You can't expect to win a hockey game when you only play the final 20 minutes. And that's exactly what the Thrashers did Sunday night in Philadelphia.

After managing 11 shots for the first two periods, including just four in the opening stanza, Atlanta was fortunate to be trailing only 3-1. If not for Johan Hedberg, the score easily could have, and probably should have, been much worse.

Apparently, the Thrashers had let their five-game winning streak go to their collective heads. Or perhaps it was Antero Nittymaki who got into their heads. The Flyers' goalie has now beat Atlanta in 11 straight games. That's domination.

Even when Atlanta managed to find a way to climb back into the game with two goals during a 21-shot third period, they then quickly found a way to...

The Atlanta Thrashers are finally starting to get coach John Anderson's system. Better late than never. "They're recognizing things that a month ago I never thought they'd get," the first-year coach said. "I wish we had October back." Slava Kozlov scored his ninth goal of the season and Atlanta tied a team record with its fifth consecutive win, beating the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Friday night.

Being patient is paying off for the Atlanta Thrashers. Marty Reasoner scored two goals and Johan Hedberg made 35 saves in a 5-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday that gave the Thrashers their fourth win in a row and second straight on the road. "Our team, we feel if we keep playing hard and don't get too crazy taking chances, we know we will get our own chances," Reasoner said.

Jason Williams and the Thrashers didn't need a pep talk between the second and third periods. They knew exactly what to do themselves. Williams scored his second goal of the game 48 seconds into overtime, and Bryan Little had two goals and an assist in Atlanta's 5-4 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night.