Kovalchuk returns, powers Thrashers past Rangers
A bit of bad weather was all Ilya Kovalchuk needed to make a quicker return to the Atlanta Thrashers. Out since Oct. 24 when the Thrashers captain broke his right foot when struck by a puck, Kovalchuk came back and led the Thrashers to a 5-3 victory over the New York Rangers late Thursday. On Wednesday, it appeared Kovalchuk would miss a seventh game. He felt pain while practicing and decided to visit the doctor. Weather delayed the Thrashers' flight to New York from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m., and when an X-ray came back clean, Kovalchuk flew with his teammates. Great idea. Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists. "They told me I couldn't hurt it any worse, so I decided to go," Kovalchuk said. The star Russian forward sported a boot on his right foot after the game and said he would wear it for three weeks. "It's part of the game: You get hurt, you're wearing those weird shoes," he said. Kovalchuk and his linemates had a big night. The victory was sealed when he and former Rangers forward Nik Antropov set up Maxim Afinogenov's empty-netter in the closing seconds. "Our line was clicking real well," he said. "We all speak Russian, so it's kind of cheating because they can't understand what we're saying." Kovalchuk helped set up Rich Peverley's power-play goal in the second period and then put Atlanta back in front after the Rangers tied it a second time. Without Kovalchuk, Atlanta had a 3-3 record. "It is pretty surprising to see a guy come back like that after being off for about three weeks," teammate Colby Armstrong said. "To come back and be as smooth and as solid as he was is pretty incredible. The guy is a natural. "He's our leader, and he played well for us." Kovalchuk has four multigoal games this season, accounting for eight of his 10 goals.
