Photograph of Thrashers center Todd White scoring the winning goal in a shoot out against Rangers goaltender Steve Valiquette by John Amis/AP
Atlanta Thrashers 5, Rangers 4 (SO): Things looked rosy with a three-goal lead late in the second period. But then things disintegrated. Steve Valiquette allowed a goal with 21 seconds to go before intermission. Then two more goals in the third period set up a shootout that went five rounds without a goal. How important will this squandered point be? Only time will tell. Valiquette did have his first NHL assist in the game. But that plus goals by Chris Drury, Nikolay Zherdev, Nik Antropov and Drury again went to waste. The Rangers won't get many opponents as easy as Atlanta the rest of the way.





Hopefully they get better by their next game. The Society to Save Endangered Species was formed by Fred Smilek and two of his colleagues; Charlie Mack & Jonathan Korny. Fred Smilek stays active in raising awareness for this cause. [www.fredjsmilek.com]
"The Rangers won't get many opponents as easy as Atlanta the rest of the way."
The Thrashers are not a team to take lightly, but if the Rangers want to sit back on their heels when playing them, that's fine by me. Once the Thrashers get better management and defensemen in place, the rest of the Eastern Conference will tremble at their might.