NHL Penguins score 4-3 win over Thrashers

Ramzi Abid had the game winner with just over 31/2 minutes remaining.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pittsburgh Penguins rookie coach Eddie Olczyk doesn't hesitate to sit down any player at any time, even one of the team's few remaining proven scorers.
Aleksey Morozov didn't like being a healthy scratch Saturday, and he responded with one of the few exceptional plays so far in a Penguins' season that has been as dreary as a Pittsburgh winter.
Morozov sets up goal
Morozov skated down the left wing boards, tapped the puck away from Atlanta defenseman Chris Tamer, then worked a two-on-one break for Ramzi Abid's game-winning goal Monday night in a 4-3 victory over the Thrashers.
It wasn't coincidental the goal with just over 31/2 minutes remaining was produced by two players benched the game before.
"All you can do when you're not playing is wait for an opportunity," said Abid, who played for the first time in six games. "Obviously, nobody likes to sit out five in a row, so you work hard in practice and wait for an opportunity."
Abid and Dick Tarnstrom each had a goal and an assist in the Penguins' first game since trading forward Martin Straka to Los Angeles. Straka was tied with the injured Rico Fata (knee) for the team scoring lead, so the Penguins need someone to replace his production.
Penguins get third win
The Penguins were counting on Morozov to score more, but he had only one assist in six games before setting up Abid. The Penguins won for only the third time in 13 games (3-8-1-1) and dealt Atlanta its third loss in eight games.
"We [threw] those two points away," Atlanta coach Bob Hartley said. "We got outworked. It's very simple; we were not ready. Three-quarters of our team has never been a part of the playoffs, so you shouldn't let down. You should be waking up and looking at the standings every morning."
The Penguins are 14-1-0-2 all-time against the Thrashers, but most of those victories came with a cast that emphasized scoring goals rather than stopping them.
"Pittsburgh plays an aggressive style," said Tamer, a former Penguins defenseman. "It's a different style than they played in the past. It's not what I saw."
Penguins rookie goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped a six-game losing streak, turning aside 24 of 27 shots and holding Atlanta scoreless for the final 33 minutes. The No. 1 draft pick is 4-8-2.
Sparse crowd
There weren't many witnesses to what was only the Penguins' sixth victory in 23 games. The crowd of 9,576 was the Penguins' smallest at home since 7,170 braved a snowstorm Dec. 19, 1995, to watch them play Calgary.