Holy Crap What a Game

I was going to do a humorous commentary of my day's wanderings, but after that game (and the late hour in which I finally made it back to the in-laws' house, I decided to just focus on the game tonight and then post something more about my day tomorrow after I get up. I get to my seat just in time for the first face-off of the game and I've barely settled in before the Thrashers score their first goal only three minutes into the game. That kind of set the tone for the rest of the first period as the Thrashers dominated, but failed to score another goal. Atlanta has struggled all season so far to keep down the number of shots on goal taken by the other team. In fact, it took 19 games before the team managed to finish a game with more shots on goal than their opponent. Well, tonight makes that two games in a row where the Thrashers out shot the other team. I sat on corner of the goal that the Thrashers tended for the first and third periods. Let's just say that I spent most of the first period peering down ice.

You wouldn't have thought that during the second period, though. After I bought a souvenir puck for E to chew on, got a bottle of water to make up for the beer consumed earlier in the day, and got back to my seat, the game completely shifted. The Tampa Bay Lightning took control of the game and started eating away at the shots-on-goal advantage of the Thrashers and quickly took the lead 2-1. The collapse didn't stop in the 3rd period either. The Lightning continued to control the puck and posted a third point. Then late in the third period, something happened. The blue-clad part-time Atlantans found that fire that fueled them in the first period and quickly put up two unanswered goals to tie the game at 3-3 late in the game. They managed to keep the Lightning from scoring in the last couple of minutes and it went to overtime, which is something the birds have excelled at all year. They haven't lost an overtime game yet and they kept that streak alive with a goal by Todd White during OT to take the win and to bring Atlanta to .500 winning percentage for the first time this year.

The pleasantly happy part is that if you take away that dismal 0-6 start to the season, the Thrashers are 10-4. They've gone from being the last NHL team to score a point in the standings (standings are decided by 2 points for a win, 1 point for an OT loss, and no points for a regulation loss instead of straight win-loss record) to being only a win out of second place in the Southeastern division and only 7 points from the leader. With the length of the season, they've actually pulled themselves back into contention for a repeat of the division title they won last season.

I didn't actually get to see more of Julie and Matt than the waving person I'm pretty sure was Julie during the second intermission, but this was an amazing game and I'm really glad that I got to go. Now, if the Falcons can just pull off something half this entertaining on Thursday, I can die happy.

Coming tomorrow: Entertaining panhandlers, beer, and peepee.