Atlanta Thrashers Tickets

All summer, the Thrashers have talked the talk about trying to carry their strong finish from last season over to the start of this season. However, the players and coaches all knew that unless you're able to back it up, it's all just talk.

Saturday night, the Thrashers walked the walk with a dominating 6-3 win over their Southeast Division rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

With a revamped lineup that included newcomers Maxim Afinogenov, Pavel Kubina and Nik Antropov, mixed in with veteran captain Ilya Kovalchuk and emerging stars Bryan Little and Zach Bogosian, the Thrashers were simply too deep for the Lightning.

Not everything was perfect on opening night for Atlanta though.

Ilya Kovalchuk and the Atlanta Thrashers know better than to put too much stock in a season-opening win. "Last year we won the first game, too," said Kovalchuk after he scored two goals in Atlanta's 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night. Rich Peverley also scored two goals, Ondrej Pavelec stopped 36 shots and the Thrashers recovered after almost blowing a 4-0 lead.