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Thrashers make progress with Kovalchuk

Associated Press

Atlanta Thrashers general manager Don Waddell met Friday with the agent for holdout forward Ilya Kovalchuk, making progress on a new contract.

Kovalchuk, a restricted free agent, has threatened to play the season in his native Russia if he doesn’t reach an agreement with the Thrashers. The Russian Super League season begins next week.

Waddell traveled to New York to meet with Kovalchuk and the player’s agent, Jay Grossman.

“I’m more confident right now. We’re working on it,” Waddell told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Asked if he thought a deal would be completed by the weekend, he said, “I hope so. We’re working to do it. We both realized that we’re running out of time.”

In the last season before the lockout, Kovalchuk tied Columbus’ Rick Nash for the NHL lead with 41 goals and totaled 87 points – 32 ahead of Atlanta’s second-highest scorer.

On the ice

Thrashers 7, Capitals 3: At Washington, Peter Bondra scored the opening goal and added two assists to send Atlanta on its way to a victory over the Capitals.

Flyers 5, Devils 2: At Philadelphia, Jon Sim had the go-ahead goal, leading the Flyers to a victory over New Jersey.

Flames 3, Blue Jackets 1: At Columbus, Ohio, Jarome Iginla set up Daymond Langkow’s go-ahead goal early in the third period and Calgary beat the Blue Jackets.

Hurricanes 3, Penguins 2 (SO): At Raleigh, N.C., Cam Ward stuffed Sidney Crosby in the shootout to complete a stellar outing in his first NHL start, and Cory Stillman’s goal in the tiebreaker was enough to give Carolina a victory over Pittsburgh.

Panthers 2, Lightning 0: At Sunrise, Fla., Roberto Luongo made 27 saves for his second straight shutout and Juraj Kolnik broke up a scoreless game with 2:27 left, leading Florida to a victory over Tampa Bay.

Sabres 4, Bruins 1: At Buffalo, N.Y., Ryan Miller made 35 saves to help lift the Sabres to a victory over Boston.

Blackhawks 6, Sharks 3: At Chicago, rookie Pavel Vorobiev had two goals and an assist, and Nikolai Khabibulin made 21 saves for his first win with the Blackhawks as Chicago defeated San Jose.