Thrashers Coach is shown the door.

Bob Hartley, Head Coach of the Atlanta Thrashers, will be looking for a new job. GM Don Waddell fired Hartley today after the Flyers handed the Thrashers their sixth consecutive loss of the season last night.

The news of Hartley's firing was not particularly surprising. In fact, what would have been surprising is if Hartley had stayed. I know it's still very early in the season, but Atlanta's in a tailspin. They ended the 2006-07 season on a high by winning their division, but they were promptly swept from the playoffs by the NY Rangers, and now they are the only team without a win (or a single point) under their belt this season - every other team in the NHL has at least 2 wins and 4 points. The team needed a shake-up, and that's what they got. Waddell should hope that improvement is on the horizon (I mean, how could you get worse?), because the next one to be shown the door will likely be him.
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Yesterday, I wrote about the big Habs/Panthers matchup on TSN. Indeed, the Panthers seem to be Habs-killers.

It seemed as though the Canadiens were going to take the game 1-0, after Kovalev scored on the powerplay less than 3 minutes into the first period. Montreal fans must've been going nuts as the seconds counted down in the third period....and then Horton tied the game with 11 seconds left.

What a way to kill the mood.

Just to make sure the Habs were really dead after that, Florida won the game in a shootout. I'm sure there were grown men crying over that one.

Even Kovalev was upset over that loss, and he chose to vent his anger by criticizing Coach Carbo for not calling a time out late in the game. Frankly, I'm surprised by Kovalev. He went a whole 5 games before criticizing Carbo and the team.

In other Habs news, RDS is reporting that Carey "The Next Patrick Roy" Price will be starting in goal tomorrow night for their game against red-hot Ottawa. Wow, what a way to test the kid. First, you put him out on the ice to face the Penguins, and now he has to face the top line in the NHL of Spezza/Heatley/Alfredsson. Should he put in another great performance, Habs fans nationwide will certainly be lobbying for his promotion from backup.
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If Habs fans are going nuts over their shootout loss to Florida, then Calgary fans are probably rioting in front of the Saddledome. Why is that, you ask? Well, last night, the Flames were up 4-0 against the Avs - and it was an away game! Imagine that, it looked like the Flames were actually going to win a game away from Calgary.

Then things fell apart. Colorado started to play.

The Avs scored. And scored. And scored. And scored again. All 4 goals game in about 13 minutes, give or take, and only one was a PPG. The game went to a shootout, with Wolski getting the game winner for Colorado. Ouch.

I wouldn't want to be in practice with the Flames today. Iron Mike wouldn't be too happy, and I'd prefer to live.
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Tonight is TSN's Eastern Conference Matchup Part 2: Pens and Devils. The Pens had a breakout game in Toronto last Saturday, and hopefully they'll catch Marty Brodeur on a bad night tonight. I also hope that the D is a little better tonight than they have been so far this season. Always room for improvement there.