ATLANTA - The streaky Thrashers are on another upswing. Ronald Petrovicky scored twice and Byron Dafoe made 25 saves to help Atlanta beat Philadelphia 4-1 on Sunday.
Ilya Kovalchuk added his league-leading 21st goal and Slava Kozlov also scored for the Thrashers, who won their second straight after three consecutive shutout losses.
"We've had a good first half of the season, but we can't hang our hat on that," Dafoe said. "Points are harder to get in the second half."
During the losing streak, Atlanta went 182 minutes, 32 seconds without a goal. Petrovicky broke the drought eight seconds into Saturday's 7-4 victory against Pittsburgh and got the Thrashers off to another fast start Sunday by stealing a pass from goaltender Jeff Hackett.
Hackett wandered behind the net to play the puck then tried to get it to defenseman Jim Vandermeer. But the pass was weak, and Petrovicky snared it and easily put the puck into the open net for a 1-0 lead 1:29 in.
Petrovicky scored the go-ahead goal after a brilliant pass from Kovalchuk midway through the second. Kovalchuk fought his way past defenseman Kim Johnsson and chased the puck into the corner. He then patiently waited for Petrovicky to skate toward the crease.
The pass went cleanly to Petrovicky, who beat Hackett for a 2-1 lead.
ISLANDERS 5, CAPITALS 4: Alexei Yashin broke a tie in the third for New York, which won for the first time in Washington since 2-0 on March 2, 1997.
Yashin scooped up Mariusz Czerkawski's pass in the neutral zone, skated across the blue line and sent a low wrist shot past Olaf Kolzig 1:09 into the period. Czerkawski made it 5-3 with 6:01 left, sweeping a shot into the upper left corner of the net from the right circle for his 400th point.
SHARKS 2, DUCKS 1: Niko Dimitrakos set up goals by Patrick Marleau and Vincent Damphousse for visiting San Jose. Marleau made it 1-0 11:40 in when he got a pass in the right circle from Dimitrakos and beat Jean-Sebastien Giguere to the stick side with a one-timer from 15 feet. Dimitrakos, a rookie who has seven points in his past 14 games, then picked up an assist on Damphousse's goal, a 20-foot backhander from the left circle during a power play.
DEVILS 2, BLACKHAWKS 2: Ville Niemenen scored with 3:49 left for host Chicago, which ended a two-game losing streak but is 1-12-4-3 in its past 20. Scott Stevens scored with 5:43 left to give New Jersey a 2-1 lead. Scott Gomez found him alone in the slot, and Stevens slipped the puck between Michael Leighton's left pad and the post. But Niemenen took a pass from Scott Nichol and skated from the right circle into the slot before beating Martin Brodeur with a wrist shot from 15 feet.
Hawks honor Magnuson
CHICAGO - The Blackhawks honored former player and coach Keith Magnuson with a video tribute and moment of silence before Sunday's game. Magnuson, 56, was killed in a three-car crash in Toronto on Monday while he and retired defenseman Rob Ramage were returning from a funeral.
The Blackhawks showed highlights and still photos of the rugged defenseman's childhood and 11 seasons during a three-minute montage. His widow, Cindy, and children Kevin and Molly received a two-minute standing ovation.
THRASHERS: Defenseman Ivan Majesky was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Dec. 13. Majesky, who has two goals and two assists in 26 games, missed five games with a sprained ligament in his left knee then aggravated it in a game Dec. 12.
