Thrashers snap 4-game losing streak with 3-1 victory over Senators

Thrashers end 4-game skid, top Senators 3-1

OTTAWA — Ondrej Pavelec made 50 saves, and Rich Peverley had a goal and assist for the Atlanta Thrashers, who broke a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

Zach Bogosian and Maxim Afinogenov also scored for the Thrashers (5-4-1), who played without injured captain Ilya Kovalchuk. Atlanta snapped an 0-3-1 skid.

Mike Fisher scored the lone goal for the Senators (6-4-2), who lost their second in a row. Pascal Leclaire stopped 18 shots, but his teammates struggled to create any real offensive threat.

The Senators looked disorganized and unlucky at times, especially Jonathan Cheechoo, who is still searching for his first goal with Ottawa after being acquired in the offseason from San Jose in the Dany Heatley trade.

Cheechoo had two great chances in the third. He couldn’t handle the puck on the first and then hit the crossbar on his second opportunity.

The first two Atlanta goals were scored after the Senators failed to win faceoffs in their own end.

On the first goal, Marty Reasoner beat Nick Foligno cleanly and dropped the puck to Bogosian, whose shot got past Leclaire before the goalie reacted at 12:13 of the first period.

The Thrashers made it 2-0 in the second despite being outshot 18-5. Peverley won a draw, and after a duel along the boards, Nik Antropov threw the puck out front where Peverley got a piece of it. The puck bounced in off Ottawa defenseman Chris Campoli with 8:09 left in the period.

The Senators entered the game with the fourth-worst faceoff-winning percentage in the NHL.

Ottawa cut the deficit to 2-1 during a two-man advantage with 4:27 remaining in the game when Fisher squeezed in a shot from the side of the net.

But Afinogenov put the game out of reach at 18:29 when he beat Leclaire between the legs.

NOTES: The Senators were without C Jason Spezza (back, day-to-day) and D Anton Volchenkov (elbow, 2-3 weeks). The Thrashers were without Kovalchuk (broken foot, four weeks), D Boris Valabik (ankle, 4-6 weeks), G Kari Lehtonen (back surgery, undetermined) and D Ron Hainsey (undisclosed, day-to-day). C Jason Krog was a healthy scratch.