Becoming the Ontario League’s all-time leading goal-scorer did nothing to endear John Tavares to the Atlanta Thrashers or New York Islanders.
OK, maybe it’s just a pure coincidence of timing, but the Isles and Thrashers have both been playing much better hockey lately – making the prospect of picking No. 1 overall slightly more remote.
As of Monday morning, the Isles still have a four-point “cushion” on last overall, but have gone 5-2-1 in March with a bunch of kids trying to convince management they’re NHLers.
Atlanta, meanwhile, has been all about credibility for more than a month now. After going 6-5-1 in February, the Thrashers have won five straight on the back of some incredible offensive output.
The only thing to stop Ilya Kovalchuk over his past 20-plus games is an upper-body injury, while Todd White has five goals and 16 points in his past 13 contests.
Currently 27th overall, if the Thrashers make up the four points between them and 25th place Ottawa, they won’t even have a mathematical shot at the first overall pick.
The Hockey News ranks the teams 1-30 each Monday based on a combination of last week’s play and a squad’s overall outlook.
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