ATLANTA - The Atlanta Thrashers knew their season-opening run would eventually come to an end. Now that it has, they have to decide how they'll react.
Olli Jokinen scored a third-period goal and backup goalie Steve Shields made 33 saves as the Florida Panthers handed the Thrashers their first regulation loss of the season, 3-2 Saturday night.
It was the first time this season the Thrashers did not collect at least a point in a game.
Viktor Kozlov and Mike Van Ryn also scored for Florida, notching first-period goals that put the Thrashers in a deep hole.
``In the last 40 minutes we came back real strong,'' Thrashers head coach Bob Hartley said. ``We generated enough chances to win the game. But the first period cost us the game. We have to learn from that and make some adjustments.''
Ilya Kovalchuk's slapper with the man advantage 7:37 into the third ended Shields' shutout bid and trimmed Florida's lead to 3-1. It was Kovalchuk's league-leading 10th goal.
Vyacheslav Kozlov made it 3-2 with 2:32 left, but Shields would hold off a late flurry to preserve the victory.
Shields started for the first time this season in place of Roberto Luongo, who had faced a league-high 282 shots through the first eight games. Shields is 5-0 lifetime against the Thrashers.
``It was nice to get in there and get playing and get a little rhythm,'' Shields said. ``I expected them to play a lot better than they did in the first period. They turned it up a little on us and it was good we had a nice lead.''
Florida led 2-0 after first-period goals by Viktor Kozlov and Van Ryn.
Kozlov scored his third of the season on a short-handed two-on-one rush with Eric Messier, carrying the puck into the right circle and beating Pasi Nurminen low to the stick side at 10:57. Van Ryn made it 2-0 with 1:58 left in the period while the teams were skating four-on-four. After Jokinen batted the puck out of the air and behind Nurminen, Van Ryn crashed the net and made sure the puck crossed the line with a little tap for his second of the year.
The Panthers were up 2-0 on Minnesota on Friday, too, but surrendered the next four in a 4-3 loss.
Not this time.
Shields held the Thrashers at bay during a fast-paced, hard-hitting second period. He made several sprawling saves and was helped by defenseman Lyle Odelein, who lifted up Kozlov's stick just as he lined up a 4-foot shot at an empty net on a rebound.
``I think we woke up too late to start playing like we can,'' Nurminen said. ``They were already up three goals, so it's hard to come back.''
Seconds after killing a penalty early in the third, the Panthers made it 3-0 on Jokinen's team-leading fourth goal. Nurminen made a pad save on Ivan Novoseltsev's long wrist shot, but Jokinen swept in the rebound despite being wrapped in a bear hug by Atlanta defenseman Ivan Majesky.
Notes: Former Thrasher and Philips Arena crowd favorite Darcy Hordichuk got to start against his former club after scoring his second career goal Friday night. ... Nurminen has started all eight games for Atlanta, which, in fact, has played the same 20 players in all eight games, a rarity in hockey. ... Florida played its first of 11 back-to-back sets of games this weekend, losing to Minnesota on Friday and beating Atlanta on Saturday. ... Viktor Kozlov has a point in seven of nine games. .. Marc Savard (2-5-7) and Slava Kozlov (2-3-5) both extended their scoring streaks to four games. Kovalchuk has at least one point in all but one game this season.
Wednesday
May 7th, 2025
3:17PM
