|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
ATLANTA (AP) – The Pittsburgh Penguins got much of their scoring
from their big guns – Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux – but it was a
lucky one from Jeff Norton that counted most.
Norton scored the go-ahead goal with 3:37 remaining, Jagr had
two goals and an assist, and Lemieux had a pair of assists as
Pittsburgh beat the Atlanta Thrashers 5-3 Thursday night.
"I was just throwing it at the net," said Norton, who scored
his second goal of the season when his shot was deflected off the
skate of Atlanta's Andrew Brunette and past goalie Norm Maracle.
"It hit a skate and went in. It was an ugly goal, but we'll
take it at this time of the year," Norton said.
Lemieux, who helped Atlanta to its fifth sellout this season,
was on the ice for four of Pittsburgh's goals. He earned assists
when Kevin Stevens scored in the second period, and on Jagr's
empty-net power-play goal with 7.6 seconds remaining.
The Thrashers tied it at 3 on Ladislav Kohn's sixth goal,
beating goalie Jean-Sebastien Aubin at 12:57 of the second period
with Atlanta short-handed.
Pittsburgh, battling for a playoff berth with 14 games left, had
lost two in a row and three of four.
"It's been tough. We had lost two in a row and needed a win
very bad," Jagr said. "We're making a run for the playoffs, and
it was a very important game for us."
Kohn's goal came moments after Pittsburgh scored a pair 31
seconds apart to take a 3-2 lead. The first was by Jagr at 10:05 on
a wrist shot. Stevens added his ninth goal at 10:36 by converting
from in close off a perfect pass from Lemieux.
"We had a couple of great chances on the net and their
goaltender made a couple of saves and they get an empty-net goal,"
said Atlanta's Ray Ferraro, who had two assists.
"I thought we played pretty well. We just didn't win," he
said.
Jagr, who leads the league in scoring with 95 points (38 goals),
has points in eight consecutive games (7 goals, 8 assists). He
added an assist on Martin Straka's 23rd goal, a power-play score at
5:57 of the first that made it 1-0.
The Thrashers tied it on Tomi Kallio's 10th goal at 13:43 and
took a 2-1 lead on a power-play goal by Donald Audette 4:12 into
the second. It was Audette's 31st goal, matching his career-high
set in 1991-92 with Buffalo.
Lemieux, who indicated recently he would skip back-to-back games
because of his fragile back, decided to play after Wednesday
night's loss to Washington.
"There are not too many games left, and we're trying to make
the playoffs," Lemieux said. "There are three or four teams
battling for a spot and it's important I be out there."
Lemieux has missed only one game since returning from a 3½-year
retirement in late December. The Penguins are seventh in the
Eastern Conference. Eight teams make it to the postseason.
Game notes
The last time the Penguins were in Atlanta on Jan. 30, a
standing-room only record crowd of 19,008 turned out to watch
Lemieux's Atlanta debut. He had a goal and two assists in
Pittsburgh's 6-3 victory. ... The Penguins have beaten the
Thrashers in all eight meetings between the clubs, including 3-0
this season. ... Maracle (1-2-2) made his fifth
consecutive start since his recall from Orlando of the IHL. ...
Lemieux has 25 goals and 26 assists in 30 games. ... Lemieux, who
had only 14 penalty minutes this season, drew a pair of penalties –
for tripping in the first period and roughing in the second.
 Send this story to a friend
|
|
ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
Atlanta Clubhouse
RECAPS
Ottawa 5
Boston 3
Philadelphia 5
Calgary 2
Pittsburgh 5
Atlanta 3
New Jersey 6
Minnesota 2
Tampa Bay 1
Carolina 0
Colorado 5
St. Louis 2
Phoenix 3
Vancouver 2
Los Angeles 4
Nashville 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jeff Norton's centering feed goes off Jan Hrdina's skate for the goal.
avi: 638 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
|
