Maple Leafs vs. Thrashers

Sabres 7  Coyotes 2

Record: 1-0

Toronto will carry some momentum going into Atlanta tonight as they knocked off the Nashville Predators 4-3 last night in late fashion by a goal from Phil Kessel in the 3rd period.
Kessel and the Maple Leafs are rolling their momentum further south to Atlanta, going up against a very eager and angry opponent in the Thrashers, who lost last night to the Florida Panthers 1-0. Ilya Kovalchuk was very upset after the game as they peppered goalie Tomas Vokoun for 14 shots in the final period and came up empty.

The Thrashers will need to channel that anger on the ice and on the offensive end if they want to be successful. Both teams are playing on back-to-back nights, and I like the Thrashers odds at home. If the Thrashers want to rake some Leafs tonight, they will have to get on the power play. They have a very focused and cohesive first power play unit in Kovalchuk, Maxim Afinogenov and Nik Antropov. I think this unit will get some action tonight as the Leafs average about 13 penalty minutes per game on the season.

I am picking the Thrashers tonight to bounce back from a disappointing loss last night, and they will do it on the power play.