TAMPA, Fla., April 3 (UPI) -- Ilya Kovalchuk scored his 41st goal and Shawn McEachern snapped a third-period tie Saturday as Atlanta took a 2-1 win over Eastern-leading Tampa Bay.
Kovalchuk tallied on a breakaway to tie it at 1-1 4:11 into the third period. The All-Star left wing is tied with Columbus' Rick Nash for the goal-scoring lead in the NHL.
McEachern put Atlanta ahead less than three minutes later with his 17th goal. He snapped a shot that went under Lightning goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin's right pad.
Rookie Kari Lehtonen made 29 saves and Patrik Stefan collected two assists for the Thrashers, who finished the season with team records for wins (33) and points (78).
Martin St. Louis broke a scoreless deadlock at 4:42 of the second period with his 38th goal and Khabibulin finished with 21 saves for Tampa Bay, which will face the New York Islanders in the conference quarterfinals.
