Sunrise, Fla. —- It was a sight not seen too often in the Thrashers' postgame locker room this season.

Minutes after the Thrashers' 3-2 victory over Florida, captain Bobby Holik finished talking with reporters then walked over to the boom box jamming "How We Do" by The Game and turned up the volume.

He hasn't had a lot of positive things to say after games this season, so he was enjoying this rare road win.

He was asked if he remembered the last time the Thrashers won in regulation on the road.

"Was it this season?" he quipped.

It was Feb. 2 in Washington, so yes, this season.

Holik scored twice in this one, including an empty-netter that became big when Panthers forward Radek Dvorak scored with three seconds left in the game.

The victory, which snapped a five-game losing streak, essentially knocked the Panthers out of the playoff hunt.

"Our goal is to win games, whoever we're playing; whether it's Florida or Carolina tomorrow, we want to give our best effort to win hockey games," Thrashers coach and general manager Don Waddell said. "Tonight we talked about it and said if we could get these guys tonight, it would put them in a tough spot."

Misery loves company.

And now there are only two Southeast division teams with a realistic chance of making the playoffs —- Carolina and Washington.

While it didn't turn out to be the game-winner, Mark Recchi scored the Thrashers' biggest goal when he converted a great pass from Bryan Little. Working the forecheck, Little created a turnover then found Recchi in front of the net.

"It was a good forecheck. [Little] stuck with it then made a great backhand pass," Recchi said. "It's a good thing. He's a great skater, and he's competing really hard. It's nice to see."

Somehow the Thrashers ended the first period with a 1-0 lead, despite four penalties, three of which were completely unnecessary. That kind of lack of discipline usually leads to an opposing goal. But the Panthers' best chance, a Stephen Weiss shot midway through the first period from a few feet away, was denied by Kari Lehtonen.

Lehtonen made another save while the Thrashers were killing a first-period penalty and let Nathan Horton skate in and fire a shot on goal.

Between Lehtonen and a strong effort from the penalty kill, the Thrashers shut out the Panthers on the power play.

"It was a good battle," said Lehtonen, who turned the locker-room music down slightly to be heard. "We kept battling and battling. I think overall it was a great team win."

Holik's goal with 7.2 seconds left in the first erased all the ugly penalties and sent the Thrashers into the locker room with an early lead.

Florida tied the game when Horton twisted rookie defenseman Boris Valabik around, beating first him, then Lehtonen with a backhand. It was Horton's 26th goal of the season.

He would have had his 27th of the season early in the third if he had hit a wide-open net on a Panthers power play. But the Thrashers caught a break when Horton's shot caromed off a post.

Sometimes playing the spoiler means getting lucky, too. But Recchi will take it.

"I'm not going to lie, it does feel good," Recchi said of knocking Florida out of the hunt.

"If you're out of it, at least you go out there and play with pride."

NEXT FOR THRASHERS

> Who: at Hurricanes

> When: 7 p.m. today

> TV; radio: SportSouth; 680 AM