Thrashers' playoff push resumes in Tampa

Hockey Betting Lines

03/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers will shoot for a third straight victory when they visit the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at St. Pete Times Forum.

The Thrashers have won two straight since the NHL came back from the Olympic break. Atlanta hasn't won three in a row since it tied a season with a four- game winning streak from November 25-30.

Atlanta comes into Saturday tied with the New York Rangers and Montreal for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Lightning are three points behind in 11th place.

The Thrashers are coming off Thursday's decisive victory over the visiting New York Islanders, in which Nik Antropov scored twice and a pair of newcomers paid immediate dividends in Atlanta's 6-3 win.

Forwards Clarke MacArthur and Evgeny Artyukhin both lit the lamp in their Thrashers debuts. Atlanta acquired the towering Artyukhin from Anaheim on Monday and picked up MacArthur in a deal with Buffalo prior to Wednesday's trade deadline.

Niclas Bergfors and Maxim Afinogenov each registered a goal and an assist for Atlanta, which is 6-2-1 in its last nine games at Philips Arena. The Thrashers are just 13-14-6 on the road this season.

"It's important to get all the new guys going," Bergfors said. "It's always easier to settle in as a new guy when the team is winning."

Johan Hedberg stopped 34 shots in the win and is expected to start again for Atlanta tonight.

The Lightning, meanwhile, have lost five straight contests, including two in a row since the Olympic break.

After getting slammed by Philadelphia in a 7-2 loss on Tuesday, the Bolts dropped a 5-4 regulation decision Thursday night in Washington. Scott Walker scored a pair of third-period goals to lead the Capitals to the close win.

Vincent Lecavalier netted two scores for the Lightning, while Mike Smith was beaten five times on 34 shots to suffer the loss.

Steven Stamkos and Steve Downie got the other Tampa goals to extend impressive point streaks. Stamkos is carrying a franchise-record 15-game scoring streak, while Downie kept a nine-game streak intact.

Tampa Bay is 17-8-6 as the host this year and will try to avoid a third straight home loss tonight.

This evening's test marks the final regular season meeting between Tampa and Atlanta. The Lightning have won four out of five in the season series, but the clubs have split the last 10 overall encounters overall. The Thrashers have lost two straight and eight of their last 12 in Tampa.

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Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

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