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Thrashers stun Panthers with two late goals

Nov 14, 2007 - 4:24 AM By Phil Foley PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Atlanta Thrashers extended their dominance over the Florida Panthers in stunning fashion.

Marian Hossa scored a power-play goal with just three seconds left in regulation and Ilya Kovalchuk blasted home the game-winning tally just 25 seconds into overtime, lifting the Thrashers to a 3-2 victory over the Panthers on Tuesday night.

Atlanta extended its winning streak over Florida at Philips Arena to 11 games, dating to October 25, 2003.

"Never in doubt," Thrashers interim coach Don Waddell joked about the outcome. "It was nice to see us ahead at the end of the game. The guys battled and there was no quit in our game. We kept coming and coming and finally got a break at the end."

The Thrashers also dealt the Panthers their fourth straight loss overall.

"Tonight, we should have won 2-1," Florida coach Jacques Martin said. "I thought we battled hard. It was bad luck, for sure, from the standpoint that the puck went in."

With Florida clinging to a one-goal lead, Gregory Campbell drew a costly tripping penalty on Hossa with 69 seconds remaining in the third period.

With the benefit of the two extra attackers after goaltender Johan Hedberg was pulled from the net, Atlanta capitalized when Kovalchuk found Hossa, who made a strong move while crossing in front of the net.

Hossa momentarily lost control of the puck, but with netminder Craig Anderson out of position, he tipped it in from the left side of the net to tie the contest at 2-2 and send it to overtime.

"(Hossa) made a heck of a play," Waddell said. "He forced the shot and got the goalie to commit. That's why the goal was wide open."

"Six-on-four," Campbell said. "It's a tough way to have a goal scored against you."

In the extra session, Todd White forced a turnover by Florida defenseman Jay Bouwmeester along the left wing boards and fed a streaking Kovalchuk with a backhand pass. The Russian superstar followed with a one-timer from the right faceoff circle just 25 seconds into the overtime, beating Anderson for the victory.

"Todd White, it was all him," said Kovalchuk, who netted his NHL-leading 15th goal. "He made an unbelievable play on the forecheck. He got me the puck for the breakaway. It was a great play by him."

"Kovy had a pretty good shot," White said. "I was just trying to put pressure on Bouwmeester. I knew he didn't have an out, he had nobody to pass to. I was hoping Kovy was sniffing on the play to get a break, and he was, and he got a great shot."

The Panthers' David Booth appeared to have ended his team's streak of futility with 4:39 remaining in the third, when his long slap shot from above the right circle through traffic beat Hedberg.

Getting a rare start in the back end of consecutive games, backup goaltender Anderson made 30 saves for the Panthers. He turned aside 13 shots in the first, seven in the second - including one on a breakaway by Kovalchuk with five minutes remaining - and 10 in the third.

It was all for naught, however, as the 26-year-old failed to stop the Thrashers' final two shots.

"We'll have to work hard and try to forget this," Anderson said. "It's a long season."

The Thrashers outshot the Panthers by a 13-5 margin in the first period, but it was Florida that capitalized.

Stephen Weiss' pass from behind the net found the stick of Ville Peltonen, who tipped the puck from the right side of the net past Hedberg for his fourth goal of the season and a 1-0 lead at 12:44 of the opening session.

Atlanta took advantage of a fortuitous bounce to tie the game 31 seconds into the second period.

Anderson initially stopped White's shot from the left side of the net, but the puck trickled across the goal line after it hit the back of Anderson's left leg. It was White's fourth goal of the season.

The fast-paced game in front of a small crowd was relatively penalty-free, which played to the Thrashers' advantage.

Atlanta, which entered dead last in the league having successfully killed just 70.6 percent (25-of-85) of its penalties, spent only two minutes shorthanded.

Hedberg stopped 19 shots for the Thrashers, who have won four of their last five games.