well. He was strong, solid and moved well in the net."

Atlanta has struggled in the first half of the NHL season, but has now won three straight.  Bogosian praised his team’s recent play:

"We have worked hard the last couple of games. We need to not get a big head and keep things simple. Play every shift like it's 0-0."

After the game Carbonneau announced that Price would start between the pipes on Wednesday night in New Jersey and the goalie was obviously pleased to hear it:

"It was nice to get in there. It was pretty close [before] a couple of bad bounces. The fourth goal was a bad bounce. What can you do?"

Atlanta will try to keep their winning streak alive as they travel to Philadelphia for a game against the Flyers on Wednesday night and to Dallas next Tuesday.  They’ll then return home to play the New York Islanders on Thursday 1/29.  Montreal plays at New Jersey on Wednesday before heading south next week for games at Tampa Bay on Tuesday and in Miami against the Florida Panthers on Thursday.