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OILFAN #81 · 04-14-2009, 11:47 PM

THRASHERS START THE PLAYOFFS WITH A 4-1 WIN OVER CAROLINA, TAKE 1-0 SERIES LEAD
(AP - Atlanta)

Coming into the playoffs, the Atlanta Thrashers were seen as favorites in their first round series with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes reached the finals a year ago, however this year's team has vastly changed. Carolina boasts the CPHL's top line on paper in Zetterberg-Thornton-Iginla, has a good player in Jeff Carter up front, a solid goaltender in Pascal Leclaire and a veteran defenseman in Jason Smith. After that though, Atlanta was unsure what they were up against prior to game 1. Atlanta finally got to see what they were up against on Tuesday night posting a 4-1 win over Carolina in game 1 of the Gretzky Conference Quarterfinals to take a 1-0 series lead.

Atlanta dominated the game early scoring four first period goals and outshot the Hurricanes 17-8 in the 1st period. The offense came early from four different goal scorers. Markus Naslund, Roman Hamrlik, Robert Nilsson and Brett Clark each scored in the 1st period to give the Thrashers a commanding 4-0 lead after 1 period. Atlanta never looked back as they outshot Carolina 19-12 the rest of the way (36-20 for the game) and coasted to a 4-1 victory. Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin had his shutout spoiled in the 3rd period as Carolina got a late SH goal from Henrik Zetterberg with 3:14 remaining.

"It's nice to get the playoffs going and get that ever important first win. You don't want to be in a situation down 1-0 when you have home ice as that puts immense pressure on you in game 2. We are happy with the win and feel we played a real solid game. We came out firing in the 1st period as we knew we could put pressure on Carolina early if we could get that 1st goal. We didn't want to stop after 1 and continued with a very solid 1st period. We got efforts from everyone tonight and our special teams were clicking. None of that matters though if we can't repeat it in game 2. We have a chance to take a big lead in this series and we can't let that opportunity slip away. Carolina has a real strong 1st line and we have to be just as effective on them in game 2 as we were tonight to be successful." - Atlanta GM Sutaria

Game Notes: Brett Clark (1 G, 2 A), Robert Nilsson (1G, 1 A), and Roman Hamrlik (1 G) were named the 3 stars of the game. Atlanta's PP went 2 for 8 while Carolina's PP went 0 for 4. Carolina did get the SH goal scored by Zetterberg. Atlanta C Andy McDonald was injured late in the 3rd period on a hit from Vladimir Sobotka. McDonald is day to day and is questionable for game 2.

04-14-2009, 11:47 PM	#7
OILFAN #81 Everyone's Favorite Oilfan! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: San Jose, California Exp:	THRASHERS START THE PLAYOFFS WITH A 4-1 WIN OVER CAROLINA, TAKE 1-0 SERIES LEAD (AP - Atlanta) Coming into the playoffs, the Atlanta Thrashers were seen as favorites in their first round series with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes reached the finals a year ago, however this year's team has vastly changed. Carolina boasts the CPHL's top line on paper in Zetterberg-Thornton-Iginla, has a good player in Jeff Carter up front, a solid goaltender in Pascal Leclaire and a veteran defenseman in Jason Smith. After that though, Atlanta was unsure what they were up against prior to game 1. Atlanta finally got to see what they were up against on Tuesday night posting a 4-1 win over Carolina in game 1 of the Gretzky Conference Quarterfinals to take a 1-0 series lead. Atlanta dominated the game early scoring four first period goals and outshot the Hurricanes 17-8 in the 1st period. The offense came early from four different goal scorers. Markus Naslund, Roman Hamrlik, Robert Nilsson and Brett Clark each scored in the 1st period to give the Thrashers a commanding 4-0 lead after 1 period. Atlanta never looked back as they outshot Carolina 19-12 the rest of the way (36-20 for the game) and coasted to a 4-1 victory. Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin had his shutout spoiled in the 3rd period as Carolina got a late SH goal from Henrik Zetterberg with 3:14 remaining. "It's nice to get the playoffs going and get that ever important first win. You don't want to be in a situation down 1-0 when you have home ice as that puts immense pressure on you in game 2. We are happy with the win and feel we played a real solid game. We came out firing in the 1st period as we knew we could put pressure on Carolina early if we could get that 1st goal. We didn't want to stop after 1 and continued with a very solid 1st period. We got efforts from everyone tonight and our special teams were clicking. None of that matters though if we can't repeat it in game 2. We have a chance to take a big lead in this series and we can't let that opportunity slip away. Carolina has a real strong 1st line and we have to be just as effective on them in game 2 as we were tonight to be successful." - Atlanta GM Sutaria Game Notes: Brett Clark (1 G, 2 A), Robert Nilsson (1G, 1 A), and Roman Hamrlik (1 G) were named the 3 stars of the game. Atlanta's PP went 2 for 8 while Carolina's PP went 0 for 4. Carolina did get the SH goal scored by Zetterberg. Atlanta C Andy McDonald was injured late in the 3rd period on a hit from Vladimir Sobotka. McDonald is day to day and is questionable for game 2. Last edited by OILFAN #81; 04-14-2009 at 11:52 PM.