(My Sportsbook) - After nearly two weeks of the season one thing is rather clear -- both the Atlanta Thrashers and Florida Panthers, members of the infamous Southeast Division, have a lot of growth ahead of them if they aspire to make the playoffs.

Atlanta entered Monday night's contest at the Office Depot Center with an 0-4-0-1 mark, while the Panthers were 1-3-0-1. Florida's lone victory had come against the Thrashers in overtime earlier this month.

Well, the Cats can now claim two triumphs over their still winless Southeast brethren after Monday's 3-2 victory. Sophomore winger Kristian Huselius scored the go-ahead goal, his second of the game, with 1:27 remaining to provide the difference and end the team's three-game losing skid.

Huselius now has three goals in three games since returning from a knee injury that had kept him sidelined since September 12. Olli Jokinen also scored, while goaltender Roberto Luongo made 26 saves for his second triumph of the year.

"It's very important in terms of building confidence and getting feedback for the effort that they put in," said Panthers coach Mike Keenan, whose club returned home after a four-game trek. "It's always a difficult game to play when you come in off the road after you've been out for a week, and that's even with the most experienced team."

Florida came back to tie the score on Huselius' first goal after Atlanta's Yuri Butsayev afforded the Thrashers a 2-1 lead late in the second. That means the Panthers have already won two contests when behind after two frames, thus matching their total for the past two seasons combined.

The win was even sweeter when you consider the taunting put forth by Thrashers winger Ilya Kovalchuk after he put his club ahead 1-0 in the first period. Kovalchuk yelled at the Panthers bench after scoring, and proceeded to point at his stick blade. In the teams' October 12 meeting, Kovalchuk's blade was challenged and ruled to have an illegal curve to it.

Keenan was quick to criticize the talented 19-year-old for his actions.

"Excellent players in the league, such as Joe Sakic, Steve Yzerman, Mario Lemieux and Peter Forsberg, they don't do that," Keenan said. "They have a lot more respect for the game and for the people they're playing with and against."

Huselius, who finished third to Atlanta's Dany Heatley and Kovalchuk in last year's Calder voting, is healthy and raring to go, and that couldn't come at a better time for Florida, which has scored only six goals if you discount the two victories over Atlanta.

"He's a pure goal scorer, and once he gets his confidence, he'll put the puck in the net," Keenan said of Huselius, who scored 23 tallies as a rookie.

UP NEXT

Things get a bit tougher for the Panthers as they open a two-game road trip in Toronto on Wednesday, and visit the New York Islanders the next night. Home matches with Washington and Tampa Bay follow.

"Well we're back on the road and this victory will help us have the confidence to play in Toronto now, and then we're going to the Island," Keenan said. "It's a big victory for us and we stay with a three-point home collection of points out of four, and we'll be happy all year long if we're able to do that."