ATLANTA -Marc Savard scored two goals, including one of Atlanta’s three goals in the third period, and added two assists to help the Thrashers end a three-game losing streak with a 7-4 victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday night.

Florida lost a night after the Panthers snapped a 12-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory over Pittsburgh.

Atlanta’s Vyacheslav Kozlov broke a 4-4 tie early in the final period, scoring his sixth goal on a pass from Ilya Kovalchuk. Savard then clinched the victory with his ninth goal on a power play late in the period, beating goalie Roberto Luongo. Marian Hossa assisted on the goal, his third assist of the game.

Peter Bondra added Atlanta’s final goal a minute later, his 13th.

Atlanta made it look easy in the closing minutes of the first period, scoring three times to go up 3-0, but Florida rallied in the second period, scoring three times in under 7 minutes to tie it.

Atlanta took a 4-3 lead late in the second period on Niclas Havelid’s goal, but Panthers tied it on Martin Gelinas’ power-play goal with 43 seconds remaining.

Thrashers right wing Scott Mellanby opened the scoring in the first period with his third goal, beating goalie Jamie McLennan with a slap shot from the blue line.

Two minutes later, Atlanta defenseman Greg de Vries made it 2-0 with a 10-foot shot over McLennan’s left shoulder for his fourth goal. Then, Savard scored his eighth goal from in close on a nice pass from Hossa with less than a minute left in the period.

The Thrashers outshot the Panthers 17-10 in the opening 20 minutes. Atlanta rookie goalie Michael Garnett didn’t have a tough save in upping his career record to 2-3.

Florida replaced McLennan after the period with Luongo.

The Panthers, however, made Garnett’s night much more difficult in the second period, scoring on three of their first four shots in less than a 3-minute span early in the period.

Chris Gratton scored his second goal 3:48 into the period, Rostislav Olesz made it 3-2 with his second goal less than 2 minutes later and Gregory Campbell scored his second goal to tie it a minute later.

Notes:Florida C Olesz was activated Saturday after being out five weeks with a sprained knee. … The Thrashers recalled goalie Adam Berkhoel from Chicago of the AHL. … Kovalchuk, Atlanta’s leading goal scorer, thought he had a goal in the second period, but officials ruled the play dead before he poked the puck into the net.

AP-ES-11-26-05 2154EST

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