Today's heartbreak...

For me anyway, b/c I've got tickets to see the Thrash in Philly on Sunday! From Knobler:

Thrashers goalie Kari Lehtonen reinjured his back on Tuesday, missed practice Wednesday and might not be able to play Friday against Carolina.

Thrashers coach John Anderson said the team won’t call up Ondrej Pavelec from its minor league affiliate in Chicago until it knows whether Lehtonen will be available. Lehtonen has been out since an Oct. 30 road loss against the New York Rangers, first because of illness and then because of back stiffness. He practiced Tuesdsay and said he was OK in an interview afterward, but Tuesday night Gwinnett Gladiators goalie Charlie Effinger got a call telling him the Thrashers would need him to practice with them on Wednesday.

Pavelec has appeared in three games while Lehtonen has been out, winning two after playing only the third period in a loss at New Jersey. The Thrashers sent him back to Chicago after Sunday’s game at Carolina, when they thought Lehtonen was healthy.

Pavelec gets first NHL game

Ondrej Pavelec got his first NHL game on Saturday when Hedberg was yanked after allowing 5 Lightning goals. Here's the only article we found about it. More will be added as we find them.

AJC: Pavelec makes NHL debut

We didn't watch the game because we had other stuff going on, but reading the reviews, we're kind of glad we missed it. So let the prognostication begin. Who will be the next to go? What will the next big move be for the Thrash? We do have some inside information that a certain American-born big-gun natural-center who is being held back by his NHL club has expressed interested in beginning discussions about getting traded to the Thrashers. Granted there's Todd White and Eric Perrin (who is being way too under-utilized in our opinion - the Thrashers have the record-holding point getter for UVM and don't seem to be using him in clutch situations), but given proper linemates and a certain amount of freedom, said player could really open the game up for the team, and be the center Kovy needs to light it up.

Whether that would make a difference or not remains to be seen, especially since really what's needed (in addition to a top center) is a Chris Pronger or Sheldon Souray-type defenceman. We're in a bad situation where our questionably top d-men are mentoring the youngsters, and teaching them bad habits (see: Brendan Witt/Steve Eminger).

So would a new coach even make a difference? Herbie Brooks is dead, and he's all we can imagine really turning this team around in the right way. We'd love to be proved wrong, but we believe the problem lies with the mentality of the players. At this point - it's up to them to make the difference.