ATLANTA - Pasi Nurminen wants to remain the Atlanta Thrashers' starting goaltender. With the way he's playing, he's making the decision easy for coach Curt Fraser.
``We've been looking for goaltending and this kid's been delivering,'' Fraser said. ``He's getting us points.''
Nurminen made 31 saves, and Atlanta got goals from Patrik Stefan and Frantisek Kaberle as the Thrashers topped the Calgary Flames 2-1 on Monday night.
``Ten more like that and we'll go out and celebrate,'' Fraser said. ``We wish we could have gotten (the shutout) for Pasi because he played outstanding.
The Thrashers are 3-1-1 since Nurminen wrested the No. 1 spot from Milan Hnilicka.
``The biggest difference is trust,'' Nurminen said. ``We're starting to trust each other a little more out there, because I can tell you it was not high in the first 10 games.''
Fraser said Nurminen will definitely be back in net Wednesday against San Jose, the second of this crucial six-game homestand as they try to build on their league-low eight points.
``Everybody wants to keep their job,'' Nurminen said. ``We want to keep our coach, sure, but no job is safe around here.''
Nurminen's bid for his first career shutout ended when Chris Clark scored with 4:48 left. The Flames had gone a franchise-record 192 minutes, 42 seconds without a goal over four games that topped their 171:01 span from last season.
The Flames, who started their franchise in Atlanta, are winless (0-3-1) in the city since the Thrashers joined the league in 1999.
Atlanta took a 1-0 lead after one period on Stefan's fifth goal of the season. The 1999 No. 1 overall pick, who is on pace for the best season of his four-year career, had just seven all of last season.
``That was a great effort by Patrik Stefan,'' Fraser said. ``If you would have watched this kid over the first three years, you never would have expected him to score goals like that. But you can see the kid developing into a great player.''
After a scoreless second period, defenseman Kaberle put Atlanta up 2-0 on a power play at 3:28 of the third. It was the result of two crucial faceoff wins in the offensive zone, one that drew a holding call on Scott Nichol and the next one which led to Kaberle's goal 5 seconds later.
Clark knocked in a rebound of Jarome Iginla's shot to make it a one-goal game at 15:12 of the third period. Iginla, who led the league in scoring last year, has scored only one goal in the last 11 games and has two assists in the last five.
``It's disappointing, but at the same time we haven't played bad,'' Iginla said. ``We ran into some desperate teams. In the first period, we had nine scoring chances. Nine in the first period usually translates into something. We weren't able to capitalize.''
The Flames went 0-for-6 on the power play, including a frenzied effort in the final two minutes of the game. The Thrashers went 1-for-8 with the man advantage.
NOTES: In honor of Veterans Day, pregame ceremonies honored the Tuskegee Airmen, the Alabama-based squadron of African-American fighter pilots that helped break the Air Force's color barrier in World War II. ... Dany Heatley played in his 96th straight game, the second-longest streak in Thrashers history. Chris Tamer played in 103 straight. Heatley assisted on Kaberle's goal, giving him six points (3-3-6) in the past four games.
Friday
January 31st, 2025
9:47AM
