Thrashers 6, Lightning 3

The Basics

• The Thrashers opened their 2009-10 NHL regular-season schedule tonight, defeating the Southeast Division-rival Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 in front of a sold-out crowd at Philips Arena … The Thrashers have now won two straight season-opening games and hold an all-time record of 4-5-1 on opening night.
• Captain Ilya Kovalchuk (2g,1a) and forward Rich Peverley (2g,1a) led the way for the Thrashers offense, earning three points apiece in the victory … Kovalchuk opened the game’s scoring in the first period and put the finishing touches on the Lightning with the game’s last goal midway through the third.
• Forward Bryan Little and defenseman Tobias Enstrom tied for the team lead with two assists each … Little assisted on both of Kovalchuk’s goals.
• Rookie forward Evander Kane picked up the lone assist on Peverley’s first goal, becoming the first Thrasher to record a point in his NHL debut since Bryan Little scored a goal in the first game of the 2006-07 campaign.
• Several other Thrashers found their way on to the score sheet tonight, including: Zach Bogosian (1g), Anssi Salmela (1g), Chris Thorburn (1a), Eric Boulton (1a), Maxim Afinogenov (1a) and Pavel Kubina (1a).
• Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec made the first opening-night start of his NHL career and stopped 36-of-39 shots en route to being named the game’s Third Star … Mike Smith allowed six goals on 28 shots in the defeat for Tampa Bay.
• The Thrashers will return to action on Thursday, Oct. 8 when they begin a five-game road stretch in St. Louis (8 p.m., 680 The Fan, SportSouth (HD)).

What You Really Need to Know

Rich Peverley scored the game-winning goal and added another goal and assist and captain Ilya Kovalchuk matched him ,scoring two goals and an assist of his won, but the game may have been won by Eric Boulton who's third period fight with Todd Fedoruk came after Tampa fought back from a 4-0 deficit to pull within a goal at 4-3. After the fight (which Boulton won decisively) the Thrashers regained their lost momentum and outscored the Lightning 2-0. Chris Thorburn also sparked the crowd with a spirited scrap versus Zenon Konopka, but he joked after the game that it didn't have the desired effect- Tampa scored twice in the six minutes after his fight.

Evander Kane's first NHL point came in front of his family and junior hockey billets who all came to Atlanta to see his NHL debut. The rookie admitted to having a lackluster preseason but said he felt the rise in intensity in his first regular season game. The rookie logged 11:09 in his NHL debut and fired four shots on goal. He also saw some time on the penalty kill and John Anderson stressed that he wants to use Kane in key situations to make sure he gets used to playing under pressure.

Offensive Spotlight- Ilya Kovalchuk

Ilya Kovalchuk has spent the last week saying he and his team were ready to get started and he backed up his talk on the ice tonight, scoring the first and last goals of the game and logging a game-high 26:55. Like many of his teammates, the captain pointed to Boulton's fight as being a key point in the game. He also pointed out that the Thrashers won their first game last year as well, so it's important to stay focused and not put too much emphasis on one win.

Defensive Spotlight- Tobias Enstrom

The diminutive Swede led all Thrashers defensemen in ice time (23:50) and in points (two assists). He also took a nasty hit early in the game form Todd Fedoruk, but bounced back up and didn't miss a shift. Honorable mention goes to Pavel Kubina who had an assist in his Thrashers debut, as well as six blocked shots.

What Went Right

- "We know we can score goals," said John Anderson when asked what he learned from the game. The Thrashers have had a tendency over the last few years to pile in the goals in the home opener and they didn't disappoint tonight.

- The new guys made their presence known with Kubina, Kane, and Afinogenov all earning assists and Nik Antropov finishing the night +2.

- Points from every line- players from all four lines earned points, and from each defensive pairing. Two goals came from defensemen, giving the Thrashers a balanced and dangerous attack.

- Despite the rough stuff the Thrashers were disciplined and more often than not when they took a penalty a Lightning player went off with them. Despite taking 28 minutes in penalties the Thrashers were only short-handed for 3:33.

- The Thrashers dominated the faceoff circle, winning 56% of their draws with Bryan Little winning 6 of 8. Todd White was a workhorse for the team, winning 11 draws.

What Could Have Gone Better

- The Thrashers gave up 39 shots to the high-powered Lightning but still escaped with the win. That number will have to come down if Atlanta wants to win consistently.

- The Thrashers took their foot off the gas in the second period and let the Lightning back into a game that they shouldn't have been in. Fortunately the comeback was thwarted before Tampa could tie it up or pull ahead.

Quotes of the Night

John Anderson on the fights:

"It's always good to have guys who stand up for others...Both of our fights were well-timed and I thought they fought hard. We got the message out that we're not going to be pushed around."

Ondrej Pavelec on the win:

"I'm really happy we got the two points. It was huge for us. We stepped up like a team today. We played great defensively and stayed disciplined."

Three Stars

1. Ilya Kovalchuk
2. Rich Peverley
3. Ondrej Pavelec