• STAYING NEAR: Erik Christensen is out for the season with a knee injury, but he's not going anywhere. He said he was just getting to know his new teammates and wants that to continue, despite his injury.

"I kind of feel alienated from the team right now," Christensen said. "I've got to be with the team; that's what you do. I've got nowhere else to be."

Christensen promises he'll be motivated heading into next season.

"That's the way you want to go to camp, with something to prove," he said. "I have a lot to prove still."

• UNCERTAIN FUTURE: After being told to stay home during the Thrashers' most recent road trip, veteran defenseman Alexei Zhitnik was scratched again against Washington.

So what did he do while the team was in Washington, D.C., Florida and Philadelphia?

"I just tried to stay in shape and spend some quality time with my kids," Zhitnik said. "That's it."

He said he hasn't gotten any indication from the team about his future. He's under contract for $3.5 million next season, but doesn't know if it'll be with the Thrashers.

"I have no idea," he said. "I hope everything will be finalized in May and June."

• HAVELID HONORED: Defenseman Niclas Havelid, who does a lot of work with Habitat for Humanity, was named the 2008 Gilner-Reeves Community Service Award winner before the game. The award is given each year in honor of two Cobb County police officers, Stephen Gilner and Steve Reeves, who were killed in the line of duty in 1999.

— Craig Custance