• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Jokinen, Panthers hold off Thrashers

Mar 11, 2007 - 5:16 AM SUNRISE, Florida (Ticker) -- Olli Jokinen and the Florida Panthers were sick and tired of losing to the Atlanta Thrashers, so they did something about it.

Jokinen scored a goal and set up another and Ed Belfour made 30 saves as the Panthers posted a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers, who had won six straight against their Southeast Division rivals.

Nathan Horton and defenseman Jay Bouwmeester also tallied for Florida (29-27-13), which climbed within four points of idle Carolina (34-28-7) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

After Marian Hossa scored his 40th goal of the season midway through the first period to give Atlanta a 1-0 lead, Jokinen scored at 5:48 of the second to forge a 1-1 tie. Less than two minutes later, Horton blasted a 60-foot slap shot that squeezed between the skate of goaltender Kari Lehtonen and the right goalpost to put Florida ahead, 2-1.

Bouwmeester doubled the lead at 3:52 of the third session for the Panthers, who have won six of their last seven.

Keith Tkachuk, who scored two goals vs. Florida on Tuesday, cut the deficit to 3-2 with 4 1/2 minutes to go. But it was not enough for the Thrashers (36-24-10), who had their five-game winning streak snapped and failed to add to their two-point lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning (38-27-4) in the Southeast.

Defenseman Alexei Zhitnik recorded two assists and Lehtonen made 36 saves for Atlanta.