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Panthers top struggling Thrashers
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Atlanta Thrashers forward Jim Slater (23), top, holds Florida Panthers center Marty Reasoner (19) to the the ice during the first period Wednesday in Atlanta - photo by The Associated Press

ATLANTA — Stephen Weiss and Radek Dvorak scored second-period goals and Tomas Vokoun stopped 38 shots and the Florida Panthers beat the slumping Atlanta Thrashers 2-1 on Wednesday night.

Vokoun has allowed only one goal in each of his three straight wins in a span of a week.

The Panthers have won three of their past four and ended a streak of three straight losses in Atlanta.

The Thrashers suffered their sixth loss in their past seven games since a 4-3 win at Florida on Nov. 3.

Poor defense has hurt the Thrashers.

Zach Bogosian's first goal of the season, a long shot from the right point, gave Atlanta a 1-0 lead in the first period.

Vokoun denied the Thrashers the rest of the way.

A 6-4 loss at Washington on Sunday marked the third game in the last five the Thrashers gave up five or more goals.

Atlanta entered Wednesday night's game last in the league with its average of 37.1 shots allowed, a trend that continues to put too much pressure on goaltenders Ondrej Pavelec and Chris Mason.

Pavelec made 32 stops but surrendered the lead in the second period under a barrage of 16 shots, including goals by Weiss and Dvorak.

Dvorak's goal on the Panthers' 29th shot of the night gave Florida a 2-1 lead with 1:57 remaining.

Weiss answered for the Panthers 1:13 into the second period by scoring as Pavelec lunged forward for the block, leaving the net exposed.

Pavelec started after Mason allowed a combined eight goals in his past two games.

Florida's only penalty was a slashing call against Dvorak early in the second period. The Panthers were 0 for 3 on their power play.

Notes: The Panthers earned only their third win in eight games against Atlanta since the start of the 2009-10 season. ... Thrashers D Dustin Byfuglien did not return after having a shot at close range hit his right leg late in the opening period. The Thrashers did not release details of the injury. ... Former Thrashers C Marty Reasoner started for Florida. ... Attendance was 10,168.

Community Events
Thrashers headed to Canada after team's sale
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WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The wait is over for Winnipeg hockey fans.

For Atlanta, it means saying goodbye to another NHL team.

True North Sports and Entertainment scheduled a news conference Tuesday at Winnipeg's MTS Centre to make "a significant community announcement."

True North has been in negotiations with the owners of the Atlanta Thrashers to buy the NHL team and move it to Winnipeg. The deal is reportedly worth $170 million, which includes a $60 million relocation fee that would be split by the rest of the league.

Winnipeg has been without NHL hockey since the Jets moved to Phoenix in 1996. The Thrashers entered the league three years later as an expansion franchise, but ownership problems, a losing team and dwindling attendance doomed the club. The team ranked 28th out of 30 teams this year with an average attendance of less than 14,000.

Assuming the deal goes through - it still must be approved by the other owners - Atlanta would become the first city in the NHL's modern era to lose two teams.
The Flames moved to Calgary in 1980 after eight seasons in Atlanta.

True North was making its announcement one day before the start of the Stanley Cup final, which begins Wednesday in Vancouver between the Canucks and the Boston Bruins.
While there was no prohibition on announcing major news during that series, the league preferred to get the Thrashers' sale off its plate before opening its signature event.

For weeks, the two sides had been working through complex legal details on the sale and relocation of the team, while leaving open the possibility that a local buyer would emerge late in the process. No one ever came forward with a serious offer, according to the Thrashers' ownership group, Atlanta Spirit, and the city's mayor, Kasim Reed.

"It is going to hurt the city but we will withstand it just fine and we will get through it," Reed said.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said on his weekly radio show that the inability to find an owner who wanted to keep the team in Atlanta was a barrier the league couldn't overcome.

"It would be one of those head scratchers where you say, 'Look at all of this great corporate opportunity, look at all of this grass roots hockey, why doesn't somebody want to own a team here?'" Bettman said. "And that would be a difficult, but unfortunate, situation to be dealing with if it has reached, or does reach, that point."

Bettman was asked if Atlanta had hopes of landing another NHL team if it lost its second franchise.

"The prospect of leaving Atlanta isn't something that I'm particularly fond of," he said. "So I can't even contemplate the notion of what would happen after that in terms of coming back. We respect the importance of Atlanta as a city. It's a big market, but this is a franchise that's got a problem in that market."

Team president Don Waddell says there remains some hope for a late development until a sale is made official and approved by the NHL board of governors, which is scheduled to meet June 21 in New York. But considering Atlanta Spirit, which also owns the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and the operating rights to Philips Arena, has been trying for years to sell the hockey team, that seems highly unlikely.

Also, any potential owner would have to agree to become a tenant at Philips Arena, a major stumbling block because it would cut into potential revenue from sources such as concessions, parking, luxury suites and other events.

"Ownership still is committed to selling at a greatly reduced price to anyone committed to Atlanta," Waddell said.