Advancing Thursday's game between the Atlanta Thrashers and New York Rangers at Philips Arena (7 p.m. start, televised on SPSO with radio broadcast on 680 AM).
-- The Thrashers' slide continues. They have now lost nine straight (0-6-3) after concluding a seven-game road trip with a 5-2 loss at Pittsburgh Tuesday. The franchise record for longest losing streak is 12 (0-11-0-1), set in 2000 (Jan. 24 to Feb. 20).
-- Top line center Nik Antropov was a late scratch Tuesday with a hip injury.
-- Heading into Wednesday’s play, the Thrashers were in a three-way tie with the Lightning and Islanders for ninth place in the Eastern Conference with 42 points, three points out of eighth.
-- Ilya Kovalchuk has six goals and six assists during the nine-game slide. He has nine goals and 10 assists in the past 13 games and is fourth in the NHL with 25 goals.
-- Tobias Enstrom remains three points away from tying Yannick Tremblay’s franchise record for points by a defenseman (107).
-- The Rangers will be playing the second of back-to-back games after hosting the Stars on Wednesday. Entering Wednesday’s play, Rangers forward Marian Gaborik was tied for the NHL lead with 27 goals.
-- Thrashers’ second-round draft pick Jeremy Morin was a part of the gold medal U.S. team at the World Junior Championships. The U.S. won the title with a 6-5 overtime victory over Canada Tuesday. Morin had seven points (two goals, five assists) in seven gamesr. The Thrashers' other second-round pick last summer, Carl Klingberg, had a goal in five games for bronze medalist Sweden.
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