The Thrashers are taking a do-over, so don't even bring up the past two weeks. They're hoping a new coach, a more relaxed attitude and a few tweaks here and there will help them resemble a playoff team again.
One day after firing coach Bob Hartley, the Thrashers returned to the ice Thursday for a morning workout and a night game against the New York Rangers.
The first priority: Getting that first win.
"We're in a tough situation, but it's not critical yet," said Slava Kozlov, one of two holdovers from the last coaching change in Atlanta. "Right now, we're so tight. It's in our heads. We just need to relax and play the game. Get some excitement. Have some fun on the ice."
The Thrashers were not having much fun under Hartley, whose demise likely started with a four-game sweep by the Rangers in last season's playoffs. Then, Atlanta lost its first six games this season - two of them blowouts - which prompted general manager Don Waddell to take over as interim coach.
Every other team in the NHL had at least two wins while the Thrashers were still seeking their first.
"As I told the guys we're 0-0," Waddell said after the morning skate, "We have 76 games left to play, 38 at home and 38 on the road. We've got to go out and try to win as many games as we can."
At first glance, Waddell seemed to run a more low-key practice than Hartley, an intense, hard-nosed coach who seemed to lose touch with the veterans and only made the team more uptight as the losses piled up.
The interim coach joked around with a few players while letting assistant coaches Steve Weeks and Brad McCrimmon run most of the drills. Late in the 45-minute session, Ilya Kovalchuk and Chris Thorburn held a mock celebration after knocking the puck into the net, perhaps an indication of the more relaxed mind-set that Waddell is hoping to instill.
"From my own experience, it always helps when you make trades or change coaches," Kozlov said. "I hope it's going to take the pressure off. We're so tight right now. We cannot score. We cannot make plays. Everybody is afraid to make a mistake."
Waddell already heard from some 30 potential coaches or their agents, even getting a couple of phone calls from Europe. He hasn't put a timetable on finding a replacement, though the only other coaching shake-up in Atlanta might provide some guidance.
Curt Fraser, the first coach in team history, was fired in December 2002 after three-plus losing seasons. Waddell went behind the bench for 10 games, going 4-5-1, before hiring Hartley, who had coached a Stanley Cup winner in Colorado.
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