Thursday, April 21, 2011

Season Review Part 2: The Bad

In part two of the season review, we discuss the bad of the Thrashers season. While there were plenty of good moments to discuss, the season certainly had it's low points. In the next few paragraphs, we break them apart here.

January and February Tailspin.

After the Thrashers beat the Panthers in regulation on January 5th, the Thrashers entered a horrific tailspin that eventually cost them a post-season berth. Starting on January 7th with a 9-3 drubbing on home ice to Toronto, the Thrashers began a 2-4-3 run to close out January and a miserable 2-7-2 February streak that all but doomed the team. A 7-6-1 March and a 1-4-0 April weren't enough for the team to claw back into playoff position, and they ended up missing the dance by 13 points. From January 5th on, the Thrashers went 12-21-6. If they had gone a measly 18-14-7 during that stretch, which is the difference of 6 wins instead of 6 losses, the team would have been in.

There are many could have, would have, should have moments that the Thrashers would like to have back and there were a plethora of reasons for the struggles. The goaltending and power play that had been so effective in the first half fell apart. The penalty kill nose-dived in a horrific way. The team got away from the hockey they had played in the first half and it cost them. The bright side, however, is that the team played playoff hockey for the better part of three months, only adding experience to a young roster.

Zach Bogosian's Regression.

Many would put this in the "ugly" category (coming next blog!), but Bogosian made strides in his game over the second half of the year. Bogosian's numbers were down from his first two seasons, when he averaged over 9 goals and 11 assists. He finished 2010-2011 with 5 goals and 12 assists, but most staggeringly a -27 plus-minus, good for 5th worst in the NHL. 6th worst? Ilya Kovalchuk, at -26. In Bogosian's defense, he was playing against top line pairs. But there were times when Bogosian looked lost in his own end. Bogosian still has the chance to be a special player. He's big, strong, has an excellent shot and is a fantastic skater. He still can't have a legal beer yet, so there's no reason for the team to give up on him, but next year is a pivotal year in Bogosian's development.

Penalty Kill Struggles.

Despite finishing strong, the Thrashers finished 27th in the NHL with a 77.5% penalty kill. While I in no way intend to criticize Craig Ramsay, he is supposed to be a defensive specialist and the penalty kill fell from 82.2%. As kids like Alex Burmistrov and Bryan Little adapt, the penalty could be a quick, effective unit that even has some scoring prowess. The alarming thing from the 2010-2011 season is that the Thrashers were shorthanded only 285 times, good for 14th in the league. The discipline, as a whole was there, but the team gave up the 3rd most power play goals in the NHL. Moving forward, the penalty kill should be an area of concern for the Thrashers. Man, wouldn't it be nice to have Marty Reasoner out there?

Chris Mason.

Chris Mason was brought in on a 2-year deal for pretty good value, but he was nothing short of atrocious for the Thrashers this season. He was 13-13-3, which is respectable, but he finished with a .892 save percentage and a bloated 3.39 GAA. Mason is definitely a dependable goaltender, but the Thrashers will need more from him in 2011-2012 as Ondrej Pavelec continues to develop into a number one.

Back-to-back Goals in Under Two Minutes.

This has been covered at length in various places, but it is definitely a huge area of concern for the Thrashers moving forward. The Thrashers allowed back-to-back goals in under two minutes 27 times this season, going 3-15-3 in games in which they did. In the three overtime losses, if they had not allowed back-to-back goals they hypothetically would have had three more points. Three of the games were one-goal games (with empty netters) meaning they would have had three more points. That would have put them 7 points out of the playoffs alone, and who's to say what would have happened in other games where consecutive goals killed any momentum?

It's a team character issue, perhaps due to youth, perhaps due to identity. The most important shifts in hockey are the ones after goals, no matter who scores. If the opponent scores, the next line has to be committed to playing in the offensive end and keeping the team off the scoresheet. This didn't happen this season, and it was one of the glaring factors in the team missing the post-season.

Getting It Done In Regulation.

The Thrashers only had 19 regulation wins this season, good for last in the Eastern Conference. Wanna make the playoffs? A good step is getting the job done before the extra frame. The Thrashers lacked a killer instinct this season, too often allowing teams to get back into games and drag it into overtime. In fact, the only team with fewer regulation wins was the Colorado Avalanche with 18. The 2011-2012 Thrashers need to find a way to bury teams when they have the chance and close things out in regulation.

Next up will the the ugly of the 2010-2011 Thrashers season. What were your qualms with the 2010-2011 Thrashers? What were your "bad" points from the previous year? Post in the comments section below.

TC