Kozlov’s line in scoring slump for Thrashers

Todd White did not practice with the Thrashers Thursday morning because of a stiff neck from a hit he took Wednesday night against the New York Rangers. Bryan Little took a puck off his right ear during practice Thursday, causing ringing in his ear.

“Then answer it,” the dry-witted John Anderson told him with a grin.

So issues were more pressing than a recent scoring slump for the most productive line for the Thrashers this season. But there’s time to address that too.

As for White, Anderson said he was considered day-to-day. The Thrashers called up Colin Stuart from Chicago, in case White can’t go Friday night against the Bruins. Little is expected to play.

Stuart made a name for himself during an 18-game stint for the Thrashers last season, including his NHL debut on Dec. 29 — also against Boston. He played that game against his brother Mark, who was then and still is a defenseman for the Bruins. Colin Stuart recorded his first NHL point on an assist in that game.

Stuart might also be remembered for the breakaway goal against Buffalo on Jan. 6, going end-to-end, for one of his three NHL goals. He spent time skating on a line with Marian Hossa and Eric Perrin.

This season in Chicago, Stuart has 11 points on six goals and five assists in 25 games at left wing for the Wolves.

If White can’t go, the Thrashers could look to Perrin to center that line, though Anderson said a decision wouldn’t be made until today.

Regardless, that group is looking to bounce back a bit. The line features three of the Thrashers’ top four leaders in points. Trailing only Ilya Kovalchuk (27 points) are Kozlov (23 points), Little (22) and White (21).

But those three have only produced one goal in the past five games.

Thrashers TV analyst Darren Eliot has a theory on why that line might be a bit streaky.

“As Slava goes, that line goes, and he’s always been a little bit streaky,” Eliot said. “The work ethic has been there. They’ve been in the right spots. They haven’t had as many chances as a group, but that just happens over the course of a long season.”

Their work on defense, and staying responsible, is one reason Eliot points out they have managed to stay together while other lines have been shuffled.

Anderson backed that up with his comments about White.

“Whitey is pretty strong defensively too,” Anderson said. “I think that comes from spending time with Minnesota. It lets the other two guys do their thing. So (I’m) really happy with the combination.”

Kozlov is having a resurgent season for the Thrashers and leads them with 12 goals. Little is second with 11. White has seven goals to go with 14 assists, which is second on the team to Kovalchuk’s 17 assists.

Little said when this line was at its hottest, all three were creating scoring opportunities together.

“It felt like we were finding each other,” Little said.

“The goals we were scoring, all three of us were in on it. If one of us scored, the other two helped set up the goal. It feels like we haven’t put three passes together the last couple games, so we need to get back to using each other like we were before.”