(Sports Network) - The Atlanta Thrashers will play the first playoff game in franchise history tonight, when they welcome the New York Rangers to Philips Arena for the opener of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

The third-seeded Thrashers set club records this year in points (97), victories (43) and secured the organization's first Southeast Division title.

Winger Marian Hossa is Atlanta's most prolific scorer and was one of just seven players in the NHL to reach the 100-point mark this season, as he set a career high in assists (57) while also tallying a team-high 43 goals.

Next to Hossa, Atlanta's top scoring threat is Russian winger Ilya Kovalchuk, who despite having a down season after his career year of 2005-06, still managed to notch 42 goals and 76 points.

Atlanta also improved its scoring depth and defensive unit at the trade deadline by landing a pair of quality veterans. First, the Thrashers bolstered their blueline in a trade with Philadelphia as they acquired Alexei Zhitnik, a puck-moving defenseman with 13 years of NHL experience. Atlanta also added power forward Keith Tkachuk just before the trade deadline. The 35-year-old Tkachuk has 473 goals in his career and notched 15 points (7 goals, 8 assists) in 18 games since coming over in the trade with St. Louis.

As far as goaltending is concerned, the Thrashers rely on the young backstop Kari Lehtonen. The 23-year-old Finn had a breakout year in 2006-07, setting career highs in games played (68), wins (34) and shutouts (4). Lehtonen also had a solid .912 save percentage to go with a 2.79 goals against average.

Atlanta has struggled on special teams this season, finishing 26th in the NHL with a 79.8 penalty-killing percentage and 24th with a 16.5 percentage on the power play.

Meanwhile, the Rangers are chomping at the bit to get the postseason started after the debacle that was last year's brief and anticlimactic playoff appearance.

After missing the playoffs for seven straight campaigns, the Blueshirts finally made a return to the NHL's second season in 2006. However, the rival New Jersey Devils made quick work of the Rangers, as they outscored New York 17-4 in a four-game sweep.

Last year's postseason disaster was prefaced by a dreadful end to the regular season, as New York dropped its last five games of the 2005-06 season. However, this year the Rangers finished strong down the stretch, playing their best hockey in March and ending the regular season with eight victories in 11 contests.

The Rangers hope goaltender Henrik Lundqvist's excellent play late this season will carry over into the playoffs and make a second-straight postseason meltdown unlikely. The 25-year-old Swedish netminder was 37-22-8 with a .917 save percentage, 2.34 goals against average and five shutouts in 70 games.

Jaromir Jagr was the key contributor for the Rangers on offense this year and picked up the slack when Brendan Shanahan was on the shelf with a concussion from February 17-March 21. Jagr notched 96 points (30 goals, 66 assists) while playing all 82 games this season, marking the second straight year that the Czech superstar played every contest during the regular season.

Shanahan, meanwhile, was on his way to a fantastic campaign until the concussion. The 38-year-old winger still finished with 62 points (29 goals, 33 assists) in 67 games.

In this year's season series, the Thrashers held the upper hand by winning three of the four matchups with New York.

The Thrashers compiled a solid 23-12-6 mark in Atlanta this season, while New York was 21-15-5 as the visiting club.

Atlanta will also host Game 2 of this series on Saturday afternoon.