Evander Kane missed Friday's game against Toronto with a mid-body injury. The Thrashers forward, tied for second on the team with 13 goals, did not practice the past two days.
Kane played more than 17 minutes in Wednesday's win at Florida but was "banged up," according to coach Craig Ramsay, when he missed Thursday's practice. Kane was also not able to take part in Friday's morning skate before the game against the Maple Leafs.
Kane was injured against Pittsburgh on Dec. 28 and missed the following game against Boston. He has averaged 17 minutes in the three games that followed.
Kane has 26 points in 40 games this season.
More injury news
The Thrashers placed forward Jim Slater on injured reserve Friday because of a concussion. Slater suffered the injury when he collided with teammate Dustin Byfuglien during the Dec. 31 game at New Jersey. He missed his third consecutive game.
“I talked to him,” Ramsay said. “He looks fine. He feels pretty good. We just have to be careful.”
Slater, who has five goals, practiced Tuesday, but has been held out of team workouts the past three days.
With Kane and Slater out of the lineup, the Thrashers activated forward Ben Eager from injured reserve. Eager missed four games with a lower-body injury. He was placed on injured reserve Wednesday in a move designed to open a roster spot when Boris Valabik was placed on re-entry waivers.
Eager, who has three goals, returned to play on a line with Chris Thorburn and Patrice Cormier.
Valabik clears waivers
Valabik cleared re-entry waivers Friday, and the defenseman will remain with AHL Chicago. The 10th overall draft pick in 2004 has been placed on re-entry waivers twice this season. Any team can claim a player on re-entry waivers for half salary. Valabik earns $768,333 per year, and his pro-rated salary for the remainder of the season would have been approximately $192,000.
Valabik has played 32 games at AHL Chicago since being assigned to the minors in October. He has seven assists, a plus-one rating and 115 penalty minutes.
Souvenir in hand
Cormier doesn’t yet have the puck from his first NHL point, but he should soon. Cormier assisted on a Kane goal Sunday in Montreal.
It initially looked as if Cormier may have scored the goal and Byfuglien immediately retrieved the puck from the net. However, Kane got a stick on the puck for the goal.
Cormier said an equipment manager has the puck.
The rookie has taken some kidding from Byfuglien about retrieving a souvenir of an assist and not a goal.
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