ATLANTA (AP) -Niclas Bergfors didn't waste any time scoring his first goal with the Atlanta Thrashers.
Bergfors scored the go-ahead goal with 4:26 left and the Thrashers beat the Florida Panthers 4-2 on Saturday night to end a three-game losing streak.
Bergfors, playing his second game for the Thrashers after joining the team in a trade that sent superstar Ilya Kovalchuk to New Jersey, scored on a 15-foot blast that went between goalie Tomas Vokoun's legs. Bergfors had 14 goals this season.
``It had been a month since I scored a goal,'' he said. ``It was great. It means a lot.''
Actually, it was more like five weeks. His last goal came was Dec. 30 against Pittsburgh.
He played his first game with Atlanta in a 5-2 loss at Washington on Friday night. He still hasn't practiced with the team.
``It's nice to get practice, but it doesn't necessarily mean that much,'' said Bergfors, a rookie who was a first round pick by the Penguins (23rd overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.
``Very opportunist,'' said Atlanta coach John Anderson of Bergfors. ``I was telling him after the second period, don't be afraid to be a hero.Lo and behold. Great shot, great play.''
Evander Kane added an empty-net goal for Atlanta, his 12th, with 1:14 left.
Radek Dvorak scored twice in the first period to give Florida a 2-0 lead, but the Thrashers' Max Afinogenov and Bryan Little countered in the second.
``We had the game under control. We were up by two goals, then the game shifted a little bit to their side,'' Dvorak said.
Dvorak, scoreless in his previous 15 games after scoring three goals in a 6-2 win over Pittsburgh on Jan. 3, got his first goal at 6:18 of the opening period. He directed a shot by Jordan Leopold past goalie Johan Hedberg. Dvorak added his 11th with 3:15 left, knocking in a rebound of a blast from Kamil Kreps.
``We have to keep pushing and pressing and play our game,'' he said. ``In the end, it's 4-2. We have to learn from that.''
Afinogenov got the Thrashers on the board with a power-play goal 3:49 into the second period, beating Vokoun from in close for his 18th goal. Little tied it at 2 with his ninth goal on a rebound of a shot by Tobias Enstrom at 8:39.
Nik Antropov assisted on all three Atlanta goals.
The Panthers lost their third straight and fourth in five games.
NOTES: The game, scheduled to start at 7 p.m., was delayed until 7:53 p.m. when the Thrashers had problems returning to Atlanta from Washington due to snow. The Thrashers, who lost 5-2 at Washington on Friday night, took a four-hour bus ride to Richmond, Va., including a minor accident with a truck on I-95 before taking a charter flight to Atlanta. It landed just before 6 p.m. ``It was an interesting day to say the least,'' said Anderson. ... Vokoun started his 18th consecutive game for the Panthers. ... Florida was 0 for 7 on power plays.
