Most importantly, however, the team managed to keep pace with the second-place Carolina Hurricanes, even gaining a tiny bit of ground over this time a month ago, spreading their lead from five points to eight as of Jan. 3.
The key has been Kari Lehtonen's revitalized play. Lehtonen finished the month 6-3 with a 2.67 GAA and a .922 save percentage. The numbers don't even tell the whole story: oftentimes Lehtonen single-handedly keeps Atlanta in the close and tight games with huge saves.
Luckily for Atlanta, their schedule will get somewhat easier in January.
The team will play the suddenly cooling Montreal Canadiens twice, as well the Devils, Flyers, and Islanders twice each and the Kings once.
The team will have to get their special teams in order, though. The power play, which averaged 20.9 percent the first 20 games of the season, averaged just 14.8 percent over the last 22 games. More urgently, the penalty kill has slipped all the way to 27th in the league, averaging 79.5 percent. That can't cut it when the team ranks in the top 10 in times shorthanded.
As The Big Three Go...
The Thrashers' top three scorers, Marian Hossa, Slava Kozlov and Ilya Kovalchuk continue to play a crucial role in the team's success or failure, and the numbers are certainly there to back up that claim.
Hossa kept pace with Sidney Crosby in the race for the scoring title, and is only five points behind the Phenom from Pittsburgh. He is also just one goal behind league-leaders Martin St. Louis and Alexander Ovechkin.
During the team's five-game losing streak, Hossa had just one goal. In their subsequent five-game win streak, he had two goals and eight assists.
The team is 10-1-1 when Kozlov scores a goal. The crafty Russian leads the team and is tied for third in the league with five game-winning goals, and is five-for-six in shootout attempts, which is also near the top of the league.
In Thrashers wins, Kovalchuk has 17 goals and 17 assists and is plus-11. In losses, he has just four goals and five assists, and is minus-13.
But consider this: after the top three, nobody on the team has even half as many points.
The Thrashers must find a way to get offense from other sources, even if it means making a deal before the Feb. 27 trading deadline.
Opportunity Knocks
Defenseman Shane Hnidy came into the season with nothing guaranteed.
Now he sits second on the Thrashers in plus/minus.
An injury to defenseman Andy Sutton and an illness to Garnet Exelby opened the door for Hnidy to break into the lineup, where he’s made it his personal mission to stay.
So far, so good.
The former journeyman defenseman has seen his ice time increase dramatically after being paired with Niclas Havelid, the team's top defenseman.
Hnidy, who went 202 games without a goal, has already matched his career high in goals with three and points with nine. Two of those points were back-to-back game-winners, as he scored the game-winner against New Jersey on Dec. 23 and set up the game-winner Dec. 26 against Tampa Bay.
Kovalchuk not Seeing Red
Kovalchuk went through an uncharacteristic cold slump in December, finishing with just four goals, three of which were empty-netters. Kovalchuk also finished the month -5, dropping his plus/minus rating back below even to -1.
Not quite what you'd expect from a former Rocket Richard Trophy-winner.
Still, Thrashers coach Bob Hartley said he isn't worried about his star player.
"He's playing a good game on both sides of the puck, and I'm sure he's going to score the big ones for us," Hartley was quoted in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Kovalchuk also picked up seven assists, matching his output for November.
Injuries Still a Factor
Although the Thrashers started to get healthier by the end of the month, the team had almost an entire playing line on the injured reserve for a time. Center Steve Rucchin (hip) and winger Scott Mellanby (shoulder) joined winger Brad Larsen (wrist) and defensemen Andy Sutton (ankle) and Garnet Exelby (mononucleosis) in the press box for a few games. In their place, Atlanta called up Jason Krog and Derek MacKenzie, although the latter saw limited action and is now back with the AHL's Chicago Wolves.
The only thing missing from the Thrashers' injuries was ironically a goaltender.
But please don’t mention that to Hartley or the Thrashers' training staff.
Thrashers Come Up Short in Their "Big Games"
Even though two the games were closer than the final scores indicate, the three big tests for the Thrashers in the last month all ended up as losses. Certainly, games against Anaheim and Buffalo, the two top teams in the NHL, and a road game against Minnesota, who have the best home record in the NHL, are a good measuring stick for the challenges the Thrashers would face in the playoffs.
Ultimately, the Thrashers fell 2-1 at home to Anaheim Dec. 15 and 4-1 at Buffalo on Dec. 30, spoiling two good solid skating efforts. Although the Thrashers were outworked in their 5-1 loss in Minnesota Jan. 2, Lehtonen kept the game from getting out of hand far earlier, as the Wild only broke through in the 3rd period.
Loose Pucks
Kozlov set a new Atlanta record for consecutive games played, appearing in his team-record 139th at Buffalo. The veteran has only missed nine games in three-plus seasons with the team.
Havelid is just one assist away for 100 for his career. He had one helper in Atlanta's 3-2 win over Ottawa Jan 1.
Kovalchuk is just seven points away from having at least 50 points in his first five NHL seasons.
