Anderson still tweaking Thrashers

Even as his Thrashers stand on the verge of the longest winning streak in franchise history, coach John Anderson continues to tweak, to adjust, to tinker, to, well, coach.

Anderson is not making major overhauls, mind you. Don’t look for new lines tonight in Philadelphia when the Thrashers go after consecutive victory No. 6.

But the fifth game of the winning streak, Friday night’s 3-2 decision over Carolina, did feature a couple of changes to the power play. One was a slight adjustment, with Erik Christensen stationed at the far post instead of directly in front of the net. Another was a personnel change, with Colby Armstrong getting a couple of short power-play shifts for the first time in three weeks.

Why make changes while on a winning streak, when your power play is scoring every game and suddenly succeeding at a rate that projected over a full season would make it one of the NHL’s best?

“Was it Will Rogers who said, even if you’re on the right track, if you sit there you’ll get run over,” Anderson said. “We have to keep improving as a team.”

Armstrong didn’t score on the power play but welcomed the chance to take part. At 6 feet 2, 195 pounds, he’s big enough to give the Thrashers a presence near the net when Christensen isn’t on the ice.

“Try to get in the goalie’s eyes and battle around the net,” Armstrong said. “I was only out there for a short time, but we got a good shot through it. [Slava Kozlov] almost banged one in backdoor.”

“He’s got pretty good hands in tight, and he’s strong on the puck,” Anderson said of Armstrong.

The change in Christensen’s power-play positioning was subtle but could pay dividends as he continues to work on a unit with Ilya Kovalchuk and Jason Williams. Christensen’s role changes as the puck moves; if it’s on the sides, he’s looking to knock in a rebound or a cross-crease pass, and only if it’s in the middle, is he looking to screen the goalie or deflect the puck.

“I don’t want him battling when he doesn’t really need to,” Anderson said. “Get free so you’re open for the shot. Now when it comes up top into the middle, that’s the time to battle. But if you’re too tired because you’ve battling all over the place, and you’re never free for the little tap-in shot … so that’s what we’ve talked about.

“He’s getting it. It’s a new position for him. It’s part of us growing as a team and finding what’s the best solution for all of us.”

Bigger changes lie ahead. Winning games in November is great, but Anderson wants to be able to win in March and April, too, and even in May. He knows the strategies that helped the Thrashers get to 7-7-2 are only part of what the team eventually must be able to implement to be as successful as it can be.

“I don’t want to stay with one thing,” Anderson said. “There’s some other things we still have to learn. The hard thing is when you’re struggling to get back to .500, it’s hard to change things. We’re going to stay with this for a little bit, and then you’re going to see something different a little later on.”