Atlanta Thrashers

ATLANTA -- Dany Heatley's quick return to the ice couldn't come at a better time for the Atlanta Thrashers. The star right wing plans to play tonight for the first time since surviving a car wreck in September that killed teammate Dan Snyder and left Heatley with serious injuries. His return against St. Louis will cap a recovery from two torn knee ligaments and a broken jaw. "It's been a long time. I'm anxious to get out there," Heatley said. After leading the Southeast Division for much of the season, Atlanta has dropped to second place, eight points behind Tampa Bay. The Thrashers are tied for...

The Boston Bruins have signed center Rich Peverley, a key member of last season's Stanley Cup championship team, to a three-year contract extension. The team announced the deal on Tuesday that will keep Peverley under contract through the 2014-15 season. The 29-year-old forward was acquired by the Bruins from the former Atlanta Thrashers on Feb. 18. Peverley had four goals and three assists in 23 regular-season games, and added four goals and eight assists in the playoffs last season.

The Boston Bruins have signed center Rich Peverley, a key member of last season's Stanley Cup championship team, to a three-year contract extension. The team announced the deal on Tuesday that will keep Peverley under contract through the 2014-15 season. The 29-year-old forward was acquired by the Bruins from the former Atlanta Thrashers on Feb. 18. Peverley had four goals and three assists in 23 regular-season games, and added four goals and eight assists in the playoffs last season.

The NHL returned to Winnipeg with a cold reminder of the challenge that lies ahead. Carey Price stopped 30 shots and the Montreal Canadiens put a damper on a massive civic celebration with a 5-1 victory over the Jets yesterday in Manitoba. The return of big-league hockey to the city had fans celebrating in the streets hours before the puck was dropped. With so much of the focus on the anticipation surrounding the NHL's return after 15 years, the performance of the team itself almost seemed secondary.

Scott Gomez and Sergei Brylin scored power-play goals 28 seconds apart in the third period to lead the Devils to a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Thrashers last night in East Rutherord, N.J. Martin Brodeur made 25 saves, and New Jersey won for the fourth time in five games. The Devils also ended a six-game losing streak against the Thrashers. The victory gave the Atlantic Division-leading Devils 56 points, pulling them even with the Thrashers -- the top team in the Southeast Division -- for second place in the Eastern Conference.

Kari Lehtonen made 34 saves and Brad Larsen scored two goals in the Atlanta Thrashers' 4-2 victory over the Sabres last night in Buffalo. Vyacheslav Kozlov and Niclas Havelid also scored to help the Thrashers win for the fourth time in their last five games and move into ninth place in the Eastern Conference, 2 points behind Montreal. Lehtonen helped preserve the victory with 23 stops in the first two periods, and made a spectacular kick save on Derek Roy's attempt in the low slot with about three minutes left.

BUFFALO - A crazy bounce off the glass allowed Derek Roy to score into an unattended net 4:02 into overtime, and the Buffalo Sabres overcame a three-goal deficit for the second straight outing to beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 4-3, last night. Jochen Hecht had two goals and an assist, Tim Connolly had a goal and assist, and Ryan Miller stopped 32 shots on the day he was selected to the US Olympic team. Buffalo was coming off a 4-3 win over Pittsburgh Tuesday night in which it also erased a 3-0 deficit.

Randy Robitaille scored two power-play goals off assists from Ilya Kovalchuk, lifting the Atlanta Thrashers past the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-2, yesterday in Raleigh, N.C. Daniel Tjarnqvist had a big third period for the Thrashers, scoring a shorthanded goal with Carolina on a five-on-three power play and making a key defensive play that kept Atlanta in the lead. Zdenek Blatny added a second-period goal and Kovalchuk had an empty-net score for the Thrashers, who won for the first time in 2004.

ATLANTA - A six-game losing streak to start this season put Bob Hartley's job in danger. A quick ouster in last season's playoffs did not help his cause. Hartley was fired yesterday as coach of the Atlanta Thrashers, the only NHL team without a victory. General manager Don Waddell will coach the team until a replacement is found. Waddell said the Thrashers were playing as if they have not recovered from losing four straight games to the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs last season.

Ilya Kovalchuk, Pascal Dupuis, and Marian Hossa scored to lead the Atlanta Thrashers past the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-1, last night in Raleigh, N.C. Johan Hedberg finished with 32 saves for the Thrashers, who clinched the Southeast Division title after Tampa Bay's 7-2 home loss to Florida. Eric Belanger added a late goal for Atlanta. Anson Carter scored for the Hurricanes, who have lost five of six games -- a stretch that cost them a chance to defend their Stanley Cup title.

The signs are still up outside the IceForum, a rink in suburban Atlanta. "Atlanta Thrashers Practice Facility," they proclaim, right below that familiar logo of a hockey stick-swinging bird. Not anymore, of course. The Thrashers are now in Winnipeg, re-christened the Jets and set to play before sellout crowds every night in hockey-crazed Canada. Atlanta will have to make do with a minor league team, the ECHL's Gwinnett Gladiators, after becoming the first city in the NHL's modern era to blow it with not one, but two franchises.

Don Waddell has been through it all with the Atlanta Thrashers since they entered the NHL in 1999. From general manager to coach to team president, Waddell endured the ups and downs — mostly downs — as the franchise struggled on and off the ice. After 13 years and only one playoff appearance that produced no wins, Tuesday was the day for Waddell and Atlanta to finally say goodbye to its second hockey team. The NHL board of governors unanimously approved the sale and relocation of the Thrashers to Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Tuesday, clearing the...

Michael Gearon Jr. backed away from the microphones and cameras, overcome by the emotion of a day he hoped would never come for the Atlanta Thrashers. Gearon and his co-owners had just sold their hockey team to a group in Winnipeg. The Thrashers are heading north of the border, just as the Flames did 31 years ago, making Atlanta a two-time NHL loser. There won’t be a third chance anytime soon. “Never is a long time, so I wouldn’t want to say that,’’ team president Don Waddell said Tuesday.

ATLANTA — Atlanta Thrashers fans are planning to take advantage of possibly their last opportunity to demonstrate support for the NHL to remain in Atlanta. Thrashers fans are planning a rally before the team’s annual select-a-seat event for season ticket-holders at Philips Arena Saturday. Lisa Lewis, the fan club president, said yesterday she expects a “pretty big turnout’’ for a rally she said is being organized by fan Jimmy Parks. According to reports in Atlanta and Winnipeg, Thrashers owners are in negotiations with True North Sports and Entertainment, which...

Rich Peverley and Evgeny Artyukhin scored 57 seconds apart in the second period to help the Atlanta Thrashers beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-0, last night in Raleigh, N.C. Niclas Bergfors added a goal late in the second for the Thrashers, who snapped a two-game skid to stay in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race. Johan Hedberg had a relatively stress-free night for Atlanta, facing six shots in the first period. He finished with 34 saves and earned his second shutout of the season.

Derek Roy scored a power-play goal in overtime to give the Buffalo Sabres their seventh win in eight games, 2-1, over the host Atlanta Thrashers last night. With Zach Bogosian in the penalty box for elbowing and the Thrashers down to only three skaters, Tim Connolly guided the power play from the center of the ice, just inside the blue line, sliding a pass to Roy all alone at the top of the right circle. Roy fired a shot over Ondrej Pavelec’s left shoulder to end it at 2:27 of the extra period.

The NHL returned to Winnipeg with a cold reminder of the challenge that lies ahead. Carey Price stopped 30 shots and the Montreal Canadiens put a damper on a massive civic celebration with a 5-1 victory over the Jets yesterday in Manitoba. The return of big-league hockey to the city had fans celebrating in the streets hours before the puck was dropped. With so much of the focus on the anticipation surrounding the NHL's return after 15 years, the performance of the team itself almost seemed secondary.

BUFFALO - A crazy bounce off the glass allowed Derek Roy to score into an unattended net 4:02 into overtime, and the Buffalo Sabres overcame a three-goal deficit for the second straight outing to beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 4-3, last night. Jochen Hecht had two goals and an assist, Tim Connolly had a goal and assist, and Ryan Miller stopped 32 shots on the day he was selected to the US Olympic team. Buffalo was coming off a 4-3 win over Pittsburgh Tuesday night in which it also erased a 3-0 deficit.