My Thoughts, if you care to read.

Ugh. I took everything down after reading this terrible thought process I had. I'm re-writing it since I have time now.

Well, that was depressing to say the least. I haven't lost faith, though from a poll on AJC.com and the Thrashers message board I guess you can say that the "fans" are not so faithful. Why does everyone think we're done for? Helllloo? Has anyone heard of Carolina? Yeah. Go look it up, tell me what you would have said then, because I'm pretty sure when they were down 0-2 it was something like "WE'RE DONE FOR. IT'S GONNA BE A SWEEP!!" Shut up and learn to be a real fan. Though, everyone likes a winner...

As for the game. Oh boys. What happened? It seems like a goalie change isn't really what we needed, we needed a lot of changes. I just don't know what happened between the Tampa Bay game and now. It's like we're a completely different team. Somehow it's almost like we lost our mojo. I have to admit, it's the strangest thing I've ever seen. Are we going back to the pre-trade Thrashers of Febuary? I don't think so, but I don't know what it is that's causing us to play like this. I am freaked out. But on to the players and other things.

I am out to get Sean Avery, really. He's a smug little...well, you know. He just bothers me because he's alive, really. Thinks he's so great. Blahblahblah.

Moose was a goal monster, of course. Did we expect anything else from Moose? I guess with the goalie change, many expected a win. Goalies can't carry a team and neither can Bobby Holik. I really saddened by the rest of the teams performance. With the expection of Exelby, who's playing as hard as possible. If the rest of the team can give it there all like Holik, DuPuis, Moose and X, I think we will be sitting pretty.

I'm really mad about that fluke goal, like really mad. Don't even talk to me about it, because it's just not even fair.

I keep saying that there's something wrong with Hossa. Not just me, everyone really. A hit in early March may be the source of the problem. Looters Senior seems to think that it caused Hossa to get a leg injury, but he never said anything. He bet me 10 bucks that at the end of the season that Hoss has been hurt since then but never complained. I agree with him, he's just never been the same old Hoss, he's like...not...there. Invisia-Hoss, while Mini-Hossa is trying to steal his brother's once had thunder.

Oh, I guess, I didn't say anything about the powerplay because I just about forgot it was there. That's just me being angry. Seriously though...that powerplay is like a penatly kill...ugh.

A Father-Daughter Converstation

I thought you might enjoy this converstation my father and I had viva e-mail. In his first e-mail, he sent me the AJC.com article on Moose being the goalie for tomorrow night

LOOTERS JR.

That is NO GOOD. I have a really bad FEELING. What happens if Moose loses? We go back to Kari? Kari should get another start, END OF STORY. Hartley's pulling some b.s. right there. I said last night I would haveto blame Kari, but no way! He let a soft goal in by Nylander, but look, it's not his fault we only had 24 shots on goal compared to 38. Maybe if Hossa and Kozlov and Kovalchuck played a little harder and stopped handing the puck over that wouldn't have happened. Hartely's made a really bad desicion. This series could cost him his job, so I guess he's trying to step it up. Lehtonen doesn't need to be benched or forgotten at all. KARI is the reason why we are there, really, think about. Kari
is a goalie god, and he was nervous. Lehtonen needs to be in, really, either that or Hartley should have played Moose more during the regular season. This is so stressful!!

LOOTERS:

Don't be so hasty young lady. You might not remember a young goalie named Cam Ward (23)? He played all of last year for Carolina and lost the first game in the playoffs and was benched. Then John Grahame (31) stepped in and took his team to Stanley Cup playoffs and won.

Not saying it is the right play but as the head coach it is your job to know your team and know when to push the right buttons to get them to win. There were a lot of veterans (Mr. Holik and others) that were a little pissed at the maturity level that Kari and Sutton showed. My guess is someone is trying to send a message and has the luxury of having a damn good second goalie that he can play.

Me personally I agreed at least initially that you ride the horse that got you to the party all the way home, but it isn't my job that could be potentially on the line. If it works Hartley is a genius if it doesn't he will probably not have to worry about it in his next job.

Remember the Kovy quote "He is the coach for now."

Don't worry be happy enjoy the ride.

LOOTERS JR.:

It's just sad to see Kari benched. He is an amazing goalie. You're right though, he doesn't realize that he is lucky to have someone as good as Moose to back him up. Though where was Moose with the maturity talk? They all have had to play a "very first" playoff game. I am ashamed of Sutton, he's 35 not 23. Kari's still a boy, he can't even grow a beard yet! Sutton needs to remember that he is an adult, but also that he's going to be a free agent next year. If Sutton plays well, then he might be here, but the way it looks right now, Sutton's on thin ice (no pun intended). I think Holik had every right to be angry with Kari and Sutton, and even Larsen's attempts to tell Kari "Take it down a notch, sparky" didn't work (They showed a clip of Larsen talking to Kari after he launched the puck at Avery. Did they show that at the arena?).

I think you could be right, this might be just what Kari needed, but being a young man in his first playoffs, this could really throw him off. For a long time. That would mess with my psyche...but it could go the other way (which I hope) and it forces Kari to say something along the lines of...Okay, well, I screwed up and now it's time to get back and show the team that I'm not just a boy anymore and can handle the pressure. Moose wouldn't crack because of his previous playoff run with Pittsburgh, however, it really depends on our "stars". I think I talked to mom (I know, strange!) about the sibling rivalry between the Hossas.Take out Marcel! I know he hurt is knee and is back on and their parents are here blah blah blah. Take Him OUT. Marcel almost did, and I saw the hit, but I read on a blog that he kinda wimped out right before hitting Marian. He did get the goal though..

And I hope Hartley knows what he's doing. He did get the cup with my western favorite, the Avs in 2001, and they had a pretty old captain too (Sakic). But let me talk about someone that did have a lot of maturity last night. Can you say Garnet Exelby? He's not scared of anyone, and if Exelby can get a little gritter, he can keep Jagr in check. Who else did well? Holik of course, DuPuis, Hnidy. But what happened with Tkachuk? It's like he lost his grit right about Avery tried to start something with him in the first. He wimped out completely and left us...well, without what CNNSI.com called the best American power forward.

I will enjoy, and I'm ready to go for tomorrow!


I love my dad.

Well, that's the way the dice rolls.

I have to admit that I didn't post my reaction last night, because after many years of having a horrible temper, I know that I would sound like a fool shooting my mouth off for no (apparent) reason. It's very unladylike, you know.

I decided that I would wait until I got some sleep, went to class and talked to a few friends. I feel bad for my boyfriend, who bore the brunt of my anger. This was the coverstation last night around 9:30...:
"Take it easy, I know your upset because your team is losing. What are they down by on-"
"No, Michael. I'm not upset because they ARE losing I'm upset because they LOST."

A few explictives and stupid things I probably shouldn't have said to him since he had a bad day at work and then I got a call from my dad, who was at the game. (Allow me to inform you of my dad. His Fantasy ANYTHING (football, baseball, hockey) team name is "Looters" thus I am Looters Jr., daughter of Looters. ) The first words would of his mouth were, "I don't want you to be upset. It's okay, it's just the first game."

Then he said something really profound to me:

"We're both really young in our knowledge of the sport. And I know that we live and die with this team, but we can't do that. I was so excited all day about the game just sitting in my office, I thought I would be drained by seven. I can't imagine how the guys must have felt. We can always bring it back, it is just the first game So we've got to win four and they only have to win three. We just have to get back on our feet and play good hockey. There's still a lot of hockey to be played."

That's my dad's favorite phrase when I get discouraged and start screaming like there's no tomorrow. Lots of hockey to be played, it's the best of seven! We can bring it back. Okay, but back to what I think.

---

I think we played hard, I don't know how good we played, but we most certainly did play hard. Not enough hits on Jagr. X got a good one, shook Jagr up, but that's not enough. As my dad says," Not covering Marcel Hossa, that's okay, not covering Jagr...we'll that's a completely different story." I think Holik's line NEEDS to be out there with Jagr, that's just me though.

Now on to Kari. Kari, Kari, Kari. Kari Lehtenon is amazing, despite what any of you say It's always a different story when we lose huh? Let's all rag on Kari because he let four goals through. How about we not rag on Kari? I don't know, maybe if there were more shots on goal on our part (You know, like 34 like the Rangers compared to our depressing 24) we won't be ragging on Kari like he has no idea how to goaltend. The truth is that Kari KNOWS how to goaltend. Kari Lehtonen is a goalie god. He's 23, cut the kid a break. Unlike Exelby (Who played great, if you ask me), Kari can't get out there and smash...oh let's say Sean Avery up against the boards like he really wanted to. You saw him launch the puck at Avery after a save. Kari was feisty, he wanted to give them hell. He needed to take it down a notch, but he couldn't right then. First playoff game, Kari did fine if you ask me. I think it might be a poor choice to put Moose in goal (Though Moose is a goalie god too), merely because it's like a crotch shot to Kari's ego. He's shots off his mouth to the press (not too much, but enough for me to be like "Kari, why'd you say that?), everyone's talking about how "bad" he was, he probably FEELS like crap, and now this? I think we need to get him back in there.

"I'm disappointed, of course I would like to play," Lehtonen said after Friday's practice in Duluth. "On the other hand, I just need to stay ready, I'm sure I'll be in net if we go far."

Poor Kari. "If we go far", I wonder if that's an indication of things to come. Will Moose be in goal for the rest of this series? I don't know how I feel about that one.

Now on to Kovy, Kozy, and Hossa. And I mean Marian. My mom doesn't really know anything about hockey, but when I told her about that she said, "Well, hell, you know the younger brother's going to try to take out the older brother." Sibling Rivalry much? I know this. I used to do sports with my younger sister and she was always a LITTLE better than me. But come on, these guys did not play like a playoff ready time. Hossa's been off his game for a few games, but I thought he got his groove back at the Tampa Bay game. Oh but no Princess. I don't have a suggestion rather than it needs to be fixed, and soon. Maybe this is why Kari played so "bad". Handing it over to the Rangers and the 38 shots on Kari might have had something to do with that. I just felt like if they had played better Kari would have played better.

Okay, don't give me anything like that I favor Lehtonen, I'm just trying to be fair. Bobby Holik's my favorite player (Suck on that!)!

But enough of that. I'm sure we'll do well Saturday!

I just wanted to mention a few things I heard from friends and such today:

"You killed the Thrashers," -Megan (I'm reassesing this friendship.)

"I guess dying your hair blue doesn't really help does it?" -Chris on Kari

"You like hockey? I think you're the only girl at CSU..." -Nick

Yeah, my anger lived on for them . I almost took Chris down. Even though he's a big guy.

Anywho, until Saturday morning...

Looters Jr.

Blue Hair and Blueland: Playoffs begin tonight!

The last thing Bobby Holik wanted to talk about was Kari Lehtonen's new do: a bright blue spiked mohawk, flanked by platinum blonde hair.

"Please, I ask you one favor, do not ask me about that," Holik pleaded. "You have to ignore the situation."

I love that. Bobby Holik is my favorite Thrasher. I love them all, but something about Holik. Ah, I don;t know, but if I had to buy a jersey (Leave me alone, I'm a college student. The jerseys are like 160 dollars. Don't give me that "You're not a true fan" crap, because I am, got it? Good.) it would be a Bobby Holik jersey.

But oh my gosh! Are you ready for tonight? I'm really jealous because my Dad gets to go to the games, and I have to watch it on my tiny little screen in my dorm while making sure that I obey quite hours. I woke up at the crack ass of dawn to go to my 8 am class, and when I got on the bus (wearing BLUE!!) My heart started to pound. I had remembered it was playoff day, and tried to listen on to songs like "We will Rock you" "Remember The Name" "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Another Bites the Dust". The playoffs are today! I can't wait until 6:30!!!

---

On that note (Woah, what's up with my font...?) Anyhow, I was on NHL.com last night watching when the page refreshed (I was doing homework too!) on the other games. I was really disappointed that Pittsburgh lost, because I'm pushing for them to win. But you know, it was the first game, and as my dad always says "Calm down! There's still a lot of hockey left to be played." Unfortunetly, for Pittsburgh, who chanced out there goalie after Ottawa was up by 5 or 6 in the last ten minutes of the 3rd, there wasn't enough time for them to get back on there game.

Something that's even sadder is what happened to Jonathan Cheechoo of SJS. Hartnell of Nashville had a "Knee-on-knee collision" with Cheechoo in the second period. I seriously doubt this was an "accident". It may have been just really bad for Cheechoo, who had to be taken off the ice by two teammates. He was only using his good leg, not putting any pressure on it. As for Hartnell, he got a 15 minute penalty. 5 for kneeing (major) and 10 for game misconduct. Tell me if that sounds like an accident? I don't know, but I hope that Cheechoo is doing better and gets back on his skates soon. It would be horrible if Hartnell ended Cheechoo's career because he got angry and intentionally kneed Cheechoo in the first game. I think Cheechoo will be back on his skates and I hope it's soon. Despite that, San Jose won. Good job San Jose!

Always,

Looters Jr.

Southeast division and Rangers to win it?

I hope not. I won't say I think not, because last time I said something like that, Thrashers lost to the Captials. Let me just say, the Rangers are a good team. Am I scared? The more I read, the more frightened I get of the games. I think that, like everyone has been saying, it will really, seriously be Holik's shift and line vs. the Rangers.


If we can get the goods in, we got it. Kari is an amazing goaltender, but he cannot get off his game once. And if he gets off, give him a break, and bring in Moose, who isn't as young as Kari, but incse you didn't see the Hurricanes game last week, he'll do anything to block the puck. Moose took a puck to the neck in that game.


And Exelby? The Tampa Bay game was amazing. X laid down in front of Kari, it was a nice save. And with Marian Hossa back on his game, we should be good. I told my dad before we got to the Arena on Saturday that I think it would be great if we did a four game sweep. Ideally, right? In my seriously wild dreams. But in a four game series against the Rangers, we did win 3-1. Techincally, the odds are in our favor. Since, it's no longer about points, allow me to point out Saturday's game. Overtime was amazing, and if we can have another few overtime, such as the one where Zhitnik scored and Tkachuk scored in about 3 minutes, we got it.

With Jon Sim back, I think we can be distracting and good enough to score and make a serious impact. Someone else wrote that the Thrashers are just going to role over and die, and I hope that's true. I am really hoping for the best, because I could be rabid and say "RANGERS SUXXXXX THRASHERS RUUL!", but I'm not, because I'm gonna let the Boys tell me what to write.

Until Next time,

Thrashers Girl