Thrashers beat Flyers again

The Flyers have 10 games remaining, time enough to sharpen their game for the playoffs, time enough to get their golf clubs in order in case the postseason goes on without them.

The chance the latter could happen increased a bit tonight as the crowd at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff chase continued to close in on them.

For the second straight night, Atlanta played with more energy and sense of purpose as the Thrashers finished a sweep of the home-and-home series, handing the Flyers a 3-1 defeat at the Wachovia Center.

Atlanta beat the Flyers all four times they played this season after beginning the season 0-15-1 in the previous 16 games against them.

By losing, the Flyers squandered the game in hand they had on Ottawa and Montreal. The Flyers, Senators and Canadiens are in a three-way tie for fifth place with the same number of remaining games. Meanwhile, Boston pulled within three points and the Thrashers within four points of the Flyers, Ottawa and Montreal.

The top eight teams in the conference make the playoffs.

With a 5-5-2 record since play resumed after the break for the Olympics, the Flyers have defined mediocrity at a juncture of the season when the stakes are getting higher.

The Flyers had never before faced Thrashers' goalie Ondrej Pavelec, a 22-year-old Czech who seemed to use the 220 pounds that are spread over his 6-foot-2 frame to clog the net. They should be grateful if they've seen the last of him this season. He made 44 saves.

Atlanta gave Pavelec a 2-0 lead after the first 11 minutes, and he protected it with his quickness and solid positioning. Pavelec seemed impenetrable until Mike Richards broke his attempt for a shutout with his 28th goal with 8 minutes, 4 seconds remaining in the third period.

As they went for the tying goal, the Flyers dominated play, but the oxygen was sucked out of the arena when Rich Peverley made it 3-1 by beating goalie Brian Boucher from the face-off circle with 3:07 to go.

For the fourth consecutive game, the Flyers trailed after the first period, which usually leads to defeat.

As they did in Saturday night's win in Atlanta, the Thrashers had more jump in their skates and more cohesion when they had the puck, leaving the Flyers scrambling at their end of the ice.

On Atlanta's second shot of the game, Ron Hainsey found a gap on Boucher's short side and beat the goalie from the face-off circle just 2:04 after the opening face-off. It marked the third straight game in which the Flyers' opponent scored first.

"Certainly, there's a lot of data out there that says if you score the first goal you've got a good shot at winning the game," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said before the game. "We need to make sure we're tight defensively early and press early offensively to see if we can generate."

Laviolette didn't get nearly what he was looking for.

After Hainsey's goal, Boucher recovered to make solid saves on Niclas Bergfors and Maxim Afinogenov. But in a one-on-one duel with Todd White, Boucher lost as White beat him between the pads with a wrist shot after taking a pass at center ice from Hainsey.

The Flyers were still looking at a 2-0 deficit going into the third after a frustrating second period during which they pumped 19 shots at Pavelec. Partly because of a power play, the Flyers spent most of the final five minutes of the second period blitzing the goalie, who escaped several near misses and caught a break when a shot from the point by Braydon Coburn caromed off the post.

After 40 minutes, the Flyers had outshot the Thrashers, 35-21, but that statistic was a bit deceiving because Atlanta had so many clean chances.

The Flyers were coming off a flat performance in a 5-2 loss in Atlanta on Saturday.