Thrasers Rolling Along
When the calendar flipped to November, it was just another lopsided loss for Atlanta. But following their sixth straight defeat, the Thrashers have rolled off five wins in a row.
Now they go for a franchise-record six straight wins on Sunday night in Philadelphia against a Philadelphia Flyers club that beat them 7-0 on Oct. 28.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Philadelphia -160 money line favorites (NHL Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 6 goals (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 57% of bets for this game have been placed on Philadelphia -160 (View NHL Bet Percentages).
Atlanta is on its longest winning streak since a five-game run Feb. 26-March 8, 2007.
"They’re recognizing things that a month ago I never thought they’d get," Thrashers coach John Anderson said following Atlanta’s 3-2 win over Carolina on Friday. "I wish we had October back."
Atlanta was outscored 37-24 and went 2-6-2 in October.
But following a 6-1 loss at New Jersey on Nov. 1 – the team’s sixth consecutive defeat – the Atlanta Thrashers (7-7-2) have won five in a row, outscoring their opponents 22-14 and working their way up to third in the Southeast Division.
"It’s been a very important stretch for us," said Johan Hedberg (3-2-0), who has won his last three starts with a 2.65 GAA since allowing six goals on Nov. 1. "We are right back into it and feeling good about ourselves."
But Hedberg, who had 27 saves on Friday, can’t feel well about his career record against Philadelphia – he is 1-5-1 with a 3.65 GAA in eight starts against the team that drafted him in the ninth round in 1994.
Slava Kozlov scored his team-leading ninth goal against the Hurricanes. He has four goals and three assists during the Thrashers’ winning streak, but in 15 career games at Philadelphia – nine with Atlanta – Kozlov has 11 points, with no goals in his past eight visits.
Center Marty Reasoner has scored a total of three goals in Atlanta’s last two games, but he has only one point in five career games in Philadelphia – a goal on Dec. 16, 2001, as a member of the Edmonton Oilers.
While Atlanta tries to extend its winning streak on Sunday, the Flyers will play after finishing off their three-game road trip with a streak-snapping, 2-1 victory against Montreal on Saturday.
Philadelphia (6-6-4) had been outscored 28-13 while losing seven straight regular-season games to the Canadiens. Flyers center Jeff Carter didn’t seem too interested in that tidbit.
"That’s just the media blowing it up – no offense, but we go game by game and obviously we want to win every game," said Carter, who recorded his team-leading 11th goal in the second period. "They’re a tough opponent and we’ve had some success here lately and hopefully we can keep it going."
Martin Biron, who has started the Flyers’ past four games, made 24 saves on Saturday, allowing a goal to Alex Tanguay with 10:16 left.
Biron has lost nine games in 16 career starts against Atlanta, but has won his past two, including a 31-save effort in a 4-0 victory on Oct. 16, 2007. Three of his 23 career shutouts are against the Thrashers.
Atlanta has won only one of its last nine games in Philadelphia – a 6-5 overtime victory on Nov. 18, 2005.
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