I Been Thinking...And It Hurts

You can thank the good Mr. Timmy F over at Thrashing About for this next batch of lukewarm drivel. He did this great post about one-goal games the Thrashers have been involved in this year. He's got a chart. I can't even begin to fathom how one goes about making a chart, so I'm going to look at his data and add to it.

Me, thinking about making a chart.

I can tell you the exact date that I knew this season was a wash. October 25, 2008. The Thrashers were playing the Bruins at Boston Garden (TD Bankwhaaa? Never heard of it.). I was spackling the big chunk o wall I had just replaced in my music room (leaky roof, shoddy patch job, more leaky, more patchy, a little head-bashing & finally got it right). I had the Kamalian on my nifty Grundig crank radio (Srsly, get one. It could Save. Your. Life. Or you could just play with the crank-thing until you get tired of it; and, look! Fashion colors!). Covered in spackle dust, I listened as our Thrashers blew 2 leads, and frittered away 12:38 of the third period without even being able to mutser a tying goal to claim a pity point. The B's still hadn't figured out what kind of powerhouse team they could become, and we hadn't yet seen the depth to which we could fall. The sky was the limit. Until that horn sounded, and we left Boston with no points. Then, The Decline of Thrasher Civilization.

Yup. That just happened.

They skated to a 19-31-5 record until the West Coast swing that netted them an improbable (at the time) 3-2-1 record, and some serious confidence. What happened? Well, on 1/16/09, Jason Williams was traded to Columbus. I'm not saying that Williams was a bad person, never met him, have no clue what he's like. But let's play What If. What if I really like a certain kind of music. Like country, maybe - just picking a random genre out of thin air. What if, in the locker room before a game, somebody (who I otherwise would have no issue with) decides to play some crap like "Russian Privjet" - again, out of thin air. That doesn't put me in the calm zen-like state needed for me to be able to bang some bodies into the boards. Thusly, my play may, just may, be affected. And then, what if I'm hearing he's griping about his lack of power play time? Once more, out of thin air....
The record after the Williams trade? 6-7-0. With 4 of those losses being by 1 goal margins. Then Matthieu Schnieder went to Montreal. 3-2-1. Then Havelid to Jersey. Christensen to Anaheim. 7-3-0. You will not find a bigger Havelid or Schnieder fan than me: both seasoned vets, both assets to their new teams. But I noticed that they may not have been as keyed into the system as some of the other players, whatever "system" we were running at the time. Three players traded, and the record improves. I want to reiterate - these are probably solid, upstanding human beings. But at the same time, they're all human beings. They all affect the ebb & flow of a dressing room.

Look at Kovy. His stats soared after being given the 'C' (as chronicled on this very blog). A conicidence? Well, let throw this theory out at you: Kovy comes in this year, expecting to be named captain, and rightfuly so; I thought it was a foregone conclusion. But here comes HC Johnny A. He's just been named HC, as a matter of fact. He's bad, he's nationwide. He's gotta see how this team works. He's thinking, "Let's hold on just a second on the whole 'C' thing... let's see who steps up." Hence, four 'A's & no 'C'. If I'm Kovy, I might be thinking, "Whoa, new HC is not a Kovy fan." Maybe not in those words, and maybe not conciously at all, but I start to grip my stick a little tighter, second-guess myself before I shoot, etc & etc.

I don't know if luck is the right word. Maybe chemistry might be a better term. But yes, Timmy F, I do believe in this hockey team.

Now, back to the rehashed crap I usually pass along.

*sigh* Okay.... Seems that.... Scott Hartnell may be... *swallows bile* an alright dude. Fartsmell. That'll get you to click the link.

Kevin Allen details the wealth of talent available in this years' draft. What he doesn't tell you is how easy it would be to completely derail their careers due to improper development.

Habs tonight.

Go Thrashers.