The spark plug we need?

Stranger things have turned the tide for teams:

Chris Bourque has been recalled from the Bears and is expected to make his NHL debut tonight in Atlanta, where the Caps are facing a critical game against the Thrashers. They've lost three straight, nine of the past 11 and have scored only two goals over the past 193 minutes.

So why recall a 21-year-old player with no NHL experience for such a big game? I guess it's gotten to that point for the Caps.

Bourque, who is generously listed at 5 foot 9, 173 pounds and is the son of NHL Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque, has three goals and five points in eight games for the Bears. He was among the last players cut in training camp, so there was always the expectation that he would get a lookat some point this season.

As Tarik mentions, Bourque was a cut that went down to the wire during training camp, so we were expecting to see him in red, white and blue....just not this soon.

PS: The game is blacked out due to a TV scheduling issue, but right now (9:15pm EST) the Caps and the Thrashers are tied in the 3rd period. Nyls and Kovalchuk have the honors for their respective teams. In the 2nd period, the Caps took 4 penalties.