NEW YORK, 30 January 2004 — Jeff Cowan scored with 2:24 left in regulation time to earn the host Atlanta Thrashers a 1-1 tie with the St. Louis Blues Wednesday in a game featuring the return of Dany Heatley.

The Atlanta right wing played for the first time since the Sept. 29 car crash that claimed the life of teammate Dan Snyder.

Heatley was the driver of the car and sustained multiple injuries. He was expected to miss most of the season, especially after undergoing knee surgery, but has made a rapid comeback.

“I feel fine,” Heatley told reporters. “I gave somebody a little bump (early in the game) and it felt good.

“I had pretty good confidence after that.”

He started the game and played 23 minutes, including nine minutes on the powerplay, as he enjoyed a warm welcome from the Atlanta fans.

“There were a lot of emotions, I was very excited and it was awesome,” Heatley said.

“The fans were awesome. We have the best fans in the league.”

The game was a scoreless tie until Scott Mellanby notched his 11th goal of the season at 5:17 of the third period.

Cowan replied for Atlanta when he knocked the puck past goaltender Reinhard Divis off a scrum in front of the goal, keeping the Blues winless in their last four games.

The Blues out-shot Atlanta 31-23 but Pasi Nurminen was sharp in goal for the Thrashers. “Dany Heatley will not be the savior,” Atlanta coach Bob Hartley said. “He’s a very important part of our hockey club but we need to give him time to get back to his real game.”

In New York, Jeff Halpern and Trent Whitfield netted to give the Washington Capitals a 2-1 win over the Rangers.

Eric Lindros of the Rangers did not play in the third period. He took a hit from Washington’s Jason Doig in the second session and the team said he had suffered another concussion.

Lindros has sustained seven other concussions in his career. New York said he would be re-evaluated today.

Olaf Kolzig made 32 saves as the Capitals won for the first time in four games.

Jaromir Jagr had six shots but did not record a point against the Capitals, who traded him to New York last week.

Martin Rucinsky tallied in the third period for the Rangers, who have one victory in eight games.

In Sunrise, Joni Pitkanen bagged two goals to lift the Philadelphia Flyers to a 3-3 tie with the Florida Panthers.

Eric Weinrich also scored while Michal Handzus and Mark Recchi both chipped in with two assists as the Flyers outshot Florida 47-25.

Andreas Lilja, Juraj Kolnik and Kristian Huselius replied for the Panthers, Valeri Bure claiming two assists.

In Dallas, Sergei Zubov seized the go-ahead goal with 3:07 left in the third period to give the Stars a 5-3 triumph over the Ottawa Senators. David Oliver, Mike Modano, Pierre Turgeon and Scott Young also scored for the Stars, who rallied from a 3-1 deficit after two periods.

Martin Havlat, Wade Redden and Peter Schaefer replied for the Senators, who lost for the first time in four games.

In San Jose, Patrick Marleau tallied twice to earn the Sharks a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames. Marco Sturm assisted on both Marleau goals.

In Anaheim, Joe Covo netted 2:37 into overtime as the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Mighty Ducks 4-3. Steve Rucchin scored twice for Anaheim.