Kovalchuk: "Whatever he wants to say. The score on the board, we win. We get two points [in the standings]. We’ve got three games [left] against them, so if he’s got something he wants to say, I’m always ready to answer."
Atlanta's season so far:
Good to see that when Kovalchuk gets angry he takes over the game. Too bad he doesn't get angry more often, for Atlanta's sake.
Luckily The Star will say something stupid even if we all agree that the Leafs looked like crap last night:
If this was the end of Cliff Fletcher's second era at the helm of the Maple Leafs, it finished with a whimper.
The man just got us Lee Stempniak, who was amazing last night. Try again.
They fell behind early and never recovered against a Thrashers team that ended a three-game losing streak without starting goalie Kari Lehtonen, who is injured.
Yeah, it's too bad we didn't get to play against perennial all star Kari "I think I felt a tug" Lehtonen, whose impressive stats this year speak for themselves:
For those of you playing at home, Kari Lehtonen's "respectable" .903SV% is tied for 27th in the league.
It could prove to be a costly loss as well. Jason Blake may have suffered a concussion, taking a shoulder to the head from Colby Armstrong in the third period of a penalty-filled contest.
A costly loss? Jason Blake? Does anyone at the Star watch Leafs games, or is the free ice cream in the press box too tempting?
Thrashers coach John Anderson thought Kovalchuk's performance made the difference for his struggling team.
"When you see your big star fight and scrap and do what he has to do to win, it lifts your whole team," said Anderson.
Kovalchuk got a sissy punch in before three refs dove on him to save his pretty face from heavyweight Ian White.