Thrashers vs. Predators: A Big Confidence MOOSEster

Last night the final score should have been 2-0, no overtime, no shootout. Moose let in on really sloppy goal, leaving the net, or the Moose Cave as I like to call it, and it was an all too easy goal. Both goals scored on Moose should have not been goals, they were simply presents to the Predators. Yet despite Moose’s costly mistakes, he more than made up for them with a shutout in the shootout. Second pre-season home game and we’re already going to a SO. The SO is the worst way to win or lose a game. Sure, it’s awesome and exciting when your team wins in SO, but I just don’t like it being the one thing that determines the outcome of a game. But the other night, when the Georgia vs. Alabama game went into OT, I couldn’t help but think of how similar it was. Each team starts on the 30… close enough for a good touchdown pass or at least a field goal… so it’s almost like a shootout. It’s not the same, but it’s similar…each team gets a shot… and in hockey, it is also true. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a college football game go into OT, so I wasn’t up on all the OT rules until they displayed them on TV.

So, we put in “Mr. Automatic” (Kozlov), Hossa, and Kovy. Now, Kozzy was on an amazing streak of SO goals last season… he kind of let up at the end of the season, but I just assumed that he’d start up right back where he left off… but it wasn’t even close, he couldn’t even really get a shot off. Hossa, to my surprise, wasn’t any better. And then to our surprise, it was Kovy that was put in as the third shooter. Here we go, like we are really gonna win this one now. We all know of Kovy’s all-so-wonderful history in the SO… he’s historically horrible in the SO… yet this time he proved us wrong. This was a huge confidence booster for Kovy. I don’t think he’ll score in every single SO, but he’s gotten better, and last night’s sniper shot simply proved that. Not only was it a confidence booster for Kovy, but mostly for Moose. After giving up those two horrific goals, once of which was a huge brain fart mistake, he was solid as a rock ‘tween the pipes during the SO… giving the Thrashers a shutout in the shootout… This coming through in the clutch performance more than made up for his earlier blunders… and giving the small crowd at Philips a happy drive home.

My worry is that if Kari is hurt, even if he’s not, can the Moose be a consistently good goaltender? After last night, it’s hard to say… giving up those two mindnumblingly bad goals it’s hard to say… sure event he best goaltenders, even the great Marty Brodeur, will let in a bad one every now and then… and better now we get those out of the way during pre-season than the regular season. I forgive the Moose for his mistakes, as he is one of the best professionals you will ever see out on the ice. He gave us a helluva a performance in the playoffs, despite the outcome, and he is generally a very consistent and reliable goaltender, not to mention a really nice guy.

So tonight the guys play in Sunrise. I hope we won’t be too tired after last night’s win and then having to leave right for Florida… but I mean, it could be worse… I wouldn’t complain about playing hockey in Florida in sunny whether surrounded by palm trees, an ocean breeze, and, well, it’s Florida. I hope Kari gets the start as reported and I hope he’s able to stay in and re-injure himself playing.

Best of luck to Kari and the Thrashers tonight in Sunrise. Let’s make the Panthers pay!