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Thrashers host Canadiens in Eastern Conference battle

Jan 17, 2008 - 2:13 PM Montreal (23-14-8) at Atlanta (23-22-2) 7:00 pm EST

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Atlanta Thrashers have worked their way into first place in the Southeast Division. But if they want to stay there, they'll have find a way to maintain their current high level of play.

The Thrashers will look to push their winning streak to three games when they host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

Atlanta began the season with six straight losses, leading to the firing of coach Bob Hartley. The Thrashers have gone 23-16-2 since to move into a tie with Carolina (22-22-4) atop the Southeast Division.

The Thrashers earned one of their most impressive wins of the season Tuesday when they dominated the Detroit Red Wings in a 5-1 win. Marian Hossa recorded a hat trick and Kari Lehtonen stopped 46 shots.

Ilya Kovalchuk had an assist Tuesday but saw his four-game goal scoring streak snapped. The Russian left wing leads the NHL with 37 goals this season.

The Canadiens have been hot recently as well, especially on the road. Montreal is an Eastern Conference-best 15-7-3 away from Quebec.

The Canadiens have scored 28 goals in their past eight wins and rank second in the conference at 139 goals scored this season. Alexei Kovalev leads the team with 19 goals and 41 points and tallied an empty-net goal in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the New York Islanders.

Atlanta has won both meetings between the team so far this season, capturing both contests, 3-2, in a shootout. Eric Perrin and Vyacheslav Kozlov scored in both games for the Thrashers.