TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Ilya Kovalchuk scored his second goal of the game with 16 seconds left in overtime Thursday night to give the Atlanta Thrashers a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Kovalchuk gained the zone on the right side and wristed a low shot from the middle of the faceoff circle that beat goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin.
Atlanta squandered a two-goal lead but ended a four-game winless streak and improved to 3-4-1 since Coach Curt Fraser was fired and replaced by General Manager Don Waddell.
Kovalchuk opened the scoring midway through the first period when his wrister from the left circle hit the right goalpost and caromed in and out of the net while play continued. During a stoppage, a review by the video replay official resulted in Kovalchuk's 23rd goal.
Tony Hrkac ended a seven-game drought at 6:18 of the second period, putting the puck past Khabibulin after defenseman Frantisek Kaberle's point shot hit the post.
But Tampa Bay tied it in the third period on power-play goals by Vincent Lecavalier and Dave Andreychuk.
Lecavalier scored a minute into the period. After getting a cross-ice feed from Brad Richards, he beat goaltender Byron Dafoe from a tight angle on the right side for his 17th goal.
Just six seconds after Atlanta's Shawn McEachern was penalized for cross-checking, Lecavalier tossed the puck on net from the left side, where it hit Andreychuk's right skate and deflected past Dafoe.
Dafoe turned aside 30 shots for his first win since Dec. 1 while Khabibulin made 36 saves and suffered his first loss in six decisions against the Thrashers (3-1-2).
