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Panthers seeks seventh straight win vs. Thrashers

Mar 16, 2008 - 1:09 PM Atlanta (31-34-8) at Florida (34-31-8) 5:00 pm EDT

SUNRISE, Florida (Ticker) - The Florida Panthers are playing better than they have all season, but they still have a ways to go to get in the playoffs.

Captain Olli Jokinen will try to lead the Panthers to their season-best seventh consecutive victory when they host the Atlanta Thrashers on Sunday in a battle of Southeast Division foes.

Despite the recent success, Florida sits four points behind the eighth-place Philadelphia Flyers (35-27-10) for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Jokinen scored the game-winning goal in the third period of the Panthers' 3-2 triumph over the New York Rangers on Friday. He leads the club with 31 goals and 67 points this season.

Starting Sunday, Florida closes out its campaign with nine straight matchups against division foes.

All-Star Ilya Kovalchuk has six tallies in his previous six games and lead the Thrashers with 48 goals on the season. He will look to join the Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin as the only other NHL player to notch 50 goals this season.

Kovalchuk was held pointless Friday as Atlanta suffered a 4-1 loss to Washington.