Penguins turn back charging Thrashers

Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk scored his 40th goal of the year in the final seconds.
ATLANTA (AP) -- Kelly Buchberger scored his first goal of the season and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat Atlanta 3-2 Friday night in the Thrashers' final home game.
The Thrashers tried all night to set up Ilya Kovalchuk and were finally successful with 5.6 seconds left when he scored his 40th goal of the season, tying Columbus' Rick Nash and Calgary's Jarome Iginla for the NHL lead.
Kovalchuk, who was denied on six first-period shots by Jean Sebastien Aubin, hadn't scored in five games. He is third in the league's points race.
Penguins lead early
Outshot 12-7 in the first period, the Penguins took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Lasse Pirjeta with 1:12 left.
Just 1:36 into the second period, Thrashers goaltender Pasi Nurminen attempted to clear the puck but instead directed the puck straight to Buchberger in the left circle. Buchberger sent the puck straight back past Nurminen to make it 2-0.
Dany Heatley's 13th goal 9:26 into the second period cut Pittsburgh's lead to 2-1. Randy Robitaille was credited with the assist on the even-strength goal by Heatley from the left circle.
Aleksey Morozov, who also assisted on Pirjeta's goal, scored into an empty net with 47 seconds remaining.
Notes
The Thrashers recalled D Kyle Rossiter from Chicago of the AHL. Rossiter was acquired from Florida on March 8. ... Atlanta D Garnet Exelby, held out with flulike symptoms, was given the first Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the Thrashers' unsung hero. Snyder was killed in an accident on Oct. 5 while riding in a car driven by Heatley. Snyder's family attended the pregame ceremony. ... The Penguins, who have the NHL's worst record, are two points behind Washington and Chicago with one game remaining.