NHL: Atlanta 5, Carolina 2

ATLANTA, April 1 (UPI) -- Ilya Kovalchuk scored a pair of second-period goals Saturday to lead the Atlanta Thrashers to a 5-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Marc Savard, Jim Slater and Victor Kozlov also scored for the Thrashers, who ended a two-game slide and pulled within five points of Tampa Bay for the final playoff spot in the NHL's Eastern Conference.

Kari Lehtonen made 33 saves for Atlanta, which has 78 points with nine games remaining. The defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning have 83 points with eight games left after Saturday's game against Florida.

The Thrashers and Lightning play each other two more times this season.

Matt Cullen had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes, who claimed the Southeast Division crown on Friday night but have lost five of their last eight games.