Mike Brophy

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy writes Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday on Sportsnet.ca and appears regularly on Hockeycentral.

Nik Antropov is approaching his career-high in scoring this season.

Maybe midnight won't strike and dash the hopes of the NHL's biggest surprise team of the season.

In a year when the Colorado Avalanche and Phoenix Coyotes have shocked the hockey world by being in playoff contention right out of the chute, it may end up being the Atlanta Thrashers that are the most surprising team of all.

With last night's sound 6-3 beating of the New York Islanders, the Thrashers are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games and have crept into eighth place in the Eastern Conference. That would be eighth, as in the final playoff spot in the East. Take a little peek at the standings in the Western Conference and you'll find the Detroit Red Wings in exactly the same spot.

With 20 games remaining in the regular season, the Thrashers are right where nobody on the planet thought they'd be at this stage of the game. What makes the story more intriguing, of course, is the fact they are now doing it without their best player. Russian superstar Ilya Kovalchuk refused to sign a lucrative contract extension and was traded to the New Jersey Devils.

Kovalchuk followed the same path out of town as fellow stars Dany Heatley and Marian Hossa. The sad reality is players with any desire at all to win the Stanley Cup do not want to play in Atlanta. The NHL's second time around in Atlanta has not been pretty. Nine seasons and just one playoff appearance, and in that season, 2006-07, the Thrashers were eliminated in four games.

Any wonder hockey hasn't caught on in Atlanta?

Now, though not many locals have noticed yet, a great story is emerging in the south. The team that was supposed to challenge for 30th overall is in 21st spot. And while many people figured any chance whatsoever of making the playoffs went out the window when the Thrashers made the deal with the Devils, that has not been the case. In fact, Atlanta has picked up points in six of the seven games they have played since Kovalchuk departed.

These guys are suddenly the Bad News Bears.

With Kovalchuk gone, Nik Antropov and Maxim Afinogenov are suddenly the go-to guys. With all due respect to both players who enjoying productive seasons, relatively speaking, they are both second-liners on a good team. Antropov's 53 points in 58 games has him lodged in 37th place in NHL scoring. That said, he's three points off his single-season high of 56 set in 2007-08 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

What the Thrashers will rely on is balanced scoring and a pretty good defence down the stretch. And they will keep their fingers crossed that Johan Hedberg, traditionally a backup, can carry the mail in net.

While the Thrashers no longer have star quality, they do have some decent players. Rich Peverley has emerged as a consistent scorer with the Thrashers after being claimed off waivers from the Nashville Predators last season. (Boy, could they use his offence now!) Bryan Little appears to be emerging from a season-long funk and his contributions will be key for Atlanta down the stretch. Little, the team's first pick in the 2006 NHL entry draft and just 22 years old, scored 31 goals and 51 points last season as a sophomore, but has just 10 goals and 28 points this year. He needs to ramp it up for the Thrashers to have a legitimate shot at making it to the post-season.

It is tough to get a good return on a superstar that wants out of town, but Waddell has done quite well in bringing in Clarke MacArthur, Evgeny Artukin and Niclas Bergfors for a legitimate run to the playoffs. Not much star appeal, but they are all competent players.

Atlanta's real strength is along the blueline where Tobias Enstrom, Pavel Kubina, Zach Bogosian and Ron Hainsey form a pretty formidable foursome. Enstrom, 25, is seventh in scoring amongst NHL defencemen with six goals and 43 points in 62 games while Kubina, acquired from Toronto last season, is 15th with six goals and 35 points in 62 games.

Bogosian, in just his second NHL season, got off to an amazing start with eight goals in his first 17 games, but slowed down dramatically. Still, nine goals and 21 points in 62 games as a 19-year-old isn't bad. Oduya brings to town his excellent experience with the defence-first Devils while Hainsey eats up valuable minutes.

Getting to the playoffs obviously won't be easy. But the Thrashers do play 12 of their final 20 games at home and, let's be honest; they are still viewed as an easy touch by most teams. That could work in their favour. While they play desperate hockey, their opponents might think they are in for an easy night when they face the Thrashers.

Coach John Anderson has enjoyed plenty of success in the minors, but if he can get this group into the playoffs, it will be his greatest accomplishment as a bench boss. For no reason other than I think it would be an amazing story, I'm hoping the Cinderella Thrashers make it.