ATLANTA (AP) – Milan Lucic scored the go-ahead goal off a rebound with 3:47 remaining and Alex Auld won his third straight start for Boston, leading the Bruins to a 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Wednesday night.

Mark Recchi scored twice in his first game with the Thrashers, and Ilya Kovalchuk added his NHL-leading 24th goal as the Thrashers overcame an early 2-0 deficit.

But Lucic scored his second career goal with pure hustle in a 3-3 game. After getting taken down at center ice by Bobby Holik, leading to a delayed penalty against the Thrashers, Lucic got up and headed for the Atlanta net.

Johan Hedberg knocked down Phil Kessel’s shot with the blocker, but lost sight of the puck as it fell in the crease. Lucic, at the side of the net, knocked it in the corner before the Thrashers defense could react.

Marc Savard added an open-net goal with 3.5 seconds left.

Auld, acquired from Phoenix last week after Tim Thomas was injured, stopped 23 shots to improve to 3-0 with the Bruins.

Petteri Nokelainen’s goal late in the first period put Boston ahead, and Peter Schaefer’s deflection 6 minutes into the second extended the lead.

Recchi, a 19-year veteran acquired off waivers from Pittsburgh over the weekend, brought the Thrashers back with goals 1:01 apart.

On an Atlanta power play, Marian Hossa sped into the Boston zone along the boards before sending a pass to Recchi breaking free down the middle. He ripped a shot just inside the post for his third goal of the season and 511th of his career.

No. 512 wasn’t long in coming. Eric Perrin fired a shot toward the Bruins’ net that appeared to be going wide, but Recchi, hustling in ahead of Glen Murray, stuck out his stick with his one arm and redirected the puck over Auld’s glove.

The Thrashers claimed the lead after a series of Boston penalties gave them a two-man advantage for nearly 3 minutes.

Mark Stuart received a major penalty and a game misconduct for a knee-on-knee hit that sent Kovalchuk sprawling to the ice. In rapid succession, Andrew Alberts was sent off for high-sticking and Dennis Wideman picked up a slashing penalty.

After hobbling off the ice and going to the tunnel for a brief check, Kovalchuk returned to score the go-ahead goal with a 5-on-3 advantage. He gave the puck up from the left point, swooped over to the right side for a return pass from Hossa, and one-timed a blistering shot that was past Auld before he had a chance to react.

But Murray tied it at 3 late in the wild period. He took a pass in the slot and appeared to catch Hedberg by surprise, flipping a shot over the goalie’s glove with 1:07 left in the second.

Notes: Boston broke a six-game losing streak against the Thrashers. … Hossa stretched his point streak to seven straight games with two assists. … Boston D Andrew Ference returned after missing 12 games with a knee sprain. But Marco Sturm, the team’s second-leading scorer, was scratched after getting struck in the eye with a puck in Monday night’s win at Buffalo.


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