Panthers Suffer OT Loss To Thrashers

Atlanta Thrashers goaltender Johan Hedberg (1), defends against Florida Panthers center Olli Jokinen (12), during the second period, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007 during an NHL hockey game at Philips Arena in Atlanta. The Thrashers won 3-2 in overtime. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

The Panthers skated out of Atlanta only half-satisfied Tuesday night as the team lost a tough overtime affair to the Thrashers by the score of 3-2.

Florida was actually 2.6 seconds away from the victory when Atlanta’s Marian Hossa put the puck past Craig Anderson to tie the score. Then on the first shift of overtime, Ilya Kovalchuk beat Anderson for his 15th of the season to give the Thrashers their eighth victory of the season. For the Panthers, it was their first overtime loss of the year (7-11-1).

Panthers forward David Booth continued his strong play by registering his second straight multi-point game. Booth helped set up the Panthers first goal, Ville Peltonen's fourth of the year at 12:44 of the first period, and then gave the Cats the 2-1 lead 15:21 into the final period of play.

The Panthers return to the BankAtlantic Center, where they will play the Washington Capitals on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

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ATLANTA (AP) -Todd White knows Ilya Kovalchuk rarely passes up a clear look at the net.

"He definitely has a nose for openings and that makes him a fun guy to play with," White said. "He always sees where the open space is and goes there."

Kovalchuk scored in the first minute of overtime, 27 seconds after Marian Hossa forced the extra period with a power-play goal in the Atlanta Thrashers' 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.

White gave Kovalchuk his chance to win it. After forechecking Jay Bouwmeester against the left wing boards, White stole the puck and made a backhanded pass to Kovalchuk, who stopped quickly and fired the puck under goalie Craig Anderson's pads.

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

Kovalchuk's NHL-leading 15th goal gave the Thrashers their fourth win in five games. The 24-year-old Russian finished with two assists, giving him 13 points, including nine goals, in six games.

"It was a good play by him," Kovalchuk said of White. "We work hard to create some chances out there."

Game Highlights
Starting Lineups
Panthers		Thrashers
Jokinen	C	White
Stumpel	LW	Kovalchuk
Horton	RW	Hossa
Bouwmeester	D	Havelid
Salei	D	Enstrom
Anderson	G	Hedberg
Quote of the Game
"It was disappointing because we put out a strong effort for a road game. I thought we battled hard. It was bad luck, for sure, from the standpoint that (Hossa's) puck went in. We should have won the game 2-1." - Panthers head coach Jacques Martin
Stat of the Game
Forward David Booth had his second multi-point night of the year (second straight) as he had the second assist on the first Panthers goal and gave the team a 2-1 lead in the third period on his fourth goal of the season.
3 Stars Presented by Szrio Jewelry
1. Ilya Kovalchuk 2. Marian Hossa 3. David Booth

The Thrashers had a two-man skating advantage for the final 1:09 of regulation after coach Don Waddell pulled goalie Johan Hedberg, and Florida's Greg Campbell was penalized for tripping.

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

Hossa was between the crease and the bottom of the right circle when Anderson stopped Kovalchuk's slap shot from the left circle.

Kovalchuk hit the puck so hard, however, that Hossa had little trouble tapping in the rebound for his seventh goal.

"There was no quit in our game," Waddell said. "We kept coming and coming and finally got a break at the end."

David Booth's fourth goal gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead with 4:39 left in the third.

Ville Peltonen opened the scoring with his fourth goal 7:16 into the first.

White made it 2-2 with his fourth goal 31 seconds into the second.

Florida's offense sputtered in the third as the Panthers managed just four shots. They have been outscored 29-14 in the final 20 minutes of regulation this season.

"It was disappointing because we put out a strong effort for a road game," Panthers coach Jacques Martin said after his team fell to 2-8 away from home. "I thought we battled hard. It was bad luck, for sure, from the standpoint that (Hossa's) puck went in. We should have won the game 2-1."

Hedberg improved to 5-4 after stopping 19.

Anderson, who dropped to 0-3, started in goal for the first time since the Panthers' 3-2 loss at Toronto on Oct. 18. Tomas Vokoun had started the last 11 games.

Notes: Of Kovalchuk's 15 goals, nine have come after the second period. ... Peltonen has eight points, including three goals in his last 10 games. ... Before Hossa scored, the Thrashers' power-play unit had converted just two of 19 chances. ... Atlanta is 14-3-5 against the Panthers at home, 26-10-8 overall. ... Florida claimed forward Garth Murray off re-entry waivers from the Montreal Canadiens.