Thrashers' memorable season ends quickly in playoffs

DULUTH, Ga. -- The Atlanta Thrashers cleaned out their lockers, said their good-byes and tried to forget the past week.

A memorable season -- winning the Southeast Division championship to claim the franchise's first trip to the playoffs -- totally unraveled in four consecutive losses to the New York Rangers.

When a team's Stanley Cup hopes have just been swept away in the opening round, it's hard to reflect on all that went right during the regular season.

"It feels even worse now that it did last night," center Keith Tkachuk said Thursday, less than 24 hours after the season ended with a 4-2 loss at Madison Square Garden. "To go in and get swept the way we did is unacceptable and very disappointing."

Tkachuk was acquired from St. Louis at the trade deadline, a move that helped the Thrashers snap out of a slump, hang on to the division lead and make the postseason for the first time in their eight-year history.

But he wanted much more when he waived a no-trade clause, believing the Thrashers had a chance to contend for the Stanley Cup. They didn't even come close, getting outscored 17-6, outshot 143-99 and thoroughly outplayed by the Rangers.

Despite the dismal performance and what figures to be a hectic offseason -- the Thrashers have only eight players under contract -- the team brass tried to keep things in perspective.

"We had 97 points. We won our division. We'll be raising a banner at our arena next season," general manager Don Waddell said. "We've got to be proud of that."

Waddell took care of one matter right up front: Bob Hartley will definitely be returning for his fourth season as the team's coach. There was criticism of the way he used goalies Kari Lehtonen and Johan Hedberg during the playoffs.

Lehtonen, the No. 1 netminder, gave up a soft goal in the opener and was replaced by Hedberg. The backup played well in Game 2, but Hartley went back to Lehtonen when the series shifted to New York.

Talk about a move backfiring: The 23-year-old Finn was bombarded in a 7-0 loss, and it really didn't matter who started the final game (Hedberg, for the record).

"If you go into this job scared, you need to be doing something else," Hartley said.

Besides, goaltending was hardly the only weakness in the playoffs. New York controlled the puck and shut down Atlanta's stars, especially Marian Hossa (no goals, one assist) and Slava Kozlov (zero points). They were the Thrashers' top two scorers during the regular season, combining for 180 points.