White back in Thrashers’ lineup

• WHITE IN: Todd White was back in the lineup Saturday just two days after taking a blow to the head against Pittsburgh. White did not practice Friday, and the Thrashers called up Joey Crabb from Chicago just in case, but White was feeling well enough to play.

“I felt really good [Friday], the day after the hit, and I had a good off-ice workout,” said White, who was right back participating in the morning skate Saturday. “And I felt good today.”

White centers the Thrashers most productive line with Slava Kozlov and Bryan Little (24 goals, 49 points).

Crabb, who is a native of Alaska, would have been making his NHL debut. His family had decided not to pay the $3,000 to fly from Alaska on a moment’s notice, and it’s a good thing because Crabb was inactive for Saturday’s game.

• PERRIN TO FIRST LINE: Some quality ice time with the second line in White’s place Thursday was enough to convince coach John Anderson to make a change.

He moved Perrin from the fourth line to first Saturday with Ilya Kovalchuk and Jason Williams.

“It’s been a rough start of the year for me as far as confidence and trying to get things going,” said Perrin, who played mainly on the top two lines last season. “It was definitely a different role playing with Slates [Jim Slater] and Bolts [Eric Boulton], although it was fun. … But this is what every hockey player shoots for, an opportunity like this. I have to make the most of it and prove I’m capable of playing that role.”

Anderson said he put Perrin in the defensive role after seeing how well he played on the penalty kill, but he also knows the work he did with Martin St. Louis in Tampa.

“I know Kovalchuk likes to play with him, and Erik [Christensen] has been struggling scoring goals — not that Perrin’s been lighting it up, but he hasn’t had the same opportunities,” Anderson said. “We’ll give him an opportunity with the No. 1 line, see how he does. And I know Christensen loves to play with Armstrong, so hopefully there’s a bit of a love relationship there, we can get things going on the third line.”

Christensen and Armstrong played together in Pittsburgh before they were traded to the Thrashers last season. Chris Thorburn goes back to the fourth line.

— Carroll Rogers