Happy Thrashers Day!

There hasn't really been a lot of news about the Atlanta Thrashers recently, and that's likely because they left the Georgia metropolis in May of 2011 for greener pastures in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Ok, maybe not greener, but snowier for sure. Whatever the case, the Thrashers had moments of joy, ineptitude, and failure just like every other franchise to ever play the game of hockey, but we're going to look at the first big win for the franchise that happened on this day back in 1999. And by "big win", I do mean that it was a monumental win as it marked the first time that the Thrashers had appeared with a "W" to their name!

Let's go back to the quick blurb from The Associated Press on this day.

As you can see, the Atlanta Thrashers defeated the New York Islanders by a 2-0 score on this day back in 1999 to record the franchise's first-ever win, and they did so by having Damian Rhodes post the first-ever shutout for the club as well. Former Winnipeg Jets forward gets a mention in the article, first-overall pick Patrik Stefan is in the mix, Curt Fraser was the man behind the bench, and both Andrew Brunette and Kelly Buchberger scored goals to help the Thrashers earn that historic first win in franchise history.

Officially, Andrew Brunette opened the scoring on the power-play with his second goal of the season at 12:21 of the first period after he found the back of the net past Felix Potvin with former Winnipeg Jets defender Darryl Shannon and Petr Buzek picking up helpers. The player who sat in the penalty box when Brunette scored that goal? None other than recently-retired blue line legend Zdeno Chara who had been sent off at 10:46 for tripping!

The second period was quiet outside of three minor penalties assessed to the Islanders compared to one for the Thrashers. The third period is where the "disputed goal", as The Associated Press described it, happened. The official scoring line is Kelly Buchberger's second goal of the season was from Patrik Stefan and Nelson Emerson to make it 2-0 at 6:53 of the third period. It should be noted, however, that Kelly Buchberger's first goal was the franchise's first goal in a 4-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on October 2, 1999 in their first-ever NHL game! How cool is it that Buchberger was in on the scoring for two of the more historical moments in Thrashers history?

Despite some frantic pressure down the stretch in this game, a late Gino Odjick penalty crushed any hopes of the Islanders possibly rallying as the Thrashers used the player-advantage to kill the final 56 seconds of this game to preserve the 20-save shutout for Damian Rhodes - the first in franchise history - as the Atlanta Thrashers recorded their first-ever NHL win and their first road win with the 2-0 victory over the New York Islanders at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York!

For those asking for more stats, Felix Potvin stopped 26 of 28 shots on the night. Darryl Shannon logged the most ice-time for the Thrashers at 23:37 while Buchberger was second at 22:05. New York's Kenny Jönsson was the game's top skater at 26:57 while Jamie Heward beat Zdeno Chara by five seconds with his 22:20 of ice-time. Shannon and Mike Stapleton led the way for Atlanta with five shots apiece while Jörgen Jönsson led the Islanders with four shots on net.

If you don't remember Jörgen Jönsson's time with the Islanders or in the NHL whatsoever, that's because he played just 68 games with the Islanders and 81 total in the NHL as he logged 13 more with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. He finished his NHL career with 12 goals and 19 assists (11 and 17 with NYI) before returning home to Sweden where he finished his career with Farjestads BK Karlstad, the same team he left to join the Islanders.

There's a glimpse back into Thrashers history on this day as the current version of the Thrashers - the Winnipeg Jets - get set to face the other New York team in the Rangers in Winnipeg to open their 2022-23 season. No one is saying the Jets can't replicate the same October 14 result as the Thrashers did 23 years ago, but it will take a big effort tonight against the 2-0 Rangers as they come in on a roll. Game time is 7pm CT, so let's see how the former Thrashers fare tonight on one of their most important nights in franchise history!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!