• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Thrashers, Panthers square off in Atlanta

Nov 17, 2010 - 4:17 PM (Sports Network) - The Atlanta Thrashers will be aiming for just their second win in seven games when they welcome the Florida Panthers for tonight's Southeast Division clash at Philips Arena.

Atlanta is 1-4-1 over its last six outings, but the club has had success recently against the rival Panthers. The Thrashers earned a 4-3 victory in Florida to kick off the season series on November 3. It was Atlanta's third straight win against the Panthers, who have also lost five of seven and six of the last nine encounters.

The Thrashers have also claimed three straight against the Panthers on home ice. Florida's last win at Philips Arena was on April 9, 2009.

Atlanta is also kicking off its longest homestand of the season tonight. The Thrashers, who will conclude this six-game residency on November 28 against Boston, are 3-4-1 as the host this year.

The Thrashers last played on Sunday in Washington and were dealt a 6-4 loss. Atlanta fell behind 3-1 in the first period, but rallied to tie the score at 4-4 by the end of the second. However, John Erskine notched the go-ahead goal for Washington late in the third period and David Steckel recorded an empty- netter to seal the victory.

Bryan Little tallied twice while Andrew Ladd and Rich Peverley added a score each for the Thrashers. Niclas Bergfors added an assist to push his point streak to five games.

"It's good that we came back like that but we can only do it so many times and not get a win," Little said. "Sooner or later we have to find a way to win those games. Instead of having to crawl back into the game, we need to have a better start."

Starter Chris Mason was pulled after yielding four goals on 16 shots through 22-plus minutes. Ondrej Pavelec took the loss by allowing the game-deciding tally on 16 shots.

Atlanta forward Fredrik Modin sat out the last game with an upper-body injury and the veteran Swede is questionable for this evening's test. Modin has four goals and six points for the Thrashers this season.

Florida has been off since getting dealt a 5-2 setback in Philadelphia on Saturday. It was just the third loss in the last seven games for the Panthers, who allowed Mike Richards and Claude Giroux of the Flyers to score two goals apiece.

Cory Stillman and Mike Santorelli scored for the Panthers, who had won two straight prior to Saturday's loss. Scott Clemmensen took the loss, after he was torched for all five goals on 42 shots.

"I thought we were ready to play," lamented Panthers head coach Peter DeBoer. "I thought we were with them for the first 12 minutes. We made a couple mental mistakes from that point. They're a great hockey team, arguably the hottest in the league and they will make you pay."

The Panthers are just 2-6-0 on the road this year and are making the second stop on a four-game swing tonight.