Kovalchuk strikes to hold off Rangers

Ilya Kovalchuk bounced back from a one-game benching to score his NHL-leading 34th and 35th goals, and the Atlanta Thrashers held off the New York Rangers 3-2.

"I apologized to the team, and I just wanted to show them I was ready to go today," Kovalchuk said on Sunday. "That's my favorite thing to do in my life, is to play hockey."

Patrik Stefan added a short-handed goal, and Daniel Tjarnqvist had two assists for the Thrashers, who won for the fifth time in eight games. Pasi Nurminen made 28 saves.

"Discipline is a big part of life," Hartley said of Kovalchuk's punishment. "He's a great hockey player, and he's certainly a great part of this organization. He has a lot to offer on the ice, but like any other 20-year-old, he has a lot to learn."

Brian Leetch and Chris Simon had goals for the Rangers, and Mark Messier had two assists. But New York finished 0-for-7 on the power play, including one late advantage when the Thrashers were called for too many on the ice.

Nurminen stopped a blast from Jaromir Jagr, the best chance during the penalty, and New York didn't threaten again.

Blackhawks 2, Panthers 2

In Chicago, Valeri Bure's power-play goal with 7:16 left in the third period lifted the Florida Panthers to a tie with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Niklas Hagman also scored from the Panthers, who have lost only once in seven games (3-1-3).

Tuomo Ruutu scored and assisted on Kyle Calder's goal for the Blackhawks. Calder, playing in his third full NHL season, reached 20 goals for the first time. Florida's Roberto Luongo made 43 saves. Michael Leighton made 30.

Stars 5, Oilers 4, OT

In Dallas, Bill Guerin scored his second goal of the game 55 seconds into overtime and the Dallas Stars rallied from a three-goal deficit to beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 Sunday.

The Stars extended their home-unbeaten streak to 11 games by storming back from a 4-1 hole they fell into late in the second period.

Edmonton got second-period goals from Raffi Torres, Fernando Pisani and Ryan Smyth to build its three-goal advantage. Steve Staois also scored.

But Brenden Morrow had a power-play goal late in the second period, Philippe Boucher made it a one-goal game with 18:34 left, and Teppo Numminen drew the Stars even at 4 with 15:08 remaining in regulation.

Penguins 3, Islanders 2, OT

In Uniondale, New York, Ryan Malone scored 2:45 into overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a come-from-behind victory over the New York Islanders.

Malone picked up a rebound of Alexei Morozov's shot and beat Garth Snow to give the Penguins their second overtime victory in three games after losing a team-record 18 straight.

Tomas Surovy and Ric Jackman also scored for the Penguins, who got 38 saves from Andy Chiodo.

Janne Niinimaa and Oleg Kvasha scored and Snow made 20 saves for the eighth-place Islanders.

Mighty Ducks 6, Kings 3

In Anaheim, California, Sergei Fedorov, Vaclav Prospal and Steve Rucchin each scored third-period goals to lift the Anaheim Mighty Ducks over the Los Angeles Kings.

Anaheim goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 41 saves. Kings goalie Cristobal Huet was replaced by Mathieu Chouinard after yielding the sixth Ducks goal.

Petr Schastlivy and Cam Severson also scored for the Ducks while Fedorov got a second.

Derek Armstrong, Joe Corvos and Jozef Stumpel scored for the Kings.

In other NHL games: Red Wings 4, Flyers 2; Sharks 1, Blues 0; Hurricanes 3, Wild 3; Flames 4, Coyotes 2