PaulThology

As an honored guest of GodSendJen’s Thrashers Roundtable (first set of questions is available here), I answered her second Roundtable questions as follows:

1. Who is the Role Player most likely to do something huge in the playoffs? (Excluding Lehtonen, Hossa, Kovy, Kozy, Tkachuk and Zhitnik.)

I’d have to say Bobby Holik. He’s a seasoned, gritty veteran with loads of postseason experience, and the team leader in hits. It has also been a while since he tasted playoff blood. He’ll be ready, and play at least five years younger than his age. I also expect “Moose” Hedberg to see some playing time if Lehtonen struggles, and could be the go-to guy by the end of the playoff run.

2. In baseball they say good pitching beats good hitting. Which is more important for playoffs good goaltending, good powerplay?

Goaltending. Fewer penalties are called in the postseason, and the Conn Smythe trophy history tells you both the importance of playoff goaltending, and the resulting team success of a netminder’s hot streak. Ottawa and Buffalo have had great power plays the past few years (and St. Louis a few years back), but shorter-than-expected playoff runs as a result of their goaltenders not being able to overcome poor defensive play or injuries on defense.

3. What concerns you most about facing the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs? What single factor is the biggest “key” to winning this series?

I worry about three things…the first is the Thrashers’ inability to hold third period leads, as they have a tendency to abandon their aggressive forecheck. The second is our ability to defend Jagr. His puck possession skills could lead us to take a lot of holding and hooking penalties, particularly by our slower and mismatched defensemen. Lastly I think Lundqvist is capable of getting really hot and being unbeatable, something I’m not sure either of the Thrashers goaltenders are likely to do.