NEW YORK, 22 March 2006 — The Atlanta Thrashers blanked the Buffalo Sabres 5-0 on Monday to claim their 33rd win of the season and inch closer to an historic playoff appearance.
Atlanta netminder Kari Lehtonen was rarely tested in the first two periods but was made to earn his shutout in the third as the Sabres out-shot the Thrashers 12-3.
Finn Lehtonen finished with 20 saves to help Atlanta tie a franchise record for wins and set a team record with their 19th home victory, according to the NHL’s Web site.
Russian forward Ilya Kovalchuk, who is battling for the NHL goal-scoring title, opened the scoring in the first period with his 43rd of the season.
A late-season surge has helped the Thrashers put pressure on the Montreal Canadiens for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth. The Thrashers have never appeared in the playoffs.
In Sunrise, Olli Jokinen scored in overtime to lift the Florida Panthers to a 6-5 decision over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Jozef Stumpel tallied twice for Florida while Ric Jackman, Steve Montador and Juraj Kolnik all contributed to the surging Panthers’ sixth win in seven. Martin St. Louis struck twice for the Lightning while Ruslan Fedotenko, Brad Richards and Ryan Craig each had a goal.
In Los Angeles, rookie Peter Budaj stopped 21 shots to earn the shutout while Joe Sakic had two goals and a pair of assists to guide the Colorado Avalanche to a 5-0 win over the Kings. Sakic’s four points moved the Colorado captain past Stan Mikita into 11th place on the NHL’s all-time scoring list.
Andrew Brunette, Ian Laperriere and Antti Laaksonen also lit the lamp for Colorado.
