Kane's foot injury to be re-evaluated Monday

By Chris Vivlamore

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thrashers rookie Evander Kane did not play Sunday due to the foot injury suffered in Saturday’s loss at Tampa Bay.

Kane blocked a shot off his left foot in the first period and left the game shortly after and did not return, totaling 5:13 of playing time.

Kane, who wore a boot on his foot and used a crutch following the game, will be re-evaluated on Monday.

Todd White replaced Kane and skated on a line with Jim Slater and Colby Armstrong.

Mark Popovic skated for the first time in six games, replacing Christoph Schubert. Eric Boulton and Slava Kozlov were the Thrashers’ other scratches.

*Ondrej Pavelec was in goal for the Thrashers, his first start in four games and fourth in the team’s past 14 games.

Pavelec stopped 29-of-33 shots in the 4-0 loss to Carolina.

“He was good,” Thrashers coach John Anderson said. “He made some big saves for us. He was steady. I don’t think he could have done anything about the goals. We’ve got to get a win for him to get him feeling better about himself.”

*Sunday’s loss came in the last of four games for the Thrashers during the week. They went 2-2-0 in the stretch. They will also play four games in each of the next two weeks.

“It’s not time to panic,” Thrashers defenseman Ron Hainsey said. “It’s a .500 week. It’s not the end of the world. We are kind of right where we were. We need more than that. We need five or six points out of these weeks. We’ve got to make it up this week.”

*After playing back-to-back games over the weekend, the Thrashers will not practice Monday. They return Tuesday by hosting Nashville.

*The Thrashers are now 4-2-2 in the eight games since trading Ilya Kovalchuk.

- Chris Vivlamore