TORONTO, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Ilya Kovalchuk, who had a goal in regulation, scored the winning goal in the shootout Tuesday as the Atlanta Thrashers beat Toronto, 5-4.
Alexei Ponikarovsky took a centering pass from Mats Sundin and sent it past Johan Hedberg in the closing seconds of the third period to force overtime. After a scoreless extra session, the game went to a shootout. Nik Antropov and Slava Kozlov scored for their respective clubs and Kovalchuk made the winner.
Eric Perrin had a career-high three points (one goal, two assists) and Todd White added a goal and an assist for Atlanta. Kovalchuk added two assists to his goals.
Hedberg stopped 32 shots as the Thrashers won their first road game of the season.
Sundin had a goal and two assists and Jason Blake three assists for Toronto. Vesa Toskala stopped 32 shots in the loss.
