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 SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) - The Florida Panthers won a game they had to have and extended the Thrashers' slump. Chris Gratton scored twice, Jon Sim had the go-ahead goal in the third period and the Panthers beat Atlanta 5-2 Friday night, handing the Thrashers their seventh straight loss.
"Mentally, I think this game was huge," Gratton said. "We fought hard to get back. We're two teams in the same position, trying to climb into the playoff race. It was a hard night on penalty killing. There was no flow to the game whatsoever."
Joe Nieuwendyk and Nathan Horton also scored for Florida, and Roberto Luongo made 37 saves. Trailing 2-1, the Panthers scored four straight goals.
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