• MILESTONE FOR RECCHI: Thrashers veteran forward Mark Recchi played in his 1,400th career game in Thursday night's game against the Flames.

He's the third Thrashers veteran to hit a major games-played milestone this season, joining Slava Kozlov (1,000 games on Dec. 26) and Bobby Holik (1,200 games on Dec. 12).

The 40-year-old Recchi, who is fifth among active NHL players in games played and 26th all-time, said he doesn't have a nice round number he's shooting for before he retires.

"No, every year is a bonus right now," said Recchi, who entered the game with 12 goals this season. "I want to play as long as I'm helping. We'll see what happens."

• CELEBRATING EARLY: Because the Thrashers will be in Philadelphia for St. Patrick's Day, they celebrated it early Thursday. The players wore green jerseys with shamrocks on the back during warm-ups. The jerseys were auctioned off during the game, with the proceeds benefiting the Thrashers Foundation, which raises money for children's charities.

Last season, Ilya Kovalchuk's green jersey was auctioned off for $2,500 and the auction raised a total of $26,050.

Steve McCarthy, who said he's mostly Irish, joked that his wife might drive up the price of his green jersey. "She might have to," he said. "To keep it interesting."

• ICE CHIPS: Veteran defenseman Alexei Zhitnik was a healthy scratch for the fourth consecutive game. ... Defenseman Joel Kwiatkowski cleared waivers Thursday and was in the starting lineup. ... Jim Slater, a noted recycler, was named an official Planeteer of the Year by the Captain Planet Foundation.