Ilya Goes Down Swinging
At 13th in the Eastern Conference, the Thrashers playoff chances have been nil for some time now. When coach John Anderson called the team out for being soft earlier in the week to the Caps, captain Ilya Kovalchuk took it upon himself to start being more physical. Tossing the body around, the goal-scorer then challenged Bryan McCabe to a fight and more-than-likely surprised the veteran defenseman by handling himself just fine. Coach and captain spoke about the fight after the game:
“It was kind of a boring game from our side, so I tried to pump everybody up, and it worked for the rest of the period,” Kovalchuk said. “But then we stopped playing again.”
“I didn’t know he could throw them like that,” Anderson said. “I’ll have to put him out with [Thrashers enforcer Eric Boulton] to protect Boults now, I guess.”
This is now Kovy’s first multi-fight season. Given the crowd reaction it’s safe to say Thrashers fans don’t mind seeing him drop the gloves once in a while, but no one wants him fighting to inspire the team through an entire season, and the organization will need to find something to spark them back into the playoffs.
Elsewhere
Todd Fedoruk opened up against Travis Moen. It’s been a while since we’ve seen the Fridge swing like that, and it’s understandable. With multiple plates in his face, Fedoruk isn’t looking for a quick end to his career. Martin Hanzal and Devin Setoguchi had the most unlikely matchup of the night.
Shane O’Brien took on John Zeiler. Using their listed heights, there’s a two inch difference between the two. Using your eyes you learn there might be some stretching of the truth in player stats sometimes.
PL3 grappled with Jesse Winchester and Maxim Lapierre fought Shane Hnidy to round out the night.
Straight talk from Downey
Aaron Downey doesn’t hold back opinion. James Mirtle spoke with the veteran enforcer and learned Downey’s not apologetic about his role, and why he thinks it’s useful.
“Why, right off the start of the game, do two heavyweights have to go right off the bat?” he asked. “Are they going to set the stage for the game? I personally don’t think it does. But I tell you what, what sets the stage is when a guy goes out there, has a lot of energy on the fore-check, hammers one of your defencemen — now we’re talking. Now it’s game on, right?”
Videos added
Martin Hanzal vs Devin Setoguchi Apr 9, 2009
Todd Fedoruk vs Travis Moen Apr 9, 2009
John Zeiler vs Shane O’Brien Apr 9, 2009
Bryan McCabe vs Ilya Kovalchuk Apr 9, 2009
Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond vs Jesse Winchester Apr 9, 2009
Jared Boll vs Ben Eager Apr 8, 2009
Lapierre-Hnidy should be added later today.
Some reads
Habs back into playoffs
Dallas Stars must take a hard look at themselves
On the Furlough: Newspaper hockey writers roll with recession
Prucha pleased with increased playing time
Rivalry keeps thriving
Grabovski linked to Habs controversy
Will post-season competition sway Nash to stay in Ohio?
