Armstrong wins unsung hero award

SNYDER AWARD: Colby Armstrong won the Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy as the Thrashers’ unsung hero this season.

The award was presented before Saturday night’s game by the family of Snyder, the popular Thrashers player killed in a 2003 car crash. Armstrong, an alternate captain, extended his career high to 22 goals scored with his first-and second-period goals Saturday night. He was fourth on the team in hits delivered (87) entering the season finale and was one of the team’s five 20-goal scorers.

REASONER REACTION: Marty Reasoner, on being voted the Players’ Player Award: “To be voted by your teammates is a big thing. You play with these guys all year; you play for them. There’s a lot of guys on this team that are deserving to be recognized. It’s just an honor that the guys did that.”

NHL LEADER: Reasoner entered the game tied with Scott Niedermeyer and Simon Gagne for the league lead with four shorthanded assists and then picked up his fifth on Eric Perrin’s first-period goal. Reasoner still finished three shy of the Thrashers’ season record for shorthanded assists, set by Perrin last season. Perrin’s goal was the Thrashers’ 13th shorthanded goal this season, more than were scored by any other team in the league except Philadelphia, which had 16 through Friday’s games. The 13 shorthanded goals tied a Thrashers record set in 2005-06.

WEDDING BELLS: Chris Thorburn, Nathan Oystrick and Armstrong are about to become free agents, but only in a hockey sense. Thorburn gets married June 19 at Saginaw, Mich. Armstrong’s wedding is a day later in Atlanta. (They didn’t plan it that way.) So, are Thorburn and his bride going to head straight from their reception to the airport for a flight to Armstrong’s wedding? “Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen. We’ve obviously got plans,” Thorburn said with a laugh. Oystrick ties the knot July 17 at Marquette, Mich. Thorburn and Armstrong become restricted free agents if not signed by July 1. Oystrick becomes an unrestricted free agent if not signed by then.