ATLANTA (AP) -- For a struggling goaltender, there's no better way to build confidence than that first NHL shutout.

Norm Maracle, returning from an exile to the bench, stopped 26 shots and Dean Sylvester scored the only goal early in the third period as the Atlanta Thrashers ended Philadelphia's six-game winning streak, beating the Flyers 1-0 Friday night.

	Matt Johnson and the Thrashers pushed Adam Burt and the Flyers out of their way in surprising fashion Friday.

Maracle was benched for five games after a 6-0 loss at Nashville on Dec. 30. He spent the time working with goalie coach Bob Mason, improving the angle on shooters and not flopping to the ice quite so often.

"This was huge for me," Maracle said. "I've been struggling the last couple of weeks. ... Now, my confidence is back up and hopefully it will continue."

The Thrashers posted one of their biggest victories before a raucous crowd of 18,571 -- the largest in Thrashers' history. The team sold standing-room tickets for the first time, allowing an extra 26 fans into Philips Arena.

Clearly, Maracle enjoyed the atmosphere.

"I had a lot of fun," he said. "I was just listening to the music and just having a great time, and that's what I have to do to be successful."

Maracle had one of his lowest moments in a Dec. 23 game at Philadelphia, getting pulled after giving up two soft goals in the first four minutes. Scott Fankhouser made his NHL debut and stopped 36 shots as the Thrashers battled from a 4-1 deficit for a 4-4 tie.

After the debacle at Nashville, Fankhouser played five games in a row, giving Maracle a chance to work with Mason the past week. Finally, coach Curt Fraser decided it was time for Maracle to redeem himself.

"It was against Philadelphia that I started to struggle," said Maracle, whose first shutout came in his 35th NHL game. "I'm glad Curt showed enough confidence in me to throw me in there tonight."

Maracle made several nice saves in the second period, when the Flyers peppered him with 11 shots. The goalie made another critical stop on a backhander by Mikael Renberg with just over three minutes remaining, then was protected by a stout defense when the Flyers pulled goalie Brian Boucher with 1:21 to go.

Atlanta's Jason Botterill and Kelly Buchberger both missed open looks at the open net, but it didn't matter because the Flyers failed to put a shot on goal with the extra attacker.

"It was nice to be in that position," Fraser said, shrugging off the misses by Botterill and Buchberger.

After two scoreless periods, the Thrashers seized on one of their few scoring opportunities at 2:57 of the third. Philadelphia failed to clear its zone and Patrik Stefan got loose behind the defense, taking a pass from Maxim Galanov right in front of Boucher.

The Flyers' goalie made a fine kick save on Stefan, but Sylvester gobbled up the puck in the right faceoff circle and fired his 11th goal under Boucher's right arm. The Thrashers made it stand up, amazing for a team that had allowed a league-high 151 goals.

"We're working on defense, but we're also trying to crash the nets," Sylvester said. "You have to get it to the net and get the rebound."

Philadelphia lost for the first time since Dec. 22 at New Jersey, going 6-0-1 over the next seven games and winning four times on the road. But the Flyers may have been looking ahead to a game Saturday night against New Jersey, the top team in the Eastern Conference.

"They (the Thrashers) worked hard and once they got their goal, they were fired up," Flyers coach Roger Neilson said. "We had a lot of good chances, really, but we just couldn't pull the trigger."

The expansion Thrashers snapped a two-game losing streak with their third victory in five games.

"The last 12 games, the team has played really well," Fraser said. "Finally, tonight, we had a real well executed game by our whole team -- especially Norm Maracle."