Ok, it's too early to discuss this, which is why it's appropriate for NHL.com's series on why any team can win the Cup is appropriately timed. No team's out of it statistically yet, and no team has shown themselves to be an epic ball of failure yet either (no, not even the Islanders - they started well, at least). Today's segment was on the Thrashers, and coupled with their recent six (MAKE IT SEVEN!) game winning streak, seeing this on NHL.com's front page was surreal:

Add that to all the recent love from that website, and it feels like backwards month. The case that LaGreca and Dellapina is actually a pretty good one, and one that I can't find fault with anywhere.

Yeah, sorry, this happened last year.

God has an unwritten rule that both of my teams are not allowed to play good, quality, consistant hockey at the same time. Once the Thrashers began their six game win streak, the Blues had to fall off the wagon, going 3-4 during the same stretch that the Thrashers have gone 6-0. Some of the losses have been close, some have come from blown 1 goal leads in the 3rd period a la last season, some have come from defensive flubs, and one has come from a great offensive game where the back-up was started against a division rival. Regardless of how the losses came, they did.

It's frustrating, because I've watched a team that once had the league's best win percentage drop to 9th in the Western Conference - even if it is only by a point. Injuries decimated the team for a while, but all are back save for Roman Polak, David Perron (faker!) and TJ Oshie. Jackman and Colaiacovo's return helped shore up the defense, and Halak's playing a bit better now that he knows what to expect from them, but offensively, do they ever miss Osh and Perron. The lines were switched up for the game against the Blackhawks, which led to five goals - the best offensive output since November 19th against the Senators.

Lines for the Hawks game:

Alex Steen-Andy McDonald-Brad Boyes

Vladimir Sobotka-Patrik Berglund-David Backes

Brad Winchester-Jay McClement-B.J. Crombeen

Chris Porter-Matt D'Agostini-Cam Janssen

Lines for the Caps game: 

McDonald Backes  Boyes

Sobotka Berglund-D’Agostini

Steen McClement Crombeen

Della Rovere Scatchard-Winchester

For whatever reason, the lines from the game that finally found chemistry were split up. Scoring's been the Blues biggest consistent problem this year (behind the powerplay, which hasn't scored since November 20th), Once a remedy's been found for 5-on-5 point production, it first gets coupled with the back-up goalie on a bad night and then it gets split up when it could have helped the starting goalie out. One thing that was learned under Andy Murray, giving lines a chance to gel together is helpful to maintaining success, especially when you find a combo that clicks for a game. Hopefully the scoring lines'll be back together for Saturday's game in Edmonton, because if we're outscored by the Oilers, there's a bigger problem than expected.

This team had issues scoring last season (2.66 goals a game, 17th in the league), but so far this season it isn't looking much better (2.50 goals a game, 23rd in the league). With the ability that we have, there's no reason that guys like Backes, McDonald, Boyes, and Steen aren't producing.

The Thrashers concluded a six game homestand that showed what the team was capable of, and amazingly enough, it was a lot. It was a five game winning streak. It was outscoring the defeated opponents 19-3. It was taking out some of the best teams in the league - Washington, Detroit, Montreal, and Boston. It was outshooting the opponents in every game but one. It was a chance for Ondrej Pavelec to show everyone what a solid goaltender he could be - something he's been working towards for three seasons. Pavelec was named the NHL's first star of the week for last week, and in reading the article highlighting him, it seemed all that it took was a constant goalie coach in Clint Malarchuk. Having a goalie coach that knows what he's doing - something that Atlanta has never had - has calmed Pavs down and given him confidence. Also, having a coach that knows that he's working with young talent who needs confididence is helpful as well.

In two games at Boston a week apart, Dec. 23 and Dec. 30, then-coach John Anderson pulled him after allowing three goals in each before Pavelec could get out of the first period. Pavelec talked during the offseason about how that quick hook affected him negatively...

"I know last year was kind of -- we were disappointed a little bit about it because I got pulled … last year in Boston," Pavelec said. "It's not the way you want to play. Like I said, it happened. ... I got pulled twice in a row in Boston. But it's a coach's decision and nothing really you can do. If he wants to pull you, he's going to do that and if he wants to do something to wake up the team, he's going to do that.

"It depends on the situation. But, again, Johnny (Anderson) was in the NHL for two years, that said, as a (head) coach, and Rammer is in the League for a while -- a while -- so he probably knows how things work. Like I said, hopefully I never get pulled. You cannot give him the reason to do that. If you're going to play well you're going to stay in the net."

All it took was someone to show confidence in Pavelec, and that confidence has not only given him a new spark, but has trickled down to the team as a whole. They're playing with their heads up and a bit of a swagger that fans have never seen before. When it comes to confidence and swagger, fans really have to look no further than the NHL's second star of the week, Dustin Byfuglien. Buff had nine points in those five games, and four last night - a goal and three assists. There's whispers of Norris contention, there's cries of hyperbole directed at people who think that the trade to get him is the best ever, there's even a bit of a bump in power rankings because of Pavelec, Byfuglien, and the team's play - the Thrashers are number 4 on TSN's this week, and that might be the highest that they've ever been. 

This week's road trip, starting Tuesday in Colorado, is going to test the Thrashers' mettle and if this wasn't just a happy, five game accident. It's difficult to break the confidence of a team that is playing as well as they have been, and it's impossible to undo the education that coach Craig Ramsay has given them.

It's early in the season to tell where the Thrashers'll end up, but for right now Thrashers fans just need to enjoy what's going on, and sights like NHL.com's front page last night and today:

Sarah of Something's Bruin was nice enough to ask me to participate in their Ten Questions with the Other Side feature. Make sure to check it out! Also, today's the first bloggers' day for the Thrashers, so I'll be down there doing whatever it is that I do. Keep up with today's StoryStream over at SB Nation Atlanta for thoughts, game updates, and possibly some Q&A with Rich Peverley.

This is how absolutely hard-headed P.K. Subban is. After getting called out by Mike Richards of the Philadelphia Flyers for having little respect for the older players of the game, Subban seems to have been on a mission to get his ass handed to him on a plate. The young rookie defenseman apparently has confused his reputation from the playoffs last season as a blank check to be obnoxious and irritating to other players on the ice. He repeatedly tried to get both Boulton and Thorburn to go during the first and second periods, and almost succeeded in getting under Thorburn's skin. His unnecessary tripping penalty led to a Thrashers' powerplay goal tonight, and he still insisted on trying to stir stuff up. He picked the wrong guy to do it with.

After a save by Alex Auld, a scrum broke out during the third period in which Tomas Plekanec grabbed Evander Kane from behind and tried to skate away. Subban decided to act tough and grab on to someone too. Unfortunately for Subban, he latched hold of the wrong guy. Zach Bogosian doesn't fight much, but he does when he has to - and he really gets wound up. Subban found out the hard way.

Listen, if you're going to skate around all night and try to start stuff, be man enough to stand up and fight when someone calls you out. If you grab a hold of someone in a scrum, don't be shocked when they turn around and try to knock your block off, especially if you grab them around the neck. Subban's reputation precedes him, apparently, with Bogosian saying “Everyone knows who he is, his act. That’s all I’m going to leave it at." By not being mature enough to answer the bell, Subban made sure that everyone knew that it really was just an act.

Even more hysterical was Subban trying to get Boulton to go later on in the third period.  Boults shook his head and skated off with an "are you serious?" look on his face. I'm sure it might've been difficult for him to keep a straight face. The cat's out of the bag with Subban. Unfortunately for him, he's let this charade get out of hand a bit much because it's overwhelming his talent as a defenseman. If he wants to be known as a junior pest, that's his business, but don't get surprised or offended when people call you out on it.

...via my friend Ryan Classic and his blog, because I could never crunch any kind of number. Ever. Moral of the story? Western Conference is next to impossible yet again this season, and the Thrashers might only need 86 points to make the playoffs. Be thankful for parity, Thrasher fans.

I tend to compare the Thrashers and the Blues quite a bit. Other than the fact that they're my two favorite teams, there have been some shocking similarities over the years: wonky weird goaltending, a solid youth movement, a future to look forward to, lots of alcohol consumption by the fans... the list is endless.

Both the Blues and Thrashers have been drafting well recently, with the Blues snagging the likes of TJ Oshie, Erik Johnson, Alex Pietrangelo, Patrik Berglund, and David Perron. The Thrashers, of course, have Bryan Little, Zach Bogosian, Evander Kane, and new arrival Alexander Burmistrov to hang their hats on. Burmistrov has been quoted as saying that Pavel Datsyuk, Slava Kozlov, and Max Afinogenov are some of his heroes - no focus on the flashy new style of Russian play for this kid. He's not seeking to emulate Alexander Ovechkin or Ilya Kovalchuk - he wants to be a smart playmaker instead. A good many people saw the fact that he is Russian and have incorrectly assumed that the franchise was trying to "replace" Kovalchuk. After the season started, people looked at his slim offensive output and the fact that the opposition liked to run at him, and thought that after eight games were up he needed to go back to the Barrie Colts.·

Again proving that coaches are smarter than bloggers, Craig Ramsay has put Burmistrov in the line-up every night since the season started, trying to get him going. He's still getting targeted by other guys, but that's because he's doing his job so well. Burmistrov creates chances, and last night he created this one for himself:

I liked what Darren Eliot called this move: "dangelicious." Burmistrov has outstanding puck handling skills to go with an awareness of the game... very similar to the gentleman who Blues fans have been calling Mr. Dangles for the past few seasons.

Are there similarities? Absolutely. Perron has been good for nearly fifty points for the past two seasons, and he had 13 goals with 14 assists his rookie year. Is that unreasonable to expect of Burmistrov for this season? Burmistrov, while with the Barrie Colts last season, scored 22 goals and 43 assists in 62 games played. His last season in Juniors, Perron scored 39 goals and 44 assists in 70 games. Perron might tend to have a higher offensive output, but both he and Burmistrov can pull players out of position, fake them out of their skates, and pot a pretty highlight reel goal. Burmie's just had less time to show people how he can't play. He'll be scoring a few more goals like the one he scored last night this season to draw attention that at number 8 overall, Atlanta got themselves a steal.

Sometimes I forget that when I write things for SBNation Atlanta, they don't magically appear here. Anyway, Andrew Ladd has been named Thrashers captain, and Tobias Enstrom and Dustin Byfuglien are the Alternate Captains for this season. Bully for them!

Frankly, I've been quietly wondering why Toby hasn't been an A for about the past season, and I always assumed it was because he was so quiet - God knows that his play on the ice has always been nothing short of outstanding. I actually really like that we only have two alternate captains this season. A team like Atlanta who seems to need just a few people to shove them in the right direction probably doesn't need 500 captains running around in the locker room.

In Sweden, the average hockey uniform looks like this:

Sexy stuff, Sheldon. It's like if grape Bazooka were a NASCAR driver.

A decent chunk of the members of the Detroit Red Wings are Swedish, so they're used to having ads all over their professional sports team jerseys. In America, the minor leagues have sponsors because they don't rake in the income of the big boys, and therefore need the extra help. The major American leagues, though (MLB, NHL, NFL, and NBA) don't have adverts on their uniforms because it's unnecessary and because it'd be seen as an affront to tradition. How awesome, then, that one of the the league's most tradition steeped (because they will TELL YOU ABOUT IT) clubs is putting ads on their practice jerseys?

The Detroit Red Wings are actually pairing with Amway as a sponsor for their practice jerseys. They're wearing a little ECHL style Amway patch on the jersey to show them how much they all love whatever the hell Amway even is. Honest to God, could they have gotten a more ambiguous sponsor? Amway is the United Way of companies. No one can tell you what the United Way supports, and you mention Amway and you get the same dubious response. I've always considered them a pyramid scheme/cult a-la the vampire cult thing on Angel. Heck, even the official press release from the Red Wings doesn't say what they do:

About Amway: Based in Ada, Mich., Amway is part of the Alticor group of companies, founded by the DeVos and Van Andel families. Alticor is the parent company of Amway Corp., Access Business Group LLC and Alticor Corporate Enterprises. The company offers consumer products and business opportunities, as well as product development, manufacturing and logistics services in more than 80 countries and territories worldwide. The company reported annual sales of $8.4 billion for the year ending Dec. 31, 2009.

Oh, ok. That completely clears everything up for me. So the Wings take one step towards the Swedish brand of hockey that two thirds of their players know and love, and Mr. Illich publicly advertises how horrible Detroit's economy is. "Hi, our city's one successful product can't even afford to exist without getting sponsorship!"

I'm not a Wings fan (duh) so it pains me to say this, but I agree with The Chief over at A2Y. This is stupid, inappropriate, and really leaves the Wings open to mockery. Which I'm fine with, What I'm not fine with, however, is the fact that it also leaves the window open to other teams pulling this. If the Winged Wheel's ok with an Amway Accent, then who else will be?

The boards and the ice are already slathered with ads, and on some TV broadcasts even the glass behind the goal is too. Those things are easy to tune out. But when stuff starts appearing on the players themselves? It becomes a distraction, and looks cheap. When you pay $50 for a ticket, do you want to stare at ads on the players? It kind of makes you wonder where that $50 goes towards, doesn't it? 

The last few games haven't been pleasant for the Blues. Obviously. Aside from tonight's 6-3 drubbing at the hands of the Avalanche, which saw Petro gimp away shaken up, they lost 5-3 in Phoenix Saturday night, lost 3-2 in a shootout to Nashville, and then got their asses handed to them 8-1 on Wednesday. Oh, and next? Wednesday night at Detroit. So, yeah, plenty of time to bounce back.

Colaiacovo's back and scored a goal tonight, and Brad Boyes managed not just a goal, but a power play goal, so there's that to be positive about. However, the defensive injuries coupled with missing Perron and Oshie are really doing a number on a team that's a bit offensively challenged anyway. I suppose that's the plus about the team's current situation, though - there's still room to be hopeful that the problems that're going on right now are the result of injuries to key players. It's when all the key guys get back that we have a problem - if this continues.

Coming tomorrow on St. Louis Game Time I'll be looking at what we did to piss the hockey gods off so much. Should be fun, because God knows we did somethin'. If you haven't seen Gallagher's look at shooting percentage/goals scored, you need to read it. This isn't a new issue, which is disturbing considering the offensive output we (should) have on the team.

Basically, one team on this blog can score like nobody's business, and just can't defend. The other can't score, but can usually (with the exception of the past few games) keep the puck out of the net. Combine the two, and you have the WORLD'S GREATEST HOCKEY TEAM. Or something.