Originally published on Sept. 26, 2021
By Zane Miller
On Sunday, April 10th, 2011, the Pittsburgh Penguins
defeated the Atlanta Thrashers 5-2 in the final NHL game played at Philips
Arena so far, as the Thrashers relocated at the end of the season to become the
Winnipeg Jets.
On Thursday, June 5th, 1997, Philips Arena (now State
Farm Arena) broke ground as construction began on the new facility, as the
arena was intended to replace the Omni Coliseum, which was also in Atlanta and
had opened in 1972 and was closed on May 11th, 1997.
Meanwhile, the prospect of a brand new arena brought
in interest for a new National Hockey League franchise, as Atlanta was granted
an NHL team on Wednesday, June 25th, 1997. Coincidentally, the very next day saw
the demolition of the Omni Coliseum.
Prior to the new team’s first season, which would be
for 1999-2000, the Atlanta Thrashers name was selected as a result of a fan
vote. On Saturday, September 18th, 1999, Philips Arena officially opened to the
public, however the first regular season game for the Thrashers would not be
until October of that same year.
The Thrashers started off with a 14-61-7 record (.187
win percentage) in their debut season, which still stands as the worst for the
Thrashers/Jets franchise as of this writing. The team struggled throughout the
first half of their tenure in Atlanta, finishing with losing records in each of
their first five seasons in the league. The primary bright spot for the
Thrashers was forward Ilya Kovalchuk, whom the team drafted with the first
overall pick in 2001 and had quickly put together a pair of solid seasons,
scoring 38 and 41 goals in 2002-03 and 2003-04 respectively.
Following the 2004-05 lockout, the Thrashers came out
with their first non-losing season in 2005-06, claiming a 41-41 record. While
the team missed the playoffs for that season, their stronger showing than in
years prior would help them build momentum for 2006-07.
Atlanta scored a 43-39 record in 2006-07, not only giving
them their first winning record in franchise history, but also allowing them to
reach the 2007 playoffs. Their first round opponent would be the New York
Rangers, coming in with a 42-40 record. However, Atlanta would not be able to
capitalize on their postseason appearance, as they were unable to score a win
in the series with the Rangers sweeping them four games to none. New York moved
on to the second round, although they would be eliminated in six games by the
Buffalo Sabres.
The Thrashers would not be able to reach their 2006-07
peak throughout the remainder of their time in Atlanta, with their next four
seasons resulting in losing records along with no playoff appearances. Coming
into their last game of the 2010-11 season, Atlanta sat with a 34-47 record. While
the Thrashers were out of playoff contention, the Pittsburgh Penguins, on the
other hand, were solidly inside the postseason with a 48-33 showing.
Starting in goal for Pittsburgh would be league
veteran Brent Johnson. While fellow Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury saw
most of the starts for the Penguins that season, Johnson performed well in his
share of games with a 12-8 record and .920 save percentage. Atlanta sent out their
backup in Chris Mason, who would be looking to build upon a 13-15 record before
heading into the offseason.
Early on in the contest, it looked as though the
Thrashers would be able to finish the season on a high note, with forward and
team captain Andrew Ladd scoring on the power play just over four minutes in. The
Penguins would not answer in the rest of the first period, with the Thrashers
taking a 1-0 advantage into the locker room.
Starting with the second period, however, Pittsburgh
would be denied no longer as forward Tyler Kennedy added a power play goal of
his own at the 6:25 mark, followed up by forward Pascal Dupuis taking the lead for
the Penguins as he scored at 10:53. The team kept the momentum going as forward
Mike Rupp scored at 15:27 to make it a 3-1 game, before forward Mark Letestu tacked
on another goal at 18:14. When the dust settled, Pittsburgh held a 4-1 lead going
into the third period.
In the third, Atlanta continued to fight with their
final goal as the Thrashers scored on the power play courtesy of forward Tim
Stapleton at 13:15. However, Pittsburgh slammed the door on any comeback
attempt with 1:28 to go in the game, as forward Mike Comrie scored an empty net
goal to put the Penguins ahead by three once again. Not only was this Comrie’s
first goal of the season, but it would also be his final goal scored during his
career.
The Penguins claimed the 5-2 victory to finish the
season at 49-33, while the Thrashers fell to 34-48 with the loss. The Penguins would
face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the 2011 playoffs, although their
playoff run would not be as successful as their regular season with Tampa Bay
winning the series in seven games.
On Tuesday, May 31st, 2011, it was formally announced
that the Atlanta Thrashers would be relocating to Winnipeg, Manitoba to become
the Jets, essentially reviving the team that had played in the NHL from the
1979-80 season until 1995-96. However, unlike other facilities that I have
covered in this series, State Farm Arena is still in business to this day, as the
arena still hosts the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. Due to this fact, I wouldn’t rule
out the possibility of the NHL returning to the facility at some point, most
likely as a one-off exhibition game. However, a full-time team returning to
State Farm Arena is far more unlikely at this point.
Pittsburgh Penguins v. Atlanta Thrashers
April 10th, 2011
1P 4:07 #16 Andrew Ladd (#10 Bryan Little, #80 Nik
Antropov) (PP)- Thrashers 1-0
2P 6:25 #48 Tyler Kennedy (#2 Matt Niskanen, #6 Ben
Lovejoy) (PP)- Tied 1-1
2P 10:53 #9 Pascal Dupuis (#25 Maxime Talbot, #16
Chris Conner)- Penguins 2-1
2P 15:27 #17 Mike Rupp (#28 Eric Godard, #6 Ben
Lovejoy)- Penguins 3-1
2P 18:14 #10 Mark Letestu (#26 Eric Tangradi, #72 Alex
Kovalev)- Penguins 4-1
3P 13:15 #14 Tim Stapleton (#80 Nik Antropov, #6 Ron
Hainsey)- Penguins 4-2
3P 18:32 #19 Mike Comrie (#9 Pascal Dupuis, #2 Matt
Niskanen)- Penguins 5-2
W: #1 Brent Johnson (Penguins)- 37 for 39 (2 GA), .949
SV%
L: #50 Chris Mason (Thrashers)- 15 for 19 (4 GA), .789
SV%
Final Score: Penguins 5, Thrashers 2
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