McEachern scores winner in OT

OTTAWA (AP) -- Shawn McEachern beat his old Ottawa teammates -- and spoiled Peter Bondra's debut with the Senators.

McEachern scored a power-play goal at 1:12 of overtime to give the Atlanta Thrashers a 3-2 comeback victory Thursday night.

"It was great to beat them. When you get traded, it's nice to come back and score," said McEachern, who was dealt to the Thrashers before the start of the 2002-03 season after spending six seasons with the Senators.

Atlanta overcame a 2-0 deficit in the third period, with Ilya Kovalchuk scoring his NHL-leading 32nd goal with 10.1 seconds left and goalie Pasi Nurminen off for an extra attacker.

Bondra scored in his first game for Ottawa since joining the team in a trade with Washington on Wednesday.

"It was a little disappointing to lose," Bondra said. "But I'm happy the debut is behind me. I'm looking forward to the next game."

Jeff Cowan also had a third-period goal for Atlanta.

In overtime, with Senators defenseman Zdeno Chara off for roughing, McEachern shoveled a rebound past Patrick Lalime to give Atlanta its third win in four games.

The loss stopped the Senators' five-game unbeaten run since the All-Star break and dropped them a point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for first in the Northeast Division.

"That's definitely disappointing. We shouldn't let two points go like that," Marian Hossa said. "We have to learn from these games and forget about them."

Peter Schaefer also scored for the Senators, who haven't lost in regulation time at home in 17 games.

Nurminen made 31 saves for Atlanta.

"It's a big win, first because we desperately need to get back in the race," Thrashers coach Bob Hartley said. "Once we got the first goal, we felt we still had a chance."

Game notes
Atlanta defenseman Frantisek Kaberle left in the first period after spraining his right knee. ... Ottawa recalled center Serge Payer from Binghamton of the AHL on Thursday. ... Senators right-winger Chris Neil appeared in his 200th NHL game. ... The Senators will be on the road for 15 of their remaining 22 games. ... Atlanta goalie Byron Dafoe returned home from the road trip after injuring his back slipping on ice outside the team's hotel Wednesday night. Frederic Cassivi served as the backup.