Thrashers lose three players for remainder of season

By Chris Vivlamore

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The season is over for injured Thrashers Nik Antropov, Pavel Kubina and Todd White. They will miss the team’s final two games, according to coach John Anderson.

Antropov, who missed four games in January with a hip injury, was shut down for the season after the Thrashers were eliminated from the playoffs Tuesday.

“He’s played through an injury all year,” Anderson said of Antropov, the team’s leading scorer. “He’s going to be looked at by our doctors and see what his prognosis is for the summer. We’ll find out more next week.”

Antropov also is tied for the lead in goals. He had a career-high 67 points (24 goals, 43 assists).

Anderson also said Thursday that Kubina and White, who both have upper-body injuries, will be out for Friday’s game against the Capitals and Saturday’s season finale against the Penguins. Kubina missed the past three games since suffering his injury against the Maple Leafs. White has missed the past seven games. Christoph Schubert, who has missed the past 17 games with a pulled muscle in his hip, also will not return before the end of the season.

Kulda re-called

With only five healthy defensemen on their roster, the Thrashers re-called Arturs Kulda from AHL Chicago on Thursday. The Thrashers needed another defenseman after Chris Chelios was re-assigned to Chicago to compete in the Calder Cup playoffs.

Kulda appeared in two games with the Thrashers in February and had one assist. In 66 games with the Wolves this season, he has 25 points (six goals, 19 assists) and is a plus-46.

Goalie rotation

Ondrej Pavelec will get the start in goal Friday at the Capitals, and Johan Hedberg will start the season-finale against the Penguins on Saturday at Philips Arena.

Kozlov finale

Anderson said that Slava Kozlov, who has been a healthy scratch in 26 of the past 30 games, could play Friday and definitely will play in Saturday’s season finale, his last game before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. In seven seasons with the team, Kozlov has appeared in 536 games with 415 points (145 goals, 270 assists). He is the franchise’s all-time leader in consecutive games played at 251, a streak that ended earlier this season.

Draft lottery

The NHL will hold its draft lottery Tuesday at 8 p.m. to determine the order for the June 25th draft. The lottery will be aired by Versus. The Thrashers will have two first-round picks this season, including the Devils’ selection obtained in the Ilya Kovalchuk trade. As of Thursday, if the lottery fell according to records, the Thrashers would pick eighth and 25th.

Dan Snyder Award

At Saturday’s season finale, the Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy will be awarded. The award is named for Dan Snyder, the former Thrasher who was killed in an auto accident in 2003. It is given annually to the team’s player who best embodies perseverance, dedication and hard work without reward or recognition so that his teammates might succeed.