Atlanta looked shocked to open the newspaper and see themselves 2-0 down in the series, but three wins in a row led by the resurgent play of Marty Turco (who was criticized for poor play early in the series) has put Atlanta in prime position to reach the next round.
Surprises of the Series thus far:
Every game has been decided by 1 goal
Ilja Kovalchuk - 3 goals including two game winners means he's in playoff form
Atlanta's Blueline - Missing Chara as they've only chipped in with 7 points but no goals
Mikka Kiprusoff - With low scoring Carolina, his 2.28GAA and .919 SV% is outplaying Turco
Tonight is a good night to be a fan of the Atlanta Thrashers team after the team has clinch the round one victory with a hard fought game six win on the road in Carolina. The team started the series with back to back OT loss's at home, a determined bunch went down tobacco road for games 3 (an OT win) and 4 (a 1 goal win), the pivotal game 5 went to Atlanta in another one goal win. In game six the Thrashers went in and took the 3 straight playoff game played in Raleigh with a 3-1 win in the clinching game..
Key Stat of the series- Carolina PP only 2 goals on 40 chances.
Key performers- M.Turco 1.91 GAA and a .928 save% make him the series MVP.
Key underperformer- UFA D.Boyle, was -4 and only had 2 assists in his 6 playoff games in Carolina.
Key longterm outlook- With this being a division matchup and the losing team having two very key UFA's in Kippersoft, and D.Boyle, this postseason was the Canes chance to make a run an unseat the Thrashers as the top team from the Southeast. With Atlanta coming out on top could they continue to add to back to back division titles.