Atlanta Thrashers scourges Toronto Maple Leafs in Overtime 3-2 to end its losing streak – NHL Updates
Atlanta finally got its first win after the All-Star Game, beating Toronto Maple Leafs to win it in overtime by 3-2. Coming home after a fresh seven-day road trip, this was Atlanta’s second game out of a total five, at last snapping its five-game losing
streak at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
Hopeful that this win will boost its performance, Atlanta Thrashers still has a lot to make up for if it wants to be anywhere near the playoffs.
Thrashers’ coach, Craig Ramsay, was noted as saying that it was probably the crowd which gave the players a sudden advance in the third period, maybe because as fans are starting to disappear and get sick and tired of their home team losing.
He called his team’s performance in the final period as “doing everything correctly”.
"We had to win that game", Ron Hainsey said. "We've been losing against teams that we were racing".
Currently both teams are tied at 10th place in the Eastern Conference with only 63 points, just under Buffalo Sabres, making them look like minor league teams when compared to similar ranking teams in the Western Conference.
Toronto took control but Atlanta answered back
Toronto Maple Leafs was in control for majority of the game with goals from Nikolai Kulemin and the struggling Phil Kessel in the first period, nearly two minutes apart.
It might have been Toronto’s goalie switching that caused its downfall later on when James Reimer was hit on the helmet by Atlanta’s Evander Kane, being replaced with Jean-Sebastien Giguere, a little over halfway through the match, who let in 3, saving 22.
It was said by the team that he was kept out just to be on the safe side.
Toronto was able to hold down Thrashers at the end of 40 minutes, until they became too overpowering for them to handle.
Andrew Ladd scored his team’s first goal, the start of a comeback within the first 30 seconds during a much needed power-play with Tim Stapleton getting his inaugural goal of the season another 15 minutes later to force the match into OT.
"It's about time I scored, I guess", Stapleton said, looking to be having mood swings.
The audience went fanatical at this point, seeing their team in such a situation was becoming a thing of the past for them.
Thrashers’ goalie, Chris Mason, was able to keep the opposition’s players out of the net for the only one attempt, both teams were able to get, with Atlanta’s Ron Hainsey getting its one and only attempt in.
For a second after its winning shot, it felt as if Thrashers were dreaming about victory but the transition to reality was oh so sweet.
"They just needed to believe, trust and believe", Craig Ramsay said. "That was our theme for today. ... Just continue to do what you're doing, and good things will happen".
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