Kovalchuk returns with a bang

A bit of bad weather was all Ilya Kovalchuk needed to make a quicker return to the Atlanta Thrashers.

Out since Oct. 24 when the Thrashers captain broke his right foot when struck by a puck, Kovalchuk came back Thursday night and led the Thrashers to a 5-3 victory over the New York Rangers.

On Wednesday, it appeared Kovalchuk would miss a seventh game. He felt pain while practising and decided to visit the doctor. Weather delayed the Thrashers’ flight to New York from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m., and when an X-ray came back clean, Kovalchuk took off with his teammates.

Great idea. Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists.

“They told me I couldn’t hurt it any worse, so I decided to go,” Kovalchuk said.

Full game story here