Kovalchuk's OT goal ends Thrashers' skid

ATLANTA -- Good thing for the Atlanta Thrashers that Ilya Kovalchuk has a habit of being lazy.

Kovalchuk scored from the left faceoff circle with 2:02 left in overtime as the Atlanta Thrashers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory Wednesday over the Ottawa Senators.

Kovalchuk took a cross-ice pass from Patrik Stefan and shot the puck past goalie Jani Hurme. It was the Thrashers' first victory since Dec. 28 against Toronto.

"I was late getting out the zone, as always, and I couldn't believe how wide open I was when Stefan's pass found me," Kovalchuk said through an interpreter.

Stefan had three assists, and Bob Corkum and Yannick Tremblay also scored for Atlanta.

Martin Havlat had a goal and an assist for the Senators, who twice lost leads in less than 90 seconds.

"Tonight it was a back and forth game, but we weren't good enough to win it," Senators coach Jacques Martin said. "We made some mistakes that they capitalized on, like turning it over."

Hnat Domenichelli's wraparound goal with 14:27 left in regulation sent the game to overtime.

Marian Hossa had given Ottawa a 3-2 lead by converting a perfect 2-on-1 in the third period, taking a pass from Todd White and easily beating Thrashers goalie Damian Rhodes. It was Hossa's 17th goal.

But Domenichelli tied it 1:27 later, skating past Senators defenseman Karel Rachunek and around the net before stuffing the puck past Jani Hurme.

"It's fun to be involved in games like this, because you know that good things are going to happen," Thrashers coach Curt Fraser said. "Even though we were down a goal a couple of times tonight, it was never a problem on the bench. There was no concern at all."

Rhodes, who improved to 2-10-1, started in place of Milan Hnilicka and stopped 33-of-36 shots. Hnilicka was pulled early in Tuesday's 7-4 loss to Philadelphia after giving up four goals in the first 12 shots.

Rhodes saved his best for last, gloving Daniel Alfredsson's point-blank shot early in overtime. Rhodes had fallen to make a save, and reached up while on his stomach to make the save.

"Yeah, it was pretty much desperation," Rhodes said. "I went as far across as I thought I could and then I just threw my glove up. I didn't even see it go in my glove, I felt it go in."

Atlanta's first lead came on Tremblay's slap shot from near the blue line. He took a pass from Stefan after a face-off and shot it through several bodies past Hurme.

Havlat's goal just 1:37 into the game gave the Senators a 1-0 lead, but Corkum answered 1:15 later to tie it 1-1.

NOTES: Thrashers captain Ray Ferraro played in his 1,220th game and took over 45th on the all-time list. He had been tied with Eric Nesterenko. . . . Rhodes played 3 1/2 seasons for Ottawa before becoming the first player in Thrashers' history June 18, 1999. . . . The Senators fell to 4-2-0 all-time at Atlanta. . . . The attendance of 10,721 was the second-lowest of the season at Philips Arena. The low of 10,689 was set Dec. 12 against Montreal.