The
2003-2004 season was the Thrashers most successful. Led by
captain Shawn McEachern, and with the memory of Dan Snyder
on their mind, the Thrashers jumped quickly out of the gates
with some notable highlights. Ilya Kovalchuk scored 8 goals
in the first 7 games, including two hat tricks, one in a 7-2
rout of the Chicago Blackhawks, and another in a come from
behind victory against the Nashville Predators. Come from
behind victories became a standard site throughout the season,
including shocking upsets against the Toronto Maple Leafs,
the Boston Bruins, and the Ottawa Senators, as well as wins
from games against the Los Angeles Kings and the New York
Islanders, among others.
Eleven
games into the season, the Thrashers were alone in first place
atop the NHL. Although they continued to play well, they couldn’t
keep up with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the future Stanley Cup
champions, or other teams in the league. The lack of Dany
Heatley and depth in general started showing. December 26,
2003 marked both a bright and dark day for the Thrashers.
On that day, Dany Heatley skated for the first time since
his car accident with Dan Snyder, but it also marked the last
win for the Thrashers before an extended losing streak. From
December 28th to February 11th the Thrashers had a dismal
17 losses and 3 ties, with only 1 win. However it wasn’t
all bad: during that time Ilya Kovalchuk became only the second
Thrashers to score in the NHL All-Star Game, an exciting overtime
loss to the Red Wings on New Years Eve, Ronald Petrovicky
breaking Brian Boucher’s shootout streak, Dany Heatley’s
return to the ice, and an all-out brawl against the Edmonton
Oilers. The streak finally ended with a 4-1 win against the
Vancouver Canucks.
While
clearly the Thrashers playoffs hopes were done for that year,
they still played on and ended up finishing 2nd in the Southeast
Division and 10th in the Eastern Conference, only a handful
of wins away from the playoffs. Ilya Kovalchuk ended up tying
for the league lead in goals with 41. Kari Lehtonen started
a certainly glorious NHL career with 4 wins and 4 starts,
including one shutout. Despite the tragedy of Dan Snyder,
the Thrashers pushed on and ended up doing relatively well,
and their future certainly looks bright.
Founded:
1999-2000 (awarded June 25, 1997)
Arena: Philips Arena (capacity 19,008)
Uniform colors: light blue, navy blue, red,
gold, white
Logo design: a stylized bird's head
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