ATLANTA --- A week ago, the Atlanta Thrashers looked like a surprise playoff contender even without Ilya Kovalchuk.
Not anymore.
Colin Wilson scored off an Atlanta miscue, and Dan Ellis turned aside 30 shots, leading the Nashville Predators to a 2-1 victory over the slumping Thrashers on Tuesday night.
Ryan Suter scored Nashville's first goal, and Wilson took advantage of a hideous turnover by Mark Popovic to make it 2-0 before the first period was done.
Ellis made the lead stand up. The Thrashers were held to a second-period goal by Nik Antropov and took their third consecutive loss, further dampening playoff hopes that looked so much better just a week ago. Atlanta, which won its first two after the Olympic break to move into the final playoff spot in the East, is now four points behind Boston.
The Predators went ahead at 4:48 of the first when Suter scored a power-play goal on a screened shot from the point. With Colby Armstrong off for interference, Martin Erat clogged up things in front of the net, and it appeared that goalie Johan Hedberg never saw the puck.
Nashville extended its lead later in the period on Popovic's amateurish mistake. Skating out of his zone, the defenseman fanned on a routine pass, then whiffed again as he hurriedly tried to clear it. Wilson scooped it up, went in alone on Hedberg and scored his fourth goal of the season at 18:38.
Nashville snapped a two-game losing streak and strengthened its hold on the seventh seed in the Western Conference.
MAPLE LEAFS 4, BRUINS 3 (OT)
In Toronto, Nikolai Kulemin scored 4:11 into overtime to give Toronto a victory over Boston.
Kulemin made the most of a broken 2-on-1 rush with Mikhail Grabovski, beating prone Bruins goalie Tim Thomas.
Grabovski was playing for the first time after missing 23 games because of a broken wrist.
The Leafs forced overtime after Luca Caputi scored the tying goal by swatting home a rebound 7:13 into the third. Wayne Primeau and Carl Gunnarsson also scored for Toronto.
Mark Recchi and Marco Sturm each scored a goal and added two assists for Boston. Patrice Bergeron had the other goal.
FLAMES 4, RED WINGS 2
In Detroit, Jarome Iginla and Rene Bourque scored 1:31 apart in the third period, lifting Calgary.
The Flames moved into a seventh-place tie with Nashville in the Western Conference and pushed Detroit to ninth.
Iginla snapped his 19-game streak without a goal against Detroit to make it 2-all. Bourque scored the winner 7:16 into the third.
FLYERS 3, ISLANDERS 2
In Philadelphia, Simon Gagne's power-play goal broke a third-period tie, and the Flyers rallied for their franchise-record 15th consecutive victory over the Islanders.
Gagne's goal finished off the Flyers' comeback from a 2-0 deficit. His attempted pass to Mike Richards deflected off the stick of Islanders defenseman Mark Streit and past goalie Dwayne Roloson with 13:54 remaining.
John Tavares and Kyle Okposo had goals for the Islanders.
CANADIENS 5, LIGHTNING 3
In Montreal, Scott Gomez had a goal and two assists, and Mathieu Darche scored twice to lead Montreal.
Jaroslav Halak made 28 saves for Montreal, which gave coach Jacques Martin his 550th career win in the team's first home game since the Olympic break.
PANTHERS 3, WILD 2 (SO)
In St. Paul, Minn., Cory Stillman scored the winning shootout goal and Florida held Minnesota to a franchise-tying low 11 shots .
The Wild also tied a season low for shots by a home team in the NHL this season.
The Panthers rebounded from an early 2-0 deficit and held a 31-9 shots advantage after regulation.
It was Florida's third win in a row.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
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