Atlanta took to the ice knowing that they had more on the line tonight than our boys in blue. But knowing you have more on the line and executing are two different things. And the Thrashers took the early lead as Pascal Dupuis’ shot from the slot put Atlanta up 1-0 at 4:21 from Brad Larsen and Bobby Holik.

Rangers got into early penalty trouble giving the home side a 40 second 5-3 advantage at 6:12 of the first that Atlanta quickly capitalized on. Viktor Kozlov left alone at the side of the crease neatly tucked in the cross-ice feed from Marian Hossa at 6:23.

Following a nice series of saves against the swarming Blueshirts, Atlanta starter Jere Lehtonen left the game with eight minutes to go in the first frame. Lehtonen was replaced by Johan Hedberg. The Manitoba Moose is 0-2 for the year in three appearances with the Thrashers sporting a 4.29 GAA.

Tomas Pock is on the Blueshirts defence subbing for Marek Malik. Hossa and Jason Strudwick are tonight’s other scratches.

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