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Sykora's late tally leads Pens past Thrashers

Thu 20th, November 2008

Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Petr Sykora's power-play goal late in the third period was the difference, as Pittsburgh topped Atlanta, 3-2, at Philips Arena.

Sidney Crosby picked up a goal and two assists while Miroslav Satan also scored for the Penguins, who have won seven of their last eight.

Dany Sabourin needed just 21 saves to earn his third win in four starts.

"They certainly picked the right time to score a big goal," said Pens head coach Michel Therrien of his power-play unit. "We got a lot of chances throughout, missed a 5-on-3 but recovered. Their goalie kept them in the game. We couldn't finish until the end."

Slava Kozlov and Jim Slater tallied for the Thrashers, who have dropped two in a row after winning five straight.

Ondrej Pavelec stopped 28 shots in defeat.

Sabourin stoned Atlanta star Ilya Kovalchuk on a breakaway early in the third, and came up big as time ticked away. With Chris Thorburn off for interference and just under three minutes to go, he got a pad on Marty Reasoner's shot off a two-on-none short-handed break.

That proved to be the difference, as seconds later Sykora was all alone in front to tip home Crosby's slap shot for the go-ahead goal with 2:40 to play in regulation.

Pavelec went to the bench with under a minute to play for an extra attacker, but the Thrashers couldn't muster any chances as time ran out.

"It's tough to lose like that, especially on a power play goal," Slater said. "Not much else to say but just a tough one all around. Sabourin made some good saves there, but Pavelec played well too."

Kozlov put Atlanta on the board with a power-play goal, tucking home a rebound from the left circle 4:41 into the contest, but Satan took a cross-crease feed from Pascal Dupuis to tie the game at 10:57.

Pittsburgh went up 2-1 with 7:36 remaining in the second, with Crosby scoring from the slot while falling backwards after mishandling a pass from Tyler Kennedy. Only one minute, 24 seconds later, Slater's second of the year produced another deadlock.

Game Notes

Pittsburgh has won three of the last five meetings and picked up its first win in Atlanta since December 9, 2006...Kozlov has scored in three straight games...The Penguins host Vancouver on Saturday, while the Thrashers host Columbus also Saturday.