GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NHL: NY RANGERS (15-13) at ATLANTA (13-14)

NHL: NY RANGERS at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">------------------------------
Ny Rangers 2 0 --2
Atlanta 1 1 --2
------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Atlanta, Eric Boulton 2 (Jim Slater, Steve
Mccarthy), 2:15. 2, Ny Rangers, Marcel Hossa 1 (Scott Gomez, Brendan
Shanahan), 4:09. 3, Ny Rangers, Chris Drury 7 (Petr Prucha, Marc
Staal), 6:32. Penalties: C Thorburn, Atl (major ), 1:21; J Strudwick,
Nyr (major fighting), 1:21; B Little, Atl (hooking), 7:58; B Shanahan,
Nyr (high sticking), 8:05; Bench, Atl (too many men served by C
Thorburn), 18:28.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Atlanta, Pascal Dupuis 4 (Vyacheslav
Kozlov, Jim Slater), 5:58. Penalties: M Hossa, Nyr (boarding), 15:02;
B Holik, Atl (interference), 19:29.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------
Ny Rangers 15 9 --24
Atlanta 6 10 --16
----------------------------------

Goalies : Ny Rangers, Stephen Valiquette (16 shots, 14 saves).
Atlanta, Johan Hedberg (24 shots, 22 saves). Referees: Francois St.
Laurent, Tim Peel. Linesmen: Brian Mach, Shane Heyer.</div>

 

NHL: NY RANGERS at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NHL NY RANGERS 2
ATLANTA 2 19:55 LEFT, 3RD PRD</div>

 

NHL: NY RANGERS at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NHL NY RANGERS 2
ATLANTA 2 15:51 LEFT, 3RD PRD</div>

 

NHL: NY RANGERS at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NHL NY RANGERS 2
ATLANTA 2 12:26 LEFT, 3RD PRD</div>

 

NHL: NY RANGERS at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NHL NY RANGERS 2
ATLANTA 2 6:59 LEFT, 3RD PRD</div>

 

NHL: NY RANGERS at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NHL NY RANGERS 2
ATLANTA 3
3RD PRD: ATL - VYACHESLAV KOZLOV 8 (BOBBY HOLIK, CHRIS THORBURN) 14:43</div>

 

NHL: NY RANGERS at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NHL NY RANGERS 2
ATLANTA 3 4:27 LEFT, 3RD PRD</div>

 

NHL: NY RANGERS at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NHL NY RANGERS 2
ATLANTA 3 0:40 LEFT, 3RD PRD</div>

 

NHL: NY RANGERS at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NHL NY RANGERS 2
ATLANTA 4
3RD PRD: ATL - (EN) MARIAN HOSSA 12 (TODD WHITE) 19:54</div>

 

NHL: NY RANGERS at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NHL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
NY RANGERS 2 0 0 2
ATLANTA 1 1 2 4 FINAL

GOAL SCORING:

1ST PRD: ATL - ERIC BOULTON 2 (JIM SLATER, STEVE MCCARTHY) 2:15
NYR - MARCEL HOSSA 1 (SCOTT GOMEZ, BRENDAN SHANAHAN) 4:09
NYR - CHRIS DRURY 7 (PETR PRUCHA, MARC STAAL) 6:32
2ND PRD: ATL - PASCAL DUPUIS 4 (VYACHESLAV KOZLOV, JIM SLATER) 5:58
3RD PRD: ATL - VYACHESLAV KOZLOV 8 (BOBBY HOLIK, CHRIS THORBURN)
14:43
ATL - (EN) MARIAN HOSSA 12 (TODD WHITE) 19:54

POWER-PLAY CONVERSIONS: NYR - 0 OF 3, ATL - 0 OF 2.

SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
NYR 15 9 8 32
ATL 6 10 6 22

GOALIES: NYR - STEPHEN VALIQUETTE
ATL - JOHAN HEDBERG

OFFICIALS: REF - FRANCOIS ST. LAURENT, TIM PEEL
LIN - BRIAN MACH, SHANE HEYER

ATT: NA</div>

 

NHL: NY RANGERS at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">------------------------------------
Ny Rangers 2 0 0 --2
Atlanta 1 1 2 --4
------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Atlanta, Eric Boulton 2 (Jim Slater, Steve
Mccarthy), 2:15. 2, Ny Rangers, Marcel Hossa 1 (Scott Gomez, Brendan
Shanahan), 4:09. 3, Ny Rangers, Chris Drury 7 (Petr Prucha, Marc
Staal), 6:32. Penalties: C Thorburn, Atl (major ), 1:21; J Strudwick,
Nyr (major fighting), 1:21; B Little, Atl (hooking), 7:58; B Shanahan,
Nyr (high sticking), 8:05; Bench, Atl (too many men served by C
Thorburn), 18:28.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Atlanta, Pascal Dupuis 4 (Vyacheslav
Kozlov, Jim Slater), 5:58. Penalties: M Hossa, Nyr (boarding), 15:02;
B Holik, Atl (interference), 19:29.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 5, Atlanta, Vyacheslav Kozlov 8 (Bobby Holik,
Chris Thorburn), 14:43. 6, Atlanta, Marian Hossa 12 (empty net) (Todd
White), 19:54.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------
Ny Rangers 15 9 8 --32
Atlanta 6 10 6 --22
---------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: Ny Rangers - 0 of 3, Atlanta - 0 of 2. Goalies
: Ny Rangers, Stephen Valiquette (21 shots, 18 saves; record: 1-1-1).
Atlanta, Johan Hedberg (32 shots, 30 saves; record: 9-6-1). A: NA.
Referees: Francois St. Laurent, Tim Peel. Linesmen: Brian Mach, Shane
Heyer.</div>

 

By Phil Foley
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ATLANTA (Ticker) -- It may have taken 28 games, but the AtlantaThrashers are finally over the .500 mark.


Vyacheslav Kozlov snapped a tie with just over five minutes leftin the third period and Johan Hedberg turned aside 30 shots tolead the Thrashers to a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers onFriday.


Kozlov's slap shot from above the left faceoff circle sailedover the right shoulder of goaltender Stephen Valiquette with5:17 remaining, giving Atlanta a 3-2 edge. It was the eighthgoal of the season and second in 12 games for the veteran.

Marian Hossa sealed the victory with an empty-netter for theThrashers, who have won three of their last four games.

With the win, the Thrashers (14-13-1) finally inched above .500for the first time this season. Not bad for a team that beganthe season by dropping its first six games before firing coachBob Hartley.


The triumph also was the second this season against the Rangers,<div class="pre">who swept the Thrashers in the Eastern Conference</div>quarterfinals last spring. Atlanta also defeated New York onOctober 18 for its first win of the campaign.


Atlanta got on the board 2:15 into the contest, when tough guyEric Boulton came streaking down the right wing and depositedthe rebound of Jim Slater's shot past Valiquette for his secondtally of the season.


But the lead was short-lived as Marcel Hossa scored on a snapshot from the right faceoff dot, putting the puck between thelegs of Hedberg at 4:09 of the first period.


The Rangers took a 2-1 edge when the rebound from Petr Prucha'sshot found the stick of Chris Drury, who blasted a shot pastHedberg from the low slot at 6:09 for the 200th goal of hiscareer.


Atlanta tied it again at 5:58 of the middle session, when Kozlovmade a cross-crease pass to former Ranger Pascal Dupuis, whodeposited the puck into the open right side of the net for hisfourth tally.


Hedberg made 13 saves in the first period, nine in the secondand eight in the third en route to his team-leading ninth win ofthe season.


The Rangers entered Atlanta having dropped two straight gamesbehind starting goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Coach Tom Renney choseto sit the struggling Swede, who was tied with San Jose'sEvgeni Nabokov for the league lead with 14 victories but hadallowed four goals in each of his last two starts.

Making just his fourth appearance of the season, the 30-year-oldValiquette played well, stopping 18 shots for the Rangers, whosnapped a seven-game points streak on the road.


New York appeared to record its third goal of the night 35seconds into the second period, but the referees waved off thetally. Following video review, it was determined BrandonDubinsky intentionally kicked the puck into the net with hisskate.


Atlanta also had a goal disallowed with 9:54 remaining in thethird period, when referee Francois St. Laurent whistled astoppage of play before Marian Hossa put the puck in the net.

 

NHL: NY RANGERS at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">------------------------------------
Ny Rangers 2 0 0 --2
Atlanta 1 1 2 --4
------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Atlanta, Eric Boulton 2 (Jim Slater, Steve
Mccarthy), 2:15. 2, Ny Rangers, Marcel Hossa 1 (Scott Gomez, Brendan
Shanahan), 4:09. 3, Ny Rangers, Chris Drury 7 (Petr Prucha, Marc
Staal), 6:32. Penalties: J Strudwick, Nyr (major fighting), 1:21; C
Thorburn, Atl (major fighting), 1:21; B Little, Atl (hooking), 7:58; B
Shanahan, Nyr (high sticking), 8:05; Bench, Atl (too many men served
by C Thorburn), 18:28.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Atlanta, Pascal Dupuis 4 (Vyacheslav
Kozlov, Jim Slater), 5:58. Penalties: M Hossa, Nyr (boarding), 15:02;
B Holik, Atl (interference), 19:29.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 5, Atlanta, Vyacheslav Kozlov 8 (Bobby Holik,
Chris Thorburn), 14:43. 6, Atlanta, Marian Hossa 12 (empty net) (Todd
White), 19:54.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------
Ny Rangers 15 9 8 --32
Atlanta 6 10 6 --22
---------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: Ny Rangers - 0 of 3, Atlanta - 0 of 1. Goalies
: Ny Rangers, Stephen Valiquette (21 shots, 18 saves; record: 1-1-1).
Atlanta, Johan Hedberg (32 shots, 30 saves; record: 9-6-1). A: 18,204.
Referees: Francois St. Laurent, Tim Peel. Linesmen: Brian Mach, Shane
Heyer.</div>

 

NHL: NY RANGERS at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">-----------------------------------------
NY RANGERS 2 0 0 --2
ATLANTA 1 1 2 --4
-----------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Atlanta, Eric Boulton 2 (Jim Slater, Steve
Mccarthy), 2:15. 2, Ny Rangers, Marcel Hossa 1 (Scott Gomez, Brendan
Shanahan), 4:09. 3, Ny Rangers, Chris Drury 7 (Petr Prucha, Marc
Staal), 6:32. Penalties: J Strudwick, Nyr (major fighting), 1:21; C
Thorburn, Atl (major fighting), 1:21; B Little, Atl (hooking), 7:58; B
Shanahan, Nyr (high sticking), 8:05; Bench, Atl (too many men served
by C Thorburn), 18:28.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Atlanta, Pascal Dupuis 4 (Vyacheslav
Kozlov, Jim Slater), 5:58. Penalties: M Hossa, Nyr (boarding), 15:02;
B Holik, Atl (interference), 19:29.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 5, Atlanta, Vyacheslav Kozlov 8 (Bobby Holik,
Chris Thorburn), 14:43. 6, Atlanta, Marian Hossa 12 (empty net) (Todd
White), 19:54.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------------
NY RANGERS 15 9 8 --32
ATLANTA 6 10 6 --22
----------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: NYR - 0 of 3, ATL - 0 of 1. Goalies : Ny
Rangers, Stephen Valiquette (21 shots, 18 saves; record: 1-1-1).
Atlanta, Johan Hedberg (32 shots, 30 saves; record: 9-6-1). A: 18,204.
Referees: Francois St. Laurent, Tim Peel. Linesmen: Brian Mach, Shane
Heyer.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

NY RANGERS ATLANTA
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
B Shanahan 0 1 even 6 B Little 0 0 even 1
B Betts 0 0 -1 1 E Perrin 0 0 even 1
B Dubinsky 0 0 -2 3 T White 0 1 -1 2
M Staal 0 1 -1 3 V Kozlov 1 1 +2 2
S Gomez 0 1 even 3 B Holik 0 1 +2 3
C Drury 1 0 even 5 I Kovalchuk 0 0 -2 3
R Callahan 0 0 +1 2 M Hossa 1 0 -1 1
P Prucha 0 1 +1 1 G Exelby 0 0 even 0
P Mara 0 0 even 0 K Klee 0 0 -1 1
C Orr 0 0 -1 0 J Slater 0 2 +2 3
M Rozsival 0 0 -3 1 C Thorburn 0 1 +1 1
J Strudwick 0 0 even 0 N Havelid 0 0 +3 0
R Hollweg 0 0 -1 0 E Boulton 1 0 +1 1
D Girardi 0 0 even 2 D Haydar 0 0 even 0
F Tyutin 0 0 +1 1 T Enstrom 0 0 +2 1
J Jagr 0 0 -3 2 S McCarthy 0 1 even 0
M Hossa 1 0 +1 2 A Zhitnik 0 0 even 1
M Straka 0 0 -3 0 P Dupuis 1 0 +2 1
M Malik HEALTHY B Larsen HEALTHY
S Avery WRIST INJURY M Popovic ANKLE INJURY</div>

 

By Phil Foley
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Atlanta Thrashers finally are back overthe .500 mark.


Vyacheslav Kozlov snapped a tie with just over five minutes leftin the third period and Johan Hedberg turned aside 30 shots tolead the Thrashers to a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers onFriday.


Kozlov's slap shot from above the left faceoff circle sailedover the right shoulder of goaltender Stephen Valiquette with5:17 remaining, giving Atlanta a 3-2 edge. It was the eighthgoal of the season and second in 12 games for the veteran.

Marian Hossa sealed the victory with an empty-netter for theThrashers, who have won three of their last four games.

With the win, the Thrashers (14-13-1) finally inched above .500for the first time this season. Not bad for a team that beganthe season by dropping its first six games before firing coachBob Hartley.


The triumph also was the second this season against the Rangers,<div class="pre">who swept the Thrashers in the Eastern Conference</div>quarterfinals last spring. Atlanta also defeated New York onOctober 18 for its first win of the campaign.


Atlanta got on the board 2:15 into the contest, when tough guyEric Boulton came streaking down the right wing and depositedthe rebound of Jim Slater's shot past Valiquette for his secondtally of the season.


But the lead was short-lived as Marcel Hossa scored on a snapshot from the right faceoff dot, putting the puck between thelegs of Hedberg at 4:09 of the first period.


The Rangers took a 2-1 edge when the rebound from Petr Prucha'sshot found the stick of Chris Drury, who blasted a shot pastHedberg from the low slot at 6:09 for the 200th goal of hiscareer.


Atlanta tied it again at 5:58 of the middle session, when Kozlovmade a cross-crease pass to former Ranger Pascal Dupuis, whodeposited the puck into the open right side of the net for hisfourth tally.


Hedberg made 13 saves in the first period, nine in the secondand eight in the third en route to his team-leading ninth win ofthe season.


The Rangers entered Atlanta having dropped two straight gamesbehind starting goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Coach Tom Renney choseto sit the struggling Swede, who was tied with San Jose'sEvgeni Nabokov for the league lead with 14 victories but hadallowed four goals in each of his last two starts.

Making just his fourth appearance of the season, the 30-year-oldValiquette played well, stopping 18 shots for the Rangers, whosnapped a seven-game points streak on the road.


New York appeared to record its third goal of the night 35seconds into the second period, but the referees waved off thetally. Following video review, it was determined BrandonDubinsky intentionally kicked the puck into the net with hisskate.


Atlanta also had a goal disallowed with 9:54 remaining in thethird period, when referee Francois St. Laurent whistled astoppage of play before Marian Hossa put the puck in the net.

 

NHL: NY RANGERS at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NHL
NY RANGERS 2
ATLANTA 4</div>

 

By Phil Foley
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Atlanta Thrashers finally are back overthe .500 mark.


Vyacheslav Kozlov snapped a tie with just over five minutes leftin the third period and Johan Hedberg turned aside 30 shots tolead the Thrashers to a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers onFriday.


Kozlov's slap shot from above the left faceoff circle sailedover the right shoulder of goaltender Stephen Valiquette with5:17 remaining, giving Atlanta a 3-2 edge. It was the eighthgoal of the season and second in 12 games for the veteran.

"They back off towards the net, so I waited to get a screen infront of the goal," said Kozlov, who also credited hisgoaltender for the victory. "Moose played solid hockey. Hegave us a chance to win."


"(Kozlov) ripped it," said Valiquette, who was partiallyscreened by teammate Michal Rozsival on the play. "I had goodposition and was focused. I just got beat."


Marian Hossa sealed the victory with an empty-netter for theThrashers, who have won three of their last four games.

With the win, the Thrashers (14-13-1) finally inched above .500for just the second time this season. Not bad, however, for ateam that began the season by dropping its first six gamesbefore firing coach Bob Hartley.


"Obviously, you have to get over .500," said Atlanta's JimSlater, who recorded two assists. "The goal is to keep movingand try to keep moving up. (The .500 mark) just a number. Wehave to keep putting wins on the board."


The triumph also was the second this season against the Rangers,who swept the Thrashers in the Eastern Conference quarterfinalslast spring. Atlanta also defeated New York on October 18 forits first win of the campaign.


Atlanta got on the board 2:15 into the contest, when tough guyEric Boulton came streaking down the right wing and depositedthe rebound of Slater's shot past Valiquette for his secondtally of the season.


But the lead was short-lived as Marcel Hossa scored on a snapshot from the right faceoff dot, putting the puck between thelegs of Hedberg at 4:09 of the first period.


The Rangers took a 2-1 edge when the rebound from Petr Prucha'sshot found the stick of Chris Drury, who blasted a shot pastHedberg from the low slot at 6:09 for the 200th goal of hiscareer.


Atlanta tied it again at 5:58 of the middle session, when Kozlovmade a cross-crease pass to former Ranger Pascal Dupuis, whodeposited the puck into the open right side of the net for hisfourth tally.


"For a guy that doesn't score much, it helps to score," Dupuissaid. "Everyone has to chip in."


Thrashers interim coach Don Waddell credited the play of Kozlovfor the victory.


"Kozlov showed experience and made a great play on the secondgoal with the pass across," Waddell said. "He made a smart playthere, and to score the game-winner was a good play coming upthe neutral zone. He waited and used the defenseman as ascreen. We could see he had a great angle from the bench, andyou could see he knew where he was shooting."


Hedberg made 13 saves in the first period, nine in the secondand eight in the third en route to his team-leading ninth win ofthe season.


The Rangers entered Atlanta having dropped two straight gamesbehind starting goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Coach Tom Renney choseto sit the struggling Swede, who was tied with San Jose'sEvgeni Nabokov for the league lead with 14 victories but hadallowed four goals in each of his last two starts.

Making just his fourth appearance of the season, the 30-year-oldValiquette played well, stopping 18 shots for the Rangers, whosnapped a seven-game points streak on the road.


"He gave us a chance to win," Renney said. "That's all you canask. We're not happy about the loss at all, naturally. But weplayed a game that was more in keeping with what we have been upto in the last month or so. The fact of the matter is, welost."


The Rangers, who have dropped three straight and six of theirlast nine, have been held to two goals or fewer in all but twoof those nine contests.


"That's one of our dilemmas right now, getting that third(goal)," Renney said. "At the same time, it is what it is. Igive our guys a lot of credit for how hard they played. But wegot beat by a pretty good shot."


"I thought we played a great first (period)," New York's ScottGomez said. "We stuck to the game plan, we did everything, butit was not enough. We are getting more shots and playing goodhockey, but we need more traffic in front of the net and to playharder."


New York appeared to record its third goal of the night 35seconds into the second period, but the referees waved off thetally. Following video review, it was determined BrandonDubinsky intentionally kicked the puck into the net with hisskate.


Atlanta also had a goal disallowed with 9:54 remaining in thethird period, when referee Francois St. Laurent whistled astoppage of play before Marian Hossa put the puck in the net.