NEW YORK, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- The kids dominated Kids Day at Madison Square Garden Saturday as Dany Heatley recorded a hat trick and Ilya Kovalchuk added a goal to lead the Atlanta Thrashers to a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers.
The Rangers welcomed local youth hockey players before the game, then watched two of the best young players in the NHL lead the Thrashers to their fifth win in their last seven games (5-1-1).
Heatley recorded his second hat trick in less than two weeks, scoring the game's first two goals in the opening 9 1/2 minutes of the second period and hitting an empty net with 37 seconds remaining.
Kovalchuk chipped in his 28th of the season with 3:23 to play, giving Atlanta a 3-1 lead.
Vyacheslav Kozlov had three assists for the Thrashers, who improved to 4-1-1 under coach Bob Hartley and earned their third straight win against the Rangers. Both wins this season have been by three goals.
The Rangers suffered a setback as they try to surge toward their first playoff berth since 1997, losing for just the second time in seven games (5-2-0). They began the day ninth in the Eastern Conference.
Atlanta began the day two points behind Buffalo for the worst record in the East.
