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Kozlov, Hossa lead Thrashers over Devils in shootout

Jan 31, 2007 - 4:54 AM ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Vyacheslav Kozlov and Marian Hossa showed the New Jersey Devils how it's done in the shootout.

Kozlov had the first goal of the shootout and Hossa's tally proved to be the game-winner as the Atlanta Thrashers posted a 5-4 victory over the Devils.

Ilya Kovalchuk had two power-play goals and goaltender Kari Lehtonen made two straight saves in the shootout to clinch the game for Atlanta, which has won seven of eight vs. New Jersey.

"Our power play was real good," Thrashers coach Bob Hartley said. "Kovy (Kovalchuk) had some great shots. That's what he does best - his shot is so hard, so accurate. He makes it basically impossible for any goalies to get a chance to make a save. Our power play executed well, and we won the battle of special teams."

In the shootout, Kozlov skated in and blasted the puck to the left of goaltender Martin Brodeur, who made the initial stop but fell to the side, allowing the puck to trickle over the goal line.

"I thought Brodeur made the stop," Kozlov said. "When I skated to the bench and heard the reaction of the fans, I turned around and the puck was in. It was kind of a lucky goal."

"Lucky," Brodeur said. "I made a good save on him and on my way back, I think it hit my knob and just kind of backed into the goal. Bad bounce. ... You make that save and you get a little more confidence. They scored right after. That's how it works."

After Brian Gionta backhanded a shot past Lehtonen to tie it in the bonus format, Hossa, the second of Atlanta's shooters, wound up and faked a shot to the middle before placing the puck to the left of Brodeur.

Kovalchuk - the third Thrashers' sniper in the shootout - was glad to have Kozlov and Hossa shooting before him.

"Every time Kozlov and Hossa score in the shootout, I don't do too well," said Kovalchuk, who bobbled his initial setup before being stopped by Brodeur. "It doesn't matter. The most important thing is we got two points."

Lehtonen stopped Zach Parise and made a diving save against John Madden to ice the win.

"I was just trying to freeze Lehtonen a little bit," Madden said. "I didn't do that. I should have paid more attention to Parise's shot there. I kind of waited down in the crease. But he has long legs."

Lehtonen stopped 36 shots for the Thrashers, who have won four straight at home vs. the Devils.

"It was good to win this game," Lehtonen said. "It's always good to play against a team right there in front of us. Everybody was ready and I think that's why we played a solid game."

Glen Metropolit and defenseman Niclas Havelid each had a goal while Kozlov had three assists and Hossa added another for Atlanta, which scored twice on the power play after not tallying with a man advantage in its previous 18 attempts.

Gionta, Madden, Parise and Patrik Elias each scored a goal in regulation. Brodeur made 36 saves, but has lost eight of his last nine games vs. the Thrashers.

"If we didn't fall down 2-0, I think it would have been a lot different of a game as far as excitement is concerned," Brodeur said. "We had to come back and I think we did a great job to get ourselves back in the game."