Remember when the Thrashers would only go as far as Ilya Kovalchuk could carry them? Well that’s not the case anymore.
Atlanta is no longer a one-trick pony. The club has a great goaltending duo with stud prospect Ondrej Pavelec and steady veteran Johan Hedberg. Scoring comes from new No. 1 center Rich Peverley, Maxim Afinogenov and Nik Antropov whenever Kovalchuck can’t find the back of the net.
And the team possesses a backend that can hold a lead. After Saturday’s win over the Flyers, the Thrashers are 9-0 when scoring the first goal.
Meanwhile, it’s the same old news in Florida. The Panthers are struggling to stay relevant in the Eastern Conference and have dropped four straight.
Pick: Thrashers
Dallas Stars at Detroit Red Wings (-150, 5.5)
The minute the Wings look like they’ve got things straightened out and could go on a long win streak, they turn around and stink up the joint. Over a three-game stretch two weeks ago, Detroit beat Columbus, Vancouver and Anaheim by a combined score of 19-6.
Since then, Hockeytown is 2-5 and during the stretch the Wings scored just eight goals.
The offense is down from the blue line. Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski were the highest-scoring defensive pair the last two seasons. Through 25 games, the two have just 20 points between them. But this is just part of an overall problem in Detroit.
“Sometimes, things don’t go your way for a while,” Wings coach Mike Babcock told Michigan Live after his club fell 3-0 to the Flames last week. “Are you going to hang your head and feel bad, or are you just going to keep staying determined?"
Look for Detroit to snap out of its scoring slump and pick up a home win over the Stars.
Ice Picks 11/30
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