Thunder shoots to use home edge against Utah

Tim Graham

Friday, Jan. 9, 1998 | 12:56 p.m.

The Las Vegas Thunder was on the road so long, even home seemed strange.

The players were on their own ice, in front of their own fans, using their own dressing rooms, driving their own cars -- it all was a bit odd at the Thomas & Mack Center Tuesday night.

"There's so many adjustments that need to be made when you're away from home for that long," Thunder general manager Bob Strumm said, referring to the Thunder's 35-day, 11-game road trip that lasted the entire month of December and into the first weekend of January.

"You don't get to practice as much as you'd like, and when you do it's not always a quality practice. Sometimes you lose a little bit of that edge."

Las Vegas will work to regain that edge as it hosts the Utah Grizzlies tonight at 7:05 at the Mack.

The Thunder beat the Milwaukee Admirals 2-1 in a shootout Tuesday. But it took a virtuoso performance from goaltender Tim Cheveldae as the former NHL all-star stopped 44 shots.

Strumm called it "probably one of the top three (goaltending) efforts that I can recall" in Thunder history.

The Admirals continued peppering the Thunder with massive quantities of shots-on-goal. In its last 10 games the Thunder has surrendered 40 or more shots six times. It is allowing the opposition 38.5 shots a game during that span.

Utah is coming off a 44-shot performance in a 2-1 victory Wednesday over Orlando.

Las Vegas had hoped the reason it was giving up so many shots was the road toll rather than personnel. It figured the T&M's smaller-than-regulation 185-foot rink would help remedy the problem by making the games more physical.

"Giving up a lot of shots on the road is one thing because it can be a result of several factors," Strumm said. "To give up that many quality shots at home is a concern.

"But the real indication starts (tonight). We play six of our next eight games against division rivals at home. Those will be good indicators for us."

Strumm expressed a bit of regret for letting his players take off so many days for Christmas. Before its five-day vacation, Las Vegas was 5-2 on its road trip. It went 0-2-2 afterward.

"We figured it was a long season, and it was a difficult time for the guys," Strumm said. "They needed a break.

"Maybe that hurt us the first couple of games back. The guys are rediscovering their games. After five days off it takes awhile to get it back. But now they're refreshed and excited about the second half (of the season)."

The Thunder plays 29 of its remaining 44 regular-season games at the T&M. That should quickly put the players in sync.

"Giving up fewer shots is a team thing," Strumm said. "I don't think it's solely a defensive thing. The forwards are just as much, if not more, responsible as the defensemen for giving up chances."