•  Coming off a win in Tampa Bay last night, the Thrashers dropped a 3-1 decision to Chicago tonight at Philips Arena … The team’s overall record now stands at 19-32-5 for 43 points.
   
• Ilya Kovalchuk tied the game 1-1 at 18:05 of the second period with his 100th career power play goal … It was Kovalchuk’s third goal in as many games … The power play tally was his team-leading 24th goal of the season and 13th goal in his last 19 contests.
   
• Forward Vyacheslav Kozlov picked up his 29th assist this year on Kovalchuk’s marker … Kozlov is currently riding a three-game point streak, posting four points (2g,2a) in that span … In his past 25 games, Kozlov has registered five goals and 18 assists.
   
• Defenseman Ron Hainsey continues to lead Thrashers blueliners in points after collecting an assist tonight … Hainsey now has 26 points (5g,21a) this season.
   
• Erik Christensen won 12-of-15 draws (80%) tonight while logging 13:15 of ice time.
   
• After Kovalchuk tied the game, Chicago scored late in the second period and added an empty net goal to claim the victory.
   
• Goaltender Kari Lehtonen turned aside 25-of-27 shots … Chicago netminder Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 36-of-37 attempts.
   
• The Thrashers return to the ice Sunday afternoon when they kick off their four-game road trip against Anaheim (8 p.m., SportSouth, 680 The Fan).

What were your favorite parts of the game? Chime in with your own recap, highlights, comments, or pictures at IveBecomeOne.com.
 

Despite the loss the Thrashers players, as well as their coach, were happy with the way the team executed their game plan and kept up the pressure on the tired Blackhawks who were playing their seventh straight road game. Now the Thrashers will get their own taste of road life as they head to the West Coast for games in Anaheim, LA, Phoenix, and San Jose.
 

Nikolai Khabibulin dives across the crease to deny Colby Armstrong.

- Shots Galore. The Thrashers hit the net 37 times and had 25 shots blocked or go wide. That's  a big change from earlier in the season when the team struggled to get shots off.

- Pressure Cooker. The Thrashers played hard from start to finish and never let up. One of their biggest weaknesses this season has been playing hard for one or two periods and then coasting for long stretches, but tonight's overall effort was beyond reproach, even if the execution wasn't always there.

- Defense First. Kari Lehtonen remarked after the game that he felt like he only played half a game since he went long stretches in the third period without seeing any action. Any night you can make things easy on your goaltender is a good night.
 

- Give It Your Best Shot. He's called the Bulin Wall for a reason. The thrashers hit the net 37 times but Nikolai Khabibulin was playing like it was the 2004 playoffs, turning aside just about everything the Thrashers threw at him.

- PK Outage. After being one of the high points since the All-Star break the penalty kill struggled, giving up two quick power-play goals in the second period which ended up being the difference in the game. The penalty-kill went 1-3 on the night with both goals coming from in close.

- What's The Call? According to John Anderson, Patrick Sharp should have been in the box instead of Niclas Havelid in the second period, but the ref called the Swede for slashing even though it was his stick that was broken on the play. Sharp ended up scoring on the ensuing power play, giving Chicago a 1-0 lead.
 

"(Lehtonen) has played two unbelievable games. Last night he made 40 saves and was just outstanding and today was the same thing. When our goalie plays well we always have a chance to win the game. He did it two nights in a row, but we didn't help him tonight.