Mighty Ducks 2, Thrashers 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Andy McDonald got just enough on his shot to help the Anaheim Mighty Ducks squeak out a victory.

McDonald scored the deciding goal on a power play with 4:29 left and Ilya Bryzgalov made 20 saves to lead the Mighty Ducks to a 2-1 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday night.

With Shane Hnidy in the penalty box to serve a holding penalty, McDonald's wobbling shot from the right circle made its way through a maze of players and eluded goalie Michael Garnett for the winning goal.

"It was a broken play, the puck was kind of bouncing around, I just tried to get my stick on it," said McDonald who extended his point streak (3 goals, 5 assists) to seven games. "We had some chances earlier in the period, to get that one back is a good feeling."

The goal came less than two minutes after Brad Larsen scored on a rebound to tie it at 1.

"It was game where there were not many chances on both sides, it's just sad that it came down to that goal," Atlanta coach Bob Hartley said.

Bryzgalov, a 25-year-old rookie, is 5-1 in his last six starts while allowing just five goals in five wins.

The Ducks have won four in row, matching their longest winning streak of the season.

"We're playing great defensive hockey, there's a lot of help in the defensive zone," Bryzgalov said. "There has not been a lot of scoring chances for the other team the last few games. It's made me look good."

A big part of the Ducks' defensive effort Saturday went into shutting down Atlanta winger Ilya Kovalchuk, who had five goals and assisted on eight others in his previous five road games.

Kovalchuk has just a single assist in five career games against Anaheim.

"I talked to him after the morning skate and asked if he had anything new," joked Bryzgalov.

Joffrey Lupul extended his goal streak to three games, giving Anaheim a 1-0 lead at 7:55 of the second period. Shortly after Atlanta's Marian Hossa put a breakaway shot over the net, Lupul skated down the right wing and fired a wrist shot past Garrett.

The Ducks had to kill a four-minute, high-sticking penalty on Tyler Wright later in the period to preserve the lead.

"We didn't execute on our special teams, our power play didn't get us anything," Atlanta defenseman Jaroslav Modry said. "We could have at least started to generate some momentum and create some offense."

The Thrashers also lost forward Peter Bondra for the foreseeable future. He left the game with a groin strain after getting tangled up with Anaheim defenseman Ruslan Salei in the second period.

"It doesn't look good, it's not minor," Hartley said. "He won't play the rest of the trip, so we'll send him back to Atlanta."

The Thrashers conclude a three-game road trip with games at Phoenix on Monday and San Jose on Tuesday.

Anaheim will look to complete a perfect five-game homestand against Carolina on Tuesday.

Notes: The Ducks have only played five regular-season Saturday home games in their 13-year history. The previous one was Feb. 7 1998, against Los Angeles. ... Anaheim G Jean-Sebastien Giguere returned after missing five games with a left hamstring injury. He served as Bryzgalov's backup. Mighty Ducks RW Petr Sykora also returned after missing five games with a groin strain. ... Atlanta D Niclas Havelid was drafted by Anaheim and played his first five seasons with the Ducks. He was traded to the Thrashers in a draft-day deal on June 26, 2004.