600 Wins for Marty! Thrashers lose to the Devils.

I always hate it when my two favorite teams play each other. This game was super important for the Thrashers. Though probably eliminated from the play off chase several games ago, a loss tonight would mathematically eliminate the Thrashers. On the other end, Marty Brodeur was looking to gain his 600th regulation win.


Another exciting plot line for the night...the return of Kovalchuk! This would be the first time Kovy returned to Blueland since being traded. Boos? Cheers? We were all excited to see.


It was a mixture. There was mostly jeers. Signs included:
* The massive "Kovalchump" sign that spanned an entire section
* Kovy lied
* "Russian" to the bank
* Kova-who?
* Atlanta loves Kovy
* Come home Kovy
* and some superman thing.






Marisa had a sign for Anssi. Hopefully someone will pass along the message.





Kovalchump wasn't the only large banner.





Close up on some signs.





This guy had a sign in Russian that he refused to tell anyone what it said (asshole). It upset Max during warm ups and he fired a puck at it. I later discovered it said "Kovalchuk is a Wussy" except it wasn't wussy, if you know what I mean.





Some altered their Kovy jerseys. Some thought he was a disloyal *bleep*





Some focused on our guys. 18 > 17 and we are better with Bergfors.

When Kovy came out for warm ups, there were a few cheers, but most thunderous boos.


Warm ups!


I see you seeing me, Danis!


Chelios: "Hey young man, can you help me up? I think my hip slipped out."
Marty: "Ne me parlez pas. Ne sais-tu pas qui je suis?"
Chelios: "Come on, help out an old man."





I've been upset with Marty this season because he refused to acknowledge my signs or me. I didn't bring one this time. I've learned through past games exactly where to stand to get good shots of Marty. I was taking shots of him and he looked towards me, looked away, looked back and smiled. *swoon* All is forgiven.





Marty hanging out.





David Clarkson! I just bought one of his autographed pucks at the last Thrasher Fan Club event.





David is thirsty.





Smoldering!





Marty taking some shots. I actually didn't get too many shots of him or Danis in net this time.





The classic Marty pose.





Marty checking things out. Ron photobombing me in the back.





Thanks for the block there, Rolston.





Yes! Dainius Zubrus. Though he is Lithuanian, he speaks Russian and apparently he and Ilya are buddies.





Wonder what Marty is thinking?
Marty: Goddamn I'm awesome.





Clarkson: "You sure are, Marty."





Oh yeah, they DO have another goalie. Danis' mask is way cooler than Marty's mask. It has scary demons on it.





Marty in the net.





It never fails, I always forget to take pictures of Zach Parise.





He's so fast he's hard to catch. Okay okay, and I'm usually obsessed with Brodeur.





Next year! Next year I will take great pics of Zach. Oh, and Patty, too. I forget Elias a lot, too.





Swarming the goalie.





Moose's mask during the National Anthem.





Before the game started, we handed out a few awards.
First off, Moose won the Georgia’s Own Credit Union Three Stars of the Year Award which is presented annually to the player who garners the most points over the course of the regular season from being named a First, Second, or Third Star after each game. A First Star nomination earns the player three points, a Second Star gets two points, and the Third Star receives one point.
Hedberg, who earned five First Star nominations this season, has posted a 20-15-6 record with a 2.67 goals-against average, .914 save percentage and two shutouts. The Leksand, Sweden, native made a career high 46 saves in 48 shots on Dec. 12 at the NY Rangers. This is Hedberg’s third team award in his four seasons with the club.





Next up, for the second year in a row, Marty Reasoner won the Player's Player Award. The award is voted on by the players and presented annually to the Thrasher who best exemplifies what being a “team player” is all about.

Congratulations guys!!!


First period!







Marty making it look so easy.





Marty tracking the puck.





Keep it down there guys!





Or not.





Patric Elias had a bit of contact with Moose which resulted in a goalie interference call. It also knocked Moose's mask off. Mr. Fred got a great picture of it.





Moose picked his masked up and checks it out. Michelle got a cool mid-air shot of Moose's mask. Moose IS a Jedi!!





Check it out good, Moose. We definitely want to make sure that anything that protects THAT face is in 100% working order.





Hi Kovy!





Face off.





The Devils putting some pressure on us.





A picture of hotness! David Clarkson and Johan Hedberg.





I didn't know Kid Rock and Tim McGraw were friends, let alone liked hockey!

You couldn't tell by the first period that the Thrashers were fighting for their playoff lives. Both teams had 8 shots on goal, and one of those shots by New Jersey's Dean McAmmond found its way to the back of the Atlanta net. The Thrashers head into the 2nd period down 1-0.


Second Period!


Yes Marty, come to me!





Opening face off.





Marty is thirsty!





A shot of the back of his mask. You can see the "M" for his newest son, Maxime. I believe his Olympic medals are back there as well as his Stanley Cups. He IS greatness!





Apparently Greatness needs to know what time it is? Is he looking for a watch?





More drinking. You can see Blue Crew member Christina in the background. She is my favorite Blue Crew and secret girl crush. I like her because she is pretty and she plays hockey. She's from Jersey, I wonder if she was excited about seeing Marty Brodeur.





Marty is deep in thought. Maybe he's looking at the Kovalchump sign.





Elias: Dear God, please don't let us get kicked out of the playoffs in the first round. Thank you. Amen.





Johnny out there showing Dmen how it's done.





Reasoner and Thor hoping to be able to get the puck and put it in.





The Thrashers taking it to the net.





Marty didn't get too much work, but they had him dancing a few times.





Gotta love those signs Chick Fil A gives out, huh?





Especially when there is a kid with one in front of you. I wanted to punch it out of her hand.





Good luck seeing around Antro, Marty.

Well, the second period was as disappointing as the first. We were outshot 11-9 and thanks to a nice little tip-in by Zach Parise, we went into the third period down 2-0.


Third period!







Getting shut out is thirsty work.





Go Arty!





I was hoping they would put Ilya on kiss cam, but no such luck.





Moose must still be having some mask issues. He dug around in it for a few minutes, then sat his stuff down to keep adjusting.





Fixed!





And off he goes.





With about 10 minutes left in the third period, the Kovalchump crew started chanting "LIAR."





The message did not go unnoticed.





Zajac scored and as the period winds down we are down 3-0. Anderson pulls the Moose so we can...get 3 goals in 1 minute?





Kovy waiting in front of the net.





Devils win! Boo.





The Thrashes are eliminated from the playoffs. Marty Brodeur gets his 600th regulation win and his 110th shut out. Well done, Marty. Congratulations.