Save Us Toby-One Kenobi, You Are Our Only Hope! Thrashers vs Rangers

The Rangers coming to town is usually something I am not too excited about. Except for seeing the King and Marty Biron, the fans are a pain and they often beat us. Tonight was special though, our pocket Swede, Toby Enstrom was returning to the ice after missing a few weeks with a broken finger. Having Buffstrom back together again was the best Valentines Day present a hockey loving girl could ask for. Plus, it was the Valentines Day Puck Surprise event and once again I was helping Holly out with the event.


Such a welcome sight.



Photo FAIL! I made Toby a "Welcome Back" sign and he smiled at it, but I didn't get the shot. I cleaned it up as much as possible, but it's still blurry.



Poor Mason. He was back on the ice backing up Pavs for the first time in a while after injury. I didn't know he'd be back though and didn't have him a sign. Sorry Mace!



Ondrej, Toby and Ladd chilling. I heard Ladd had the flu. Get better, Laddy! I wonder why they don't get flu shots.



Adorable Russian is adorable.



Deep thoughts by Dustin Byfuglien.



Marty Biron, the chattiest bastard in the NHL. Careful Mason, don't look into his eyes, he will steal your soul with them!



Even from across the ice you can see those eyes!



Toby has puck eyes!



Arturs Kulda has been called from Chicago. A lot of fans would like to see more of him.



Kane and Kulda chat.



I'd love to know what Nik and Bryan chat about in their little warm up powwow. They always laugh and smile though.



Johnny zooms around the ice, but never participates in the goalie swarm.



Johnny: Dear God, please don't let that weird lady with my jersey get a winning puck. Thank you, Amen.



Swarming the goalie.



Super photog Holly had 2 extra tickets and was fabulous enough to let Randy and I sit with her and her family. Pretty sweet seats!
I love this picture because it looks like a giant puck coming at the King. I guess on a good night this is what all of the pucks look like.



Boulton had been a healthy scratch for a few games and we were glad to see him again. Prust was probably not as happy to see him.



Only fitting that Boutlsie should get a fight his first game back.



Avery was bitching and whining to the refs all night.



Marc Staal waits for the face off.



Not a good seat for taking pics of the action on the other end, but it was the suffering. We were just a few rows off of the glass. Pavs is seeing some chaos in front of the net. Love Toby's face.



Zuccarello deep in thought. I bet he is thinking "one ring to rule them all!"



If you don't know what I'm talking about, take a look. He looks JUST LIKE Frodo Baggins.



No, that's okay, we didn't want to see. You are 5 rows off of the glass and no one in front of you is standing. SIT DOWN.



My Hillbilly friends made the jumbo tron.



What does the Peverley Hillbilly and friends dance to, you ask? Cotton Eye Joe of course. How did that EVER get to be played at hockey games? At least this time we had some entertainment.



Johnny waits for the face off.



Sopel and Oduya protect the zone.



Avery and the ref were getting pretty intense. You clearly saw the ref mouth "Fuck you, Avery" as he skated off. Sean was later quoted in interviews as saying he was frustrated that there were two sets of rules and they didn't apply to him as far as people slashing,tripping, etc him. Boo hoo!



Awww Frodo and Anisimov are on the kiss cam. I love it when the guys play along. You can see that Zucarrello is representing his Italian heritage with his mouth guard.



That damn Hillbilly is a super star! He was one of the pucks in the relay race during the intermission.



There were all kinds of characters there tonight! I couldn't read their shirts, not sure who they were with. I know a lot of the guys were wishing they were with them though.



Boultsie battles Gilroy.



This guy stood up and recorded like 5 minutes of game. I'm surprised they didn't come down and stop him.



Frodo in the face off.



Still recording.


I didn't get to take many pictures in the third period because we had to leave to set up for the Valentines Day Puck Surprise event. We left right as Gaborik was getting the penalty shot on Pavs. I could tell by the crowd reaction he missed! That was a really important save for Pavs to make. Momentum could have swung the wrong way for us if Gaborik scored. I didn't see Kane come up big with the 2 goals in the 3rd period. Thanks to him, the Thrashers win 3-2!!

For those that don't know...they have special Valentines Pucks that the players sign. You buy a bundle of pucks. If you get a puck that is signed in gold, you get to meet that player and get your picture with him.


Holly really did the damn thing this year. She had a back drop and all kinds of special flashes and umbrellas. It was top notch. I was there for grunt work. I taped all the cords down and basically did whatever she needed until the guys arrived. The back drop made it much more organized too. I wasn't constantly asking people to move out of the shot like last year.


Highlights of this year for me:

• Boulton coming up to his group of people and saying "How'd I get all dudes?"
• Holding Boultsie's suit jacket while he took the picture
  
• Chris Mason's tie. I said "that is an outstanding tie, Chris. Very nice."
• Complimenting Tim Stapleton on his suit.
  

And of course the reward for crawling on my knees on a basket ball court taping down cords and holding the fans' coats, bags, drinks etc...I get a few pics of my own!


Me and Johnny! I showed him my jersey and he (of course) liked it.



When Buff was finished with his group, I handed them their stuff back and told Buff "and you stay right there, my turn." He was awesome about it. He also had a phenomenal tie.


I look like a zombie in these pictures. I worked all day then went to the game so my make up was gone. One good thing, I now know that these bangs are GONE. I hate them so much.

Special thanks to Holly for the tickets and the opportunity. If you are in the Atlanta area and need a photographer, give Holly a call!
http://www.studiohollyb.com/

No rest for the weary, the Thrashers continue to slump and the tough teams continue to march into Blueland. Tonight’s opponents were the New York Rangers. I decided to go down and see the King. I didn’t got take pictures of the Rangers at all last season for various reason. Another perk, Marty Biron is on the Rangers this season and I love taking pictures of him.


I got a spot right by the bench for warm ups. I was so close to the King only a few inches separated us, I thought I was gonna faint! Definitely the closest I’ve been to Henrik. Of course I always think of things too late, but I should have made him a “Congratulations” sign for his recent engagement.


All hail the King!



Marty Biron and Boulton chat it up. They are old buddies from their days together in Buffalo.



Marty always looks so happy in warm ups.



Here is one for your dart boards, everyones' most hated douchebag, Sean Avery.



Actually this one is better, he's looking at the camera. Your darts can land in his eyes.



Speaking of eyes....Marty Biron has the most amazing eyes. Unless you are my friend Paula who think they are creepy.



The King on his throne.



Henrik separated by a few centimeters of glass.



Henrik facing a few shots.



On the other end of the ice, looks like Pavs has some shiny new black pads.



My fantasy team boy, Brian Boyle. He's kind of like my poor man's Ryan Calahan, though I don't think I'll tell the 6'7'' Boyle that. He scored a goal, I had him on the bench, such is the week for my fantasy team.



Marty sees some rubber.



The King takes his net back.



All Star bound defenseman Marc Staal. I wonder if brother Eric will chose him? Eric says it was always him and the youngest Staal (Jared) vs the middle brothers (Jordan and Marc) so he is accustomed to playing against him.



I'd love to meet Marty Biron. He seems like such a nice guy and like he'd be a lot of fun.



Swarming the goalie.



Sean: Wow dude, you really DO look just like Froto.
Zuccarello: Yeah, I hear that a lot.
Sean: Like seriously, you are even hobbit sized!
Zuccarello: Yeah? Well you are a douche bag.



Newbury takes a shot to the King.



Henrik doing a bit of stick handling.



Close up of Marty Biron.



Up in the suite an injured Evander Kane and Jimmy Slater discuss something. Healthy scratch Bogosian scarfs something down.



My fantasy man, Brian Boyle takes a face off with Peverley.



Damn, that tomato has good seats...wait WHAT?



Pevs takes it to the King.



Ladd screening the King hoping for a goal.



No wonder the force wasn't with us tonight, too many storm troopers!



Henrik is telling Boulton he's getting a little too close for comfort.



All Star Marc Staal and Stewie jockey for a spot in front of Lundqvist.



Ladd isn't usually one to be on the fight card, but the Captain isn't one to back down.



Though it seems that all of my pictures show Girardi punching Ladd, the Captain held his own pretty well.



The tomato seems to be enjoying himself.



Lundqvist steers the puck away from the net.



I'm not sure if it was a friendly exchange, but something in the crowd caught Avery's attention.



He continued to look back, smile and run that never ceasing mouth of his.



Pavs keeps an eye on the puck.



Sopel chases Wolski and the puck.



Certain disaster for the Thrashers, a 5 on 3 penalty kill. When the Thrashers killed it off, they got a loud standing ovation from the crowd.



I love you on my fantasy team, Boyle, but watch it with manhandling Johnny!



Johnny, Boyle and friends in front of Pavs.



Pavs is under there somewhere.



Some chaos for Pavs.



Kiss cam! I love it when the opposing fans play along and aren't obscene. Well done, Rangers fans!



Buff and Anisimov battle in front of the net.



Pavelec's Dogs have a fancy new sign!

After a really exciting game, the Thrashers found themselves in territory that is all too familiar lately, tied. At 14:41 of the 3rd period, the Thrashers continued to display their inability to protect a lead and allowed Brian Boyle to score. Nothing was decided in OT so we go to a shootout.


The zamboni came out to clear the strip of ice for the shooters. It seemed to have some troubles near the King's net. Due to zamboni delay, Jamie and Candace were late getting the net back on the moorings. Didn't bother the King, he didn't wait at all, just started cutting up his ice.



He was swinging that stick back and forth and I just knew he was going to bust Candace in the face with it. Fortunately there would be no Blue Crew blood on the ice.



So the shoot out starts. Pavs makes the save on Wojtek Wolski.



One goal to win it all, the Hobbit, Zaccarello scores.



The Rangers win. Vomit.


Seriously disappointing shoot out loss AGAIN. We had a great crowd and it was an exciting game, but the same result. I've really enjoyed seeing Bogosian as a healthy scratch. The defensive pairing of Oduya and Sopel has worked well together. Hainsey has been playing really well too. It was a shame the guys couldn't feed off the energy of that 5 on 3 penalty they killed. Blah. Go Thrashers.