nccanes
04-06-2003, 11:57 PM
Wow. A hat trick in his first game. Thrashers spank Bolts, 6-2.
By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP Sports Writer
April 6, 2003
AP - Apr 6, 5:24 EDT
ATLANTA (AP) -- The Tampa Bay Lightning headed on to the playoffs. The Atlanta Thrashers wish they could keep playing.
Kamil Piros scored a hat trick for his first NHL goals, and surging Atlanta closed the season on a high note by beating the playoff-bound Lightning 6-2 Sunday.
The Thrashers missed the playoffs, just as they have every season during their four-year existence. But they had a franchise-record 31 victories -- nine more than their previous best and 13 more than last season.
Atlanta went 19-14-5-1 after Bob Hartley took over as coach on Jan. 15.
``If we were in the playoffs right now, we'd be a very tough team to beat in the first round,'' said Dany Heatley, who reached a milestone by scoring his 40th and 41st goals in the final 3:10.
But, as Hartley pointed out, the Thrashers won't be going to the postseason because they started the season with a 10-game winless streak.
``Consistency is definitely the key word of any team in this league,'' he said. ``You can't be put behind the 8-ball. If you can avoid bad slumps, you'll help your chances of making the playoffs.''
Atlanta closed the season with a flourish, going 8-3-1-1 in its final 13 games.
Piros, who spent most of the season in the minors, scored his first career goal 4:32 in. He added two more in the second, including a remarkable effort just seven seconds after the puck dropped.
Piros won the opening faceoff, sped into the Tampa Bay zone and backhanded a shot that was stopped by John Grahame. The rebound came right back to the Atlanta player, who backhanded the puck again, this time beating a surprised Grahame.
``That was a lucky goal,'' Piros said.
The game meant nothing to Tampa Bay, which already clinched the first division title in its 11-year history. The Southeast champion Lightning will open the playoffs at home against Washington, the team they beat by one point in the division.
``We were looking at Washington,'' center Tim Taylor admitted. ``Everything we did was looking at Washington.''
Tampa Bay goes into the playoffs on its first two-game losing streak since early February. The Lightning had a franchise-record 13-game unbeaten streak until Saturday's 4-1 loss to Philadelphia.
``We had a good season,'' Taylor said. ``Now the real season begins. It's going to be fun.''
Atlanta dominated the first period, outshooting the Lightning 19-5. Piros scored off a pass from Lubos Bartecko, then Ilya Kovalchuk gave the Thrashers a 2-0 lead on his 38th of the season. Kovalchuk was trying to pass to Heatley, but the puck deflected off the right skate of Jassen Cullimore and into the net for a power-play goal.
After Piros' second goal gave Atlanta a 3-0 lead, Vaclav Prospal tipped a shot past Pasi Nurminen to put Tampa Bay on the board. Brad Richards had a hand in the goal, with his 57th assist breaking the franchise record of 56 set by Brian Bradley in the inaugural season of 1992-93.
But Piros restored the three-goal lead, thanks to some great work in front of the net by Kovalchuk. After Garnet Exelby's shot was knocked down, Kovalchuk tussled with a defenseman before sliding the puck to Piros at the opposite side of the net. He slammed it past a helpless Grahame, prompting a delay for workers to clear dozens of hats off the ice.
Vincent Lecavalier scored Tampa Bay's other goal, his 34th.
Then it was left to Heatley to take care of some personal business. He scored an unassisted goal for his 40th, taking the puck near the boards, turning sharply in front of the net and firing a wrist shot past Grahame with 3:10 remaining.
Heatley added his 41st with 35 seconds left, tipping in a pass from Slava Kozlov on a power play.
``It was a relief,'' said Heatley, who had seven goals in the final seven games. ``I was pressing a little bit. The guys were good about getting me the puck as much as they could. It finally went in.''
Notes
Kozlov's late assist was his 49th of the season, a team record. ... Thrashers C Marc Savard, who had a team-record eight-game scoring streak, missed the game for the birth of his son. Tyler Phillip Savard was born Sunday morning. ... Tampa Bay had not lost two in a row since Feb. 4 and 6. ... The season isn't over for Piros. He will rejoin Chicago for the AHL playoffs, which begin this week. ... The Thrashers scored the first goal in their last sevengames, going 5-1-1 in those contests.
By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP Sports Writer
April 6, 2003
AP - Apr 6, 5:24 EDT
ATLANTA (AP) -- The Tampa Bay Lightning headed on to the playoffs. The Atlanta Thrashers wish they could keep playing.
Kamil Piros scored a hat trick for his first NHL goals, and surging Atlanta closed the season on a high note by beating the playoff-bound Lightning 6-2 Sunday.
The Thrashers missed the playoffs, just as they have every season during their four-year existence. But they had a franchise-record 31 victories -- nine more than their previous best and 13 more than last season.
Atlanta went 19-14-5-1 after Bob Hartley took over as coach on Jan. 15.
``If we were in the playoffs right now, we'd be a very tough team to beat in the first round,'' said Dany Heatley, who reached a milestone by scoring his 40th and 41st goals in the final 3:10.
But, as Hartley pointed out, the Thrashers won't be going to the postseason because they started the season with a 10-game winless streak.
``Consistency is definitely the key word of any team in this league,'' he said. ``You can't be put behind the 8-ball. If you can avoid bad slumps, you'll help your chances of making the playoffs.''
Atlanta closed the season with a flourish, going 8-3-1-1 in its final 13 games.
Piros, who spent most of the season in the minors, scored his first career goal 4:32 in. He added two more in the second, including a remarkable effort just seven seconds after the puck dropped.
Piros won the opening faceoff, sped into the Tampa Bay zone and backhanded a shot that was stopped by John Grahame. The rebound came right back to the Atlanta player, who backhanded the puck again, this time beating a surprised Grahame.
``That was a lucky goal,'' Piros said.
The game meant nothing to Tampa Bay, which already clinched the first division title in its 11-year history. The Southeast champion Lightning will open the playoffs at home against Washington, the team they beat by one point in the division.
``We were looking at Washington,'' center Tim Taylor admitted. ``Everything we did was looking at Washington.''
Tampa Bay goes into the playoffs on its first two-game losing streak since early February. The Lightning had a franchise-record 13-game unbeaten streak until Saturday's 4-1 loss to Philadelphia.
``We had a good season,'' Taylor said. ``Now the real season begins. It's going to be fun.''
Atlanta dominated the first period, outshooting the Lightning 19-5. Piros scored off a pass from Lubos Bartecko, then Ilya Kovalchuk gave the Thrashers a 2-0 lead on his 38th of the season. Kovalchuk was trying to pass to Heatley, but the puck deflected off the right skate of Jassen Cullimore and into the net for a power-play goal.
After Piros' second goal gave Atlanta a 3-0 lead, Vaclav Prospal tipped a shot past Pasi Nurminen to put Tampa Bay on the board. Brad Richards had a hand in the goal, with his 57th assist breaking the franchise record of 56 set by Brian Bradley in the inaugural season of 1992-93.
But Piros restored the three-goal lead, thanks to some great work in front of the net by Kovalchuk. After Garnet Exelby's shot was knocked down, Kovalchuk tussled with a defenseman before sliding the puck to Piros at the opposite side of the net. He slammed it past a helpless Grahame, prompting a delay for workers to clear dozens of hats off the ice.
Vincent Lecavalier scored Tampa Bay's other goal, his 34th.
Then it was left to Heatley to take care of some personal business. He scored an unassisted goal for his 40th, taking the puck near the boards, turning sharply in front of the net and firing a wrist shot past Grahame with 3:10 remaining.
Heatley added his 41st with 35 seconds left, tipping in a pass from Slava Kozlov on a power play.
``It was a relief,'' said Heatley, who had seven goals in the final seven games. ``I was pressing a little bit. The guys were good about getting me the puck as much as they could. It finally went in.''
Notes
Kozlov's late assist was his 49th of the season, a team record. ... Thrashers C Marc Savard, who had a team-record eight-game scoring streak, missed the game for the birth of his son. Tyler Phillip Savard was born Sunday morning. ... Tampa Bay had not lost two in a row since Feb. 4 and 6. ... The season isn't over for Piros. He will rejoin Chicago for the AHL playoffs, which begin this week. ... The Thrashers scored the first goal in their last sevengames, going 5-1-1 in those contests.