Georgia on my Mind - Canes Thrash tangle in Atlanta

Atlanta is the place to be Wednesday night as the Carolina Hurricanes battle the Thrashers for the third time this season and second time at Phillips Arena in downtown Atlanta. These two teams have teamed up for some exciting hockey in their previous two games this season both won by the Canes.

First off, hats off to the Thrash as they are the only team this season to put a mark on the Buffalo Sabers record. This past Saturday night, Atlanta beat Buffalo in a shoot out in front of a sold out arena in Buffalo. The Sabers were not able to set the NHL record for best start in a season. They tied the record with the 1994-1995 Toronto Maple Leafs.

Now on to the business at hand, the Carolina Hurricanes put the pedal to the metal when they meet Atlanta and the first two games of the season series has been no exception. In the first game the Canes took a commanding 3-0 first period lead, only to see it evaporate in the second and third periods. Ray Whitney scored the game winner with .5 second left in the third. The second game of this epic battle saw Atlanta dent the score board first, but the Canes rallied back and at the end of one period the Canes lead 3-1. The problem however is that when it comes to the Thrash, the Canes can’t seem to hold the lead and “Adam Ant”on Babcuk scored the game winning goal early in the over time period from a feed from Justin Williams aka "Willy".

Now its time to see if the Canes can get the lead and keep it or if the game is another blistering one that sees the pendulum swing early for Carolina and late for Atlanta. We shall see.