ATLANTA, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Randy Robitaille snapped a 15-game goalless drought and Pasi Nurminen made 34 saves Friday night, giving Atlanta a 3-1 win over Tampa Bay.
The Thrashers boosted their Southeast Division lead to eight points.
Atlanta took the lead on Robitaille's goal 2:27 into the game. From the right faceoff circle, Robitaille took a cross-ice feed from Ilya Kovalchuk and one-timed the puck past Nikolai Khabibulin for his first tally since Nov. 11.
J.P. Vigier made it 2-0 later in the first and Nurminen held the Lightning at bay until defenseman Brad Lukowich broke through with 6:39 to go in the third.
But after the Finnish goaltender made a huge stop on Pavel Kubina with 12 seconds remaining, Shawn McEachern scored into an empty net to seal the victory.
