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. : )

Arena Notes: Philips arena was a short walk from my hotel. Walked past the Olympic park on the way to the arena. It’s located in a decent part of town….outside of the ghetto. ;) A decent fan base showed up…about ¾ full. Not bad for a game against another not so good team. Had great seats on the 3rd level near center ice. There were #37’s on the boards in remembrance of Dan Snyder. I really liked how they had a thrasher hanging from the ceiling near the jumbo tron that spits out fire after the Thrashers score. This arena opened up in 1999 and holds 18,750 hockey fans.

Game Notes: Tommi Santala's first NHL goal turned out to be a game-winner for the Atlanta Thrashers.
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*)

Nassau Coliseum - New York Islanders

Trip Notes: Took a Friday night Jet Blue red eye flight into JFK. Went strait to my hotel, after I arrived sometime after 5am on Saturday. The hotel was within walking distance to most everything in upper Manhattan. Walked to Penn Station, about a mile, to hop on a bus to go to the Continental Airlines Center (New Jersey Devils) for an afternoon game. Later that night, I took a stroll around upper Manhattan visiting the area around Rockefeller Center, Radio City, and the theatre district. It was a fairly warm evening so the Rockefeller ice rink was a bit slushy from what I could tell. I didn’t have my skates so I didn’t have a chance to skate. Lots of people were out and about so I didn’t feel the least bit worried about walking around the city by myself. Next came a night out on the town. Met up with a friend for a few beers. I can’t remember the names of the bars, but I do remember having an amazing time. Had one too many Guinness’. We ended up closing down the bars. Definitely a fun city! Sunday evening I went to an early game at Madison Square Gardens (New York Rangers). It’s right next to Penn Station so it was close to the same walk that I made yesterday. Monday morning I got on the subway and took a train to Long Island where I would be going to my last game of the trip…Nassau Coliseum (New York Islanders). After taking a taxi from the train station, I checked into the Marriott Long Island hotel. The hotel was literally located in the parking lot of the arena. It was great having that short of a walk. After the game I went down to the sports bar in the hotel and had a shake to sooth my soar throat. Ended up sitting next to two nice guys who were in town for a teacher’s conference. Caught a cab back to the airport Tuesday morning and headed back home. Overall….the trip was a blast. I’d go back to NY in a heart beat!

Arena Notes: The arena is located in a convenient area for travelers with the hotel right there. Sat near the top close to center ice. Great seats. The arena was more full than the NJ game, but still not full. Even though the arena wasn't full, the crowd was one of the loudest I've heard. The arena was alright...a bit outdated. Nothing real bad or good about it. Other than being located near the hotel and the Champions Sports bar that's in the hotel, there really wasn't much else around. Nassau was opened in 1972 and holds 16,000 hockey fans. Their mascot is Sparky the Dragon.

Game Notes: Alexei Yashin is the only Islanders player who was around the last time the Ottawa Senators lost at Nassau Coliseum.
And that night, he was on the visiting team.
Yashin scored late in the third period Monday night to secure New York's 6-3 victory, the Islanders' first at home against the Senators in nearly eight years.
"What's most important is we got two points," said Yashin, Ottawa's career leader with 218 goals.
Jason Wiemer, Mariusz Czerkawski and Oleg Kvasha scored in the second period, and Trent Hunter and Shawn Bates added goals for the Islanders, who hadn't defeated the Senators at home since Jan. 6, 1996.
"In the past they had the edge on us," Czerkawski said. "We had to prove it that that was not the case now."
Ottawa was 13-0-4 on Long Island since, including two wins during a five-game playoff victory last season en route to the Eastern Conference finals. The Senators are 25-4-7 against the Islanders since their previous Long Island loss.
"Sure it's a nice thing to get off our backs, but that's not why we're here," defenseman Adrian Aucoin said.
Rick DiPietro made 29 saves for New York, 5-1 at home this season.
"That's one of the teams we're gunning for," Aucoin said. "We can still get better."
Peter Schaefer, Zdeno Chara, and Daniel Alfredsson scored for Ottawa, which got 20 saves from a sometimes shaky Patrick Lalime.
Czerkawski made it 2-1 with his ninth goal, scored 55 seconds into the second. New York had a three-on-two rush, and Kvasha made a backhanded pass to the trailing Czerkawski for the goal.
Lalime then was beaten by Wiemer's drive, shot while the forward was still on the big Islanders logo. It hit Lalime and skipped by to give New York a 3-1 lead at 7:05.
A frustrated Lalime went for a long skate over to the boards as the Islanders celebrated with high-fives on the bench.
"There were a few bad goals. I didn't do it purpose," Lalime said. "It wasn't one of my best nights, that's for sure. I've got to bounce back."
Chara brought Ottawa back within a goal 2:11 later when he stole the puck and beat DiPietro from the right circle.
But the Islanders needed just 1:18 to make it 4-2.
Kvasha stole the puck behind the Senators' net, curled in front and forced a shot in at 10:34.
Yashin made it 5-3 with a power-play goal with 4:02 left, and Bates punctuated the win by scoring into an empty net as the final horn sounded.
"It was a great challenge and the team responded well," Yashin said. "When we were up 4-2 and they scored, we didn't panic. We stayed with the game plan."
Ottawa couldn't dent the Islanders' power play in six chances. New York has killed 54 of 58 penalties this season and ranks first in the NHL.
But the Senators drew to 4-3 with 1:49 left in the second period, 33 seconds after Islanders captain Michael Peca left the penalty box.
Alfredsson scored on a shot from between the circles, through a maze of players and past DiPietro. Alfredsson, already the Senators' career leader in points, raised his total to 500.
Radek Bonk, who had at least one point in Ottawa's first nine games, was scoreless.
Alfredsson and Bonk also played in Ottawa's last Long Island loss.
"This was probably the worst ice I've ever seen in this building," Alfredsson said. "The puck was bouncing all the time.
"Before we haven't beaten ourselves like we did tonight. This is the kind of game you have to forget."
Schaefer gave the Senators a 1-0 lead at 7:50 of the first. Hunter tied it with 1:02 left in the period with his fourth goal in four games.
Other Game notes: Islanders RW Arron Asham didn't play because of a neck strain. He is day-to-day. ... Alfredsson is first in Senators' history with 562 games played and 306 assists. His 194 goals rank second. ... Islanders C Jason Blake was knocked out with a sprained right knee in the first period. ... Ottawa wasn't whistled for a penalty until Martin Havlat went off 5:58 into the third.
(*Game notes taken from espn.com*)

Madison Square Gardens - New York Rangers

Trip Notes: Took a Friday night Jet Blue red eye flight into JFK. Went strait to my hotel, after I arrived sometime after 5am on Saturday. The hotel was within walking distance to most everything in upper Manhattan. Walked to Penn Station, about a mile, to hop on a bus to go to the Continental Airlines Center (New Jersey Devils) for an afternoon game. Later that night, I took a stroll around upper Manhattan visiting the area around Rockefeller Center, Radio City, and the theatre district. It was a fairly warm evening so the Rockefeller ice rink was a bit slushy from what I could tell. I didn’t have my skates so I didn’t have a chance to skate. Lots of people were out and about so I didn’t feel the least bit worried about walking around the city by myself. Next came a night out on the town. Met up with a friend for a few beers. I can’t remember the names of the bars, but I do remember having an amazing time. Had one too many Guinness’. We ended up closing down the bars. Definitely a fun city! Sunday evening I went to an early game at Madison Square Gardens (New York Rangers). It’s right next to Penn Station so it was close to the same walk that I made yesterday. Monday morning I got on the subway and took a train to Long Island where I would be going to my last game of the trip…Nassau Coliseum (New York Islanders). After taking a taxi from the train station, I checked into the Marriott Long Island hotel. The hotel was literally located in the parking lot of the arena. It was great having that short of a walk. After the game I went down to the sports bar in the hotel and had a shake to sooth my soar throat. Ended up sitting next to two nice guys who were in town for a teacher’s conference. Caught a cab back to the airport Tuesday morning and headed back home. Overall….the trip was a blast. I’d go back to NY in a heart beat!

Arena Notes: What a great arena. So far it is my favorite. When you're first walking into the arena you pass by this huge mural of Mark Messier holding up the cup from 1994. Very cool. I sat near center ice close to the top. I don't think there's a bad seat in the house. The arena had an old time hockey feel to it which I liked....probably because it's very old. ;) I also liked how you can walk around the seating area and get to anywhere you want. It doesn't have the normal 2-3 different levels. It's basically one steep level. So even though I sat near the top, I was able to walk down to the lower seating area to catch a closer view. Didn't wear my Avs jersey to this game. Decided to be safe and not wear it. The fans were decent. They yelled at their own team more than any other fans I've seen. Found it amusing. There was a great turnout in the sold out arena. The area surrounding the arena also received a good rating...lots of places to eat and drink. MSG IV opened it's doors in 1968 and has a hockey seating capacity of 18,200. I don't believe they have a mascot.

Game Notes: Nothing fazed the Colorado Avalanche.
Not a five-minute disadvantage in the first period, not a two-goal deficit in the third period, not a crowd giving a rare standing ovation to the host New York Rangers.
Because once the Avalanche got things rolling, Alex Tanguay led the way to a 3-2 overtime victory Sunday over the Rangers.
"We didn't get flustered, no matter what happened," coach Tony Granato said.
Tanguay scored the tying goal in the third period and assisted on Karlis Skrastins' winner 1:14 into overtime to stretch his NHL season-best point streak to nine games.
Skrastins' shot struck the right post behind Mike Dunham and then caromed off the goalie's skate and in to win it.
"It was a good pass from Tanguay. I shot it, but I didn't see where the puck go," said Skrastins of Latvia. "It was a big goal for me and a big game for the team."
The Avalanche won four times last season when trailing after two periods. This was the first time they did it in four tries this season.
"We stuck to our game plan," captain Joe Sakic said. "It's human nature to try to pick it up in the third down 2-0. We kept it simple."
Tanguay tied it with 9:06 left in regulation when he picked up a rebound of Milan Hejduk's wraparound try and banked a shot in off Dunham's left arm.
The Avalanche trailed 2-0 until Travis Brigley scored his first NHL goal during a third-period power play.
Colorado also won last season at Madison Square Garden in overtime when Greg de Vries, now of the Rangers, scored to spoil Glen Sather's first game as New York's coach.
David Aebischer stopped 22 shots and kept the Avalanche close until Colorado could catch up.
Bobby Holik and Mark Messier scored for New York. Dunham made 35 saves in his eighth straight start, the last two coming on back-to-back nights. He has allowed 12 goals in that stretch, going 4-2-2.
"We should expect ourselves to win a game like this," Dunham said. "We gave them momentum and they took it from there."
Brigley knocked in a rebound, while falling to the ice, to lift Colorado within 2-1 at 6:14 of the third period.
The Rangers' power play clicked for the third straight game after failing in its first 32 chances. Anson Carter was just stepping out of the penalty box to give the Rangers the advantage when Holik made it 1-0.
The Rangers scored their first power-play goal of the season Thursday against Carolina and then added two more Saturday at Montreal -- both victories.
Colorado played without Peter Forsberg and Paul Kariya for the second straight game.
Forsberg sat out his second game because of a slight groin pull and is day-to-day. Kariya missed his sixth straight game due to a sprained wrist that has him sidelined indefinitely.
Aebischer, playing his third consecutive game and sixth in seven, made several good stops during New York's five-minute power play, including denying Carter a few times.
"The big key was killing off the five-minute penalty," Aebischer said. "We played well defensively in the third period. We almost didn't make any mistakes."
Colorado was short-handed because of Steve Konowalchuk's checking-from-behind penalty against Alex Kovalev with 6:09 left in the first period. Kovalev was driven into the corner boards and glass headfirst.
Kovalev missed the rest of the period but returned in the second. Konowalchuk was ejected.
New York made it 2-0 at 4:14 of the second period. Matthew Barnaby took a pass from Chris Simon, made some moves in front of Aebischer, and passed right to Messier for his fourth goal.
Messier moved within one point of Gordie Howe for second place on the NHL career list. Messier has 1,849 on 680 goals and 1,169 assists.
Game notesRangers D Brian Leetch made his season debut after missing nine games because of a bruised ankle. ... Rookie forwards Dominic Moore of the Rangers and his brother Steve of the Avalanche were on the ice simultaneously. Dominic had three assists in NHL debut Saturday. Steve has no points in 17 career games. ... Rangers C Petr Nedved didn't return after straining his back in the first period.
(*Game notes taken from espn.com*)

Continental Airlines Arena - New Jersey Devils

Trip Notes: Took a Friday night Jet Blue red eye flight into JFK. Went strait to my hotel, after I arrived sometime after 5am on Saturday. The hotel was within walking distance to most everything in upper Manhattan. Walked to Penn Station, about a mile, to hop on a bus to go to the Continental Airlines Center (New Jersey Devils) for an afternoon game. Later that night, I took a stroll around upper Manhattan visiting the area around Rockefeller Center, Radio City, and the theatre district. It was a fairly warm evening so the Rockefeller ice rink was a bit slushy from what I could tell. I didn’t have my skates so I didn’t have a chance to skate. Lots of people were out and about so I didn’t feel the least bit worried about walking around the city by myself. Next came a night out on the town. Met up with a friend for a few beers. I can’t remember the names of the bars, but I do remember having an amazing time. Had one too many Guinness’. We ended up closing down the bars. Definitely a fun city! Sunday evening I went to an early game at Madison Square Gardens (New York Rangers). It’s right next to Penn Station so it was close to the same walk that I made yesterday. Monday morning I got on the subway and took a train to Long Island where I would be going to my last game of the trip…Nassau Coliseum (New York Islanders). After taking a taxi from the train station, I checked into the Marriott Long Island hotel. The hotel was literally located in the parking lot of the arena. It was great having that short of a walk. After the game I went down to the sports bar in the hotel and had a shake to sooth my soar throat. Ended up sitting next to two nice guys who were in town for a teacher’s conference. Caught a cab back to the airport Tuesday morning and headed back home. Overall….the trip was a blast. I’d go back to NY in a heart beat!

Arena Notes: After a long bus ride from downtown Manhattan, I reached the Continental Airlines Arena. It was out in the middle of nowhere. It's probably one of the worst arenas I've visited. There wasn't much to it. All levels used the same concourse and shared bathrooms, concessions, etc. so it was very crowded during intermissons. The one bright side, my seat was top level near center ice so I had a great view of the game. I know the box score said there was 17,342 people in attendance, but I find that very hard to believe. It was only around 1/2 way full. It was disapointeing. I expected to see more since they were last years Stanley Cup Champions and they were playing a good team...the Avalanche. But I have to remember, the Devils play a boring defensive game of hockey so I'm not sure I'd pay to go see them play too many games either. The arena opened in 1981 and seats 19,040 hockey fans. Their mascot is NJ Devil a devil. Go figure. ;)

Game Notes: Jeff Friesen gave all the credit to Michael Rupp for his unassisted game-winning goal.
Friesen scored with 5:27 remaining to give the New Jersey Devils a 4-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
"Michael drove to the net and backed the defense up," Friesen said. "It froze their goalie, with that big body going to the net. I got it on net, and it found a way to go in off the post."
Friesen had picked up the puck in the neutral zone and skated into the Avalanche zone. He pulled up at the top of the right circle and fired the shot past goaltender David Aebischer.
"Aebischer was probably thinking different when he saw Rupp going to the net," Devils coach Pat Burns said. "He cheated over to one side and that opened the hole for the goal."
The goal capped a frantic third period that started with the teams deadlocked at 2. The Stanley Cup champions took a 3-2 lead on White's goal at 9:30, only to see Hedjuk pull Colorado even at 13:51. Friesen got the deciding goal 42 seconds later.
"We got a little bit sloppy in the third," Aebischer said. "That wound up costing us in the end."
Colorado coach Tony Granato agreed that poor play proved costly against the Devils.
"They thrive on that and that's what they're built on," Granato said. "When we did make a mistake, it was in the back of our net."
Scott Niedermayer, Scott Gomez and Colin White also scored for the Devils, which won its second straight game at home after opening the season 0-3-1 in New Jersey. Martin Brodeur made 20 saves to preserve the win.
Joe Sakic, Alex Tanguay and Milan Hedjuk had Colorado's goals. The Avalanche got Teemu Selanne back in the lineup, but were without Peter Forsberg.
Selanne returned after missing one game because of a swollen knee. Forsberg sat out due to a groin injury and is day-to-day.
Gomez scored the lone goal of the second period to make it 2-2. He beat Avalanche defenseman Martin Skoula to the rebound of Brian Rafalski's shot and netted his first goal of the season at 9:18.
Tanguay scored with 3.1 seconds remaining in the first period to give Colorado a 2-1 lead. Tanguay knocked the rebound of Sakic's shot past Brodeur to cap a flurry of three goals in 83 seconds.
The Avalanche struck first as Sakic flipped Rob Blake's rebound over Brodeur for a power-play goal at 18:33. New Jersey quickly evened the score on a power-play goal by Niedermayer at 19:26.
Other Game notes: The Devils swapped players on the injured reserve list. New Jersey removed D David Hale, who missed four games with a groin injury, and put RW Grant Marshall on the list with a sore back. ... Tanguay's goal extended his point-scoring streak to eight games.
(*Game notes taken from espn.com*)