RED WINGS RIP THRASHERS TO IMPROVE ON NHL BEST MARK

The Detroit Red Wings scored four unanswered goals to open the game as they coasted to a 6-3 drubbing of the Atlanta Thrashers at Phillips Arena on Friday night.  The victory was the Red Wings 7^th in their last 10 games and at times look more like a scrimmage against an AHL club than a late season game in the NHL.  The Wings currently lead the Western Conference with a slim one point lead over the San Jose Sharks.

Brian Rafalski opened the scoring for Detroit at the 13:40 mark of the first period, with assists to Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterber.  Thrashers’ goalie played well in the opening frame, withstanding a 17 shot Detroit barrage and allowing only a single goal.  He began to crack in the second, however, as Detroit scored twice on 13 shots.  Pavel Datsyuk tallied at the 12:04 mark to make it 2-0 assisted by Johan Franzen and Niklas Kronwall, and it was 3-zip after Jiri Hudler scored two minutes later set up by Brett Lebda and Brad Stuart. 

Franzen would take the shot himself to make it 4-0 early in the third period as he scored on the power play assisted by Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg.  The Red Wings essentially coasted from that point, with Atlanta finally getting on the board with Brian Little’s power play goal at 10:27 assisted by Todd White and Slava Kozlov.  The Red Wings would respond 90 seconds later as Marian Hossa netted his 36^th goal of the season from Henrik Zetterberg and Nicklas Lidstrom.  Slava Kozlov got one back for the Thrashers at 13:16, scoring on the power play set up by Tobias Enstrom and Ilya Kovalchuk.   The Red Wings’ Daniel Cleary (assisted by Henrik Zetterberg and Marian Hossa) and the Thrashers’ Colin Stuart (assists to Zach Bogosian and Joey Crabb) would exchange scores down the stretch to produce the final 6-3 result.

Former Thrasher Marian Hossa commented on his team’s plan and his return to Atlanta.  Atlanta is known for its large population of “Yankee transplants” and that was evident in the Phillips Arena crowd that was a 50/50 split between Thrashers and Red Wings fans:

"It was kind of mixed in the crowd, more favorable than Pittsburgh. Obviously, we played a pretty good game until the end. We allowed a few extra goals in the net."

Hossa was booed by the Thrashers’ fans every time he touched the puck, though he said that the cheers of the transplanted Red Wings backers made up for it:

"I played lots of games on this rink. It was a mix of cheers and boos. I'm enjoying the atmosphere. The fans were great. It's always good for every player to score against a former team."

Atlanta coach John Anderson credited Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood as making the difference in the outcome.  Osgood has struggled at points this season but kept the Thrashers off the board here until the game was out of reach in the third period:

"Osgood made some great saves in the first period. Games change complexion when one team is down ... and if we had gotten up, it might have changed the way we played."

The Thrashers have struggled through a disappointing season, but have played better of late as they try to avoid finishing with the worst record in the league.  The loss was only their third in the last 10 games, and they’ve pulled out of the cellar and ahead of Colorado, Tampa Bay and the New York Islanders as the season winds down.  They’ll head to Montreal on Tuesday for a game against the struggling Canadiens at the Bell Centre before returning home on Thursday to face the New York Rangers, with a game at Phillips Arena against the Ottawa Senators on tap for Saturday.  Detroit heads to Western Canada for a game against the Calgary Flames on Monday and the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.  They’ll return home to face the lowly New York Islanders at the Joe Louis Arena on Friday night.