Philips Arena - Atlanta Thrashers
Trip Notes: Heather drove up to Atlanta to visit me for the weekend. After she picked me up at the airport around midnight, we headed to our hotel which turned out to be in the ghetto. That’s what I get for being cheap. The picture on the web site looked ok. ;) I’ve learned my lesson. After braving out a night in the downtown Travelodge, we headed downtown to check out the sites. Walked around the city including going to Underground Atlanta. Before she left town on Sunday, she dropped me off at my new hotel...the Holiday Inn that was just down the street from Philips Arena. I decided it was worth a few more bucks to stay on a nicer side of town. : )
Santala's goal with 13:45 left in the third period broke a 2-all tie and sent Atlanta to a 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Sunday.
"All of a sudden it's 2-2 with 18 minutes left. Tommi's goal was huge," teammate Shawn McEachern said. "After Tommi got the goal, I really thought we controlled the game."
Santala's goal wasn't the only first for the Thrashers, who ended a three-game losing streak. Francis Lessard also scored his first NHL goal, and McEachern and Daniel Tjarnqvist added their first goals of the season.
While the offense clicked, so did the defense. Pasi Nurminen stopped 26 of 28 shots. In the previous six games, Atlanta allowed 23 goals. It also marked the first time in six games the Thrashers allowed fewer than three goals.
But Atlanta almost let the game slip away.
Trailing 2-0 after two periods, Florida tied the game on goals by Niklas Hagman and Vaclav Nedorost in the first 1:45 of the third.
"The first two periods we did not do much," Panthers captain Olli Jokinen. "Then we got playing in the first few minutes of the third."
But Santala, a 24-year-old rookie who finished third in the Finnish Elite League in scoring last season, netted the go-ahead goal less than four minutes after the Florida rally. Streaking into the slot, he swept in Ronald Petrovicky's pass from behind the net.
"It's a great accomplishment to call your friends after the game to tell them that you have that famous puck of your first NHL goal," Atlanta coach Bab Hartley said. "They'll remember this day for a long time."
McEachern, who also had two assists, made it 4-2 at 15:40, and Tjarnqvist added a goal 39 seconds later for the final margin.
Petrovicky and Jeff Cowan each had two assists for the Thrashers, who stayed above .500 at 8-7-3-1 and pulled within two points of idle Tampa Bay in the Southeast Division.
Lessard, who sat out Saturday night's loss at Philadelphia because of a one-game spearing suspension, opened the scoring at 9:27 of the first. Known more for his punching than his offensive punch, Lessard showed soft hands when he chipped in a pass by McEachern from close range.
Vyacheslav Kozlov made it 2-0 midway through the second period, poking in Ilya Kovalchuk's rebound.
The Panthers, who won Saturday night at Pittsburgh, finished their short road trip 1-2 and are 2-2 since general manager Rick Dudley took over coaching duties from Mike Keenan.
"I would have liked to have a better start, but we responded well," said Dudley. "(The Thrashers) played hard. They're a well-coached team. They are a hard-working team and they're disciplined."
Game notesJokinen, who had seven goals and 11 points in his previous seven games vs. Atlanta, went scoreless. ... Since returning from a groin injury Nov. 5, Florida RW Valeri Bure has four goals and five assists in seven games.
(*Game notes taken from espn.com*)
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