Thrashers prepare for the ECQF vs the Islanders
THRASHERS PRACTICE IN PREPARATION FOR SERIES VS ISLANDERS
(Atlanta) - AP
Playing into the second season is nothing new for the Atlanta Thrashers. Atlanta has been in the dance of every post season since the CPHL began. Winners of 1 CPHL championship a long with consecutive trips to the conference finals in the last 2 years have given fans the tradition of winning. Atlanta however is looking for more post season success. Falling in the ECF the past 2 years to the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens (both went on to win the CPHL Championship in the very next round) has left a bitter taste in the players' and management's mouths.
"We have done some great things here in Atlanta over the years and this year we are looking to get to that next step. We face a great team this year in New York and it is going to be a real challenge for us. They are probably the best 1st round opponent we have faced in the last 3 years. They have so many guys that can beat you. We have had their top 2 regular season point leaders in Andy McDonald and Eric Belanger on our team in the past 12 months so we know what they can do. We have to focus on containing them. Their strong point is that they have other players like Michael Ryder, Radim Vrbata, and JP Dumont to provide great secondary scoring. Their strongpoint as a team though is definitely their goaltending. To have a guy like Henrik Lundqvist back there surely calms that team down. We are going to have to get pucks to the net and crash the crease. We feel that we have balanced lines, particularly our top 3 lines to cause havoc for New York. We look forward to the challenge". - Thrashers GM Sutaria
Atlanta's lines following practice Wednesday looked like this:
Tanguay (68 ov) -Datsyuk (76 ov) -Hossa (73 ov)
Kovalev (69 ov) -Connolly (70 ov) -Cleary (67 ov)
Dupuis (66 ov) -Nielsen (66 ov) -Stillman (65 ov)
Strudwick (58 ov) -White (67 ov) -Willsie (57 ov)
Visnovsky (71 ov) -Jackman (70 ov)
Polak (67 ov) -Greene (66 ov)
Jones (62 ov) -Boynton (60 ov)
Carkner (61 ov)
Khabibulin (78 ov)
Ellis (76 ov)
"We know that they are going to focus on Pavel's line and frankly he is our catalyst. He makes everyone around him so much better. Alex and Marian are the perfect complements for him. We feel we can get production from Tim and Frans' lines as well and we will need it in this series. It is nice to get Todd White back from injury and that gives us 10 really quality forwards that can play throughout the lineup. We are excited to get this series started tomorrow. It will be a good test for us." - Thrashers GM Sutaria
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