Predators vs. Thrashers
Atlanta, GA – Back-to-back losses by the Nashville Predators and Atlanta Thrashers have both anxious to get back on the ice to correct their mistakes.
The teams will meet for the second time this season Tuesday night as Nashville begins a four-game road trip.
The Predators (35-25-5) are in seventh place in the Western Conference, ahead of ninth-place Calgary by two points. Nashville was eager to move on after blowing a one-goal lead heading into the third period of Sunday’s 4-2 home loss to Vancouver.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made the Thrashers –110 money line favorites for Tuesday’s game against the Predators. Current NHL Public Betting Information shows that 77% of more than 540 bets for this game have been placed on the Thrashers -110.
"Our focus has to be on the next game," coach Barry Trotz said. "We’ve gotta get the next game, it’s plain and simple. There’s gotta be a lot of urgency, there’s gotta be an all-in, buy-in. I can’t have any passengers right now."
Atlanta (28-26-10) was echoing a similar sentiment after a 4-0 home loss to Carolina on Sunday. The Thrashers are in 10th place in the East, three points behind eighth-place Boston.
"There’s still time," coach John Anderson said. "We have to lick our wounds and go right back at it and put this aside and take some of the things from it that we didn’t do well and improve on it."
Nashville is looking to get better goaltending. Dan Ellis made 23 saves in a 4-2 loss at Detroit on Friday and Pekka Rinne, who Trotz has said will get the bulk of the starts the remainder of the season, had 24 on Sunday.
"Down the stretch here, we’re going to need good goaltending, that’s plain and simple," Trotz said. "Any team that’s gonna make the playoffs is going to need good goaltending. Both our guys are capable of that."
Rinne made 23 saves and Martin Erat and Joel Ward each had a goal and an assist in a 4-3 home victory over Atlanta on Jan. 30. Bryan Little scored twice for the Thrashers.
Erat, though, has scored once in his last 11 games and Patric Hornqvist has no goals in his last nine. Hornqvist leads Nashville with 23 goals and Erat is second with 19.
"It’s playoffs for us right now. It’s going to be like this right till hopefully June for us," right wing Jerred Smithson said. "We gotta come out and play a full 60 minutes, not 50 or 55 or whatever it is. We’ve gotta go out and put the work boots on and it’s going to take whoever’s in the lineup to do it."
Defenseman Shea Weber missed Sunday’s game with an upper-body injury sustained against Detroit. Trotz said he’s doubtful to play against the Thrashers.
Atlanta scored 10 goals in winning its first two games after the Olympic break before a 6-2 loss at Tampa Bay on Saturday and the shutout loss to the Hurricanes. The Thrashers play 11 of their final 18 games at home.
"It’s not time to panic," defenseman Ron Hainsey said. "It’s a .500 week. It’s not the end of the world. We’re kind of right where we were but we need more than that. We need five or six points out of these weeks instead of four. We have to make it up this week."
Posted: 3/8/2010 11:32PM ET