Thrashers nip Nashville in overtime on Bogosian's game-winner

Bogosian ripped a shot past Predators goaltender Anders Lindback at 2:11 into the four-on-four overtime for his second goal of the season. He converted a pass from Ben Eager for the game-winner.

“It was a good heads-up play by Benny,” Bogosian said. “I thought he was going to dump it in there. I just kind of screamed and he heard me and slid it over. I came in and wanted to shoot because their two guys were closing in on my pretty quick. I just wanted to get the shot off and luckily it went in.”

As for the celebration, well …

“It’s only my second goal of the year, so I have to work on those things a little bit,” he said. “I don’t score much so I’m a little rusty on that part.”

Thrashers captain Andrew Ladd scored a third-period, power-play goal to tie the game at 2-2 with 6:49 gone in the final period.

Five seconds into a slashing penalty, Rich Peverley won the faceoff and Bryan Little controlled the puck and sent it to Dustin Byfuglien. The defenseman took a shot that Lindback initially stopped. However, Ladd knew just want to do. He went to the net and outreached Lindback for the loose puck, knocking it in for his 10th goal of the season. The goal capped a two-goal comeback for the Thrashers.

“I knew Buff was going to shoot,” Ladd said. “I just wanted to get to the net in case there was a rebound and there was.”

Thrashers goaltender Ondrej Pavelec was brilliant. He stopped 27 shots, several in spectacular fashion that left Thrashers coach Craig Ramsay at a loss for words following the game.

“Every time you win, your confidence goes high,” Pavelec said. “It was 2-0 for them, but I still felt comfortable in the net because I know we can play with everybody.”

The Predators opened with two first-period goals as linemates Colin Wilson and Steve Sullivan scored 2:30 apart.

“Boy, oh, boy, I wish I knew,” Ramsay said of the reason for his team’s slow start. “It was that same old excuse. We were on the road, now we come home and we are brain dead. … We had a good start and I thought we were going to be OK, and then we just went to sleep.”

Jim Slater pulled the Thrashers to within a goal late in the second period to start the comeback. He won an offensive zone faceoff that went back to Tobias Enstrom. The defenseman fired a shot at Lindback. Slater tipped the shot into the net for his fourth goal of the season at the 14:25 mark.

The Thrashers nearly tied it up less than a minute later, on the same shift, but Eric Boulton had the puck jump over his stick with a wide-open net.

“Going into the faceoff circle, especially on my backhand, I’m real confident I can win those draws,” Slater said. “I have two good wingers that if I don’t win it clean, they are going to get it back to the defense anyway. Once you get it back to the defense, you go to the net. If you get a stick on it, anything can happen. I don’t know where the puck is going. Obviously, the goalie doesn’t know where the puck is going.”

The Thrashers, who entered the game with the NHL’s top power-play unit, had two penalties early in the second period but could not capitalize. The Thrashers managed just four shots on the penalties, which overlapped by six seconds. By not allowing a goal, the Predators tied their franchise record for consecutive penalties killed at 34, done over 10 games. They would set a new mark by the end of the period.

Peverley drew a slashing penalty with 3:22 left in the second, but the Thrashers managed just two shots. Ladd’s power-play goal would end the streak.

The Predators (12-8-6, 30 points) lost for the fourth time this season in overtime.

The game was played before a sparse Phillips Arena crowd announced at 10,024.