For most of the season, regardless of how frustrated he might be, Atlanta coach John Anderson has managed to keep his emotions in check after games. That changed with Tuesday's loss to the Predators.

Angered about a disallowed goal that would have tied the game with Nashville at 2-2 with 6:45 remaining in the second period, Anderson lashed out at game officials over the call. The second-year coach disagreed with a ruling that Thrashers forward Chris Thorburn interfered with Nashville goalie Dan Ellis on an apparent goal by Evgeny Artyukhin.

While no interference penalty was called on Thorburn, referees ruled that he was in the crease and prevented Ellis from being able to make an attempt at stopping the puck.

A week ago, the Atlanta Thrashers looked like a surprise playoff contender even without Ilya Kovalchuk. Not anymore. Colin Wilson scored off an Atlanta miscue and Dan Ellis turned aside 30 shots, leading the Nashville Predators to a 2-1 victory over the slumping Thrashers on Tuesday night. Ryan Suter scored Nashville's first goal, and Wilson took advantage of a hideous turnover by Mark Popovic...

Manny Legace never gets tired of winning shutouts. "It's huge," he said. "It's what you dream about. It's everything you want. In this league, it's so hard to do." Legace made 27 saves for Carolina's first shutout of the season, and Jussi Jokinen had a goal and an assist in the Hurricanes' 4-0 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Sunday night.

Steven Stamkos got high praise from an NHL great. Stamkos extended his franchise-record points streak to 16 games, and Antero Niittymaki remained perfect against Atlanta, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Thrashers 6-2 on Saturday night. Tampa Bay coach Rick Tocchet said former teammate and Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux used "Wow1" after the game to describe the 20-year-old Stamkos.

The new-look Atlanta Thrashers made it look easy against the New York Islanders on Thursday night. Nik Antropov had two goals and an assist, and Clarke MacArthur and Evgeny Artyukhin scored in their Atlanta debuts to help the Thrashers beat the Islanders 6-3. Niclas Bergfors, another recent acquisition, also scored.