Thrashers' Jim Slater likely to return Friday

The Thrashers are carrying eight defensemen on the 23-man active roster. Freddy Meyer and Boris Valabik were healthy scratches in the first three games of the season.

"That's up to Mr. Dudley," Ramsay said of Thrashers general manager Rick Dudley making a roster move. "He's a very capable young fellow."

For his part, Slater feels he is ready.

“It’s been a long time since I actually competed in a game,” Slater said. “I’m ready. I’ve worked hard. The wrist feels better. ... Hopefully I can come in and bring an element to the team.”

Slater said his wrist may not be 100 percent, but he can play without worry of further injury. He said he will not require pain injections. Tape -- and the adrenalin of game day -- will be enough.

“I just kind of came in here and the lineup was up and I was on a line,” Slater said. “I wouldn’t say I was surprised because I believe I was ready on this trip. There are two games left. They are important and hopefully we can get some wins.”

Line changes

In addition to putting Slater in the lineup, Ramsay made changes to his top line. Nik Antropov will center a line with Evander Kane on the left and Rich Peverley on the right.

“Antropov will play the middle,” Ramsay said. “Pevs is a right hander. We’ll put him on the side. I think he can play anywhere, and they can move around a little bit. ... It gives Antro a couple of speedy guys to play with and his size we can get to some pucks, keep them and get some offensive zone play from that line.”

Ramsay said Peverley may still take the majority of the faceoffs for the line. He won 13 of 16 chances Tuesday against Los Angeles.

The odd man out of the line changes would appear to be Niclas Bergfors. He skated with Eric Boulton, a healthy scratch in all three games, during Wednesday's practice.

“I haven’t made a final decision on any of that,” Ramsay said. “We did turn the lines around a little bit today. We haven’t decided what the change will be come game time.”

Power-play woes

The Thrashers did not practice the power play Wednesday despite going 0-for-5 in Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to Los Angeles. The Thrashers are 1-for-14 (seven percent) on the power play this season. Their only goal came on a 5-on-3 advantage.

“I thought last night we didn’t execute the breakout well enough,” Ramsay said. “More importantly, I don’t think we competed in the offensive zone the way we have to. We lost too many battles. It’s a privilege to get out on the power play. ... You have to battle because those penalty killers are desperate to get the job done.”

Ramsay said it was likely the team would go over the power play at Thursday’s practice in Anaheim.

Etc.

Defenseman Zach Bogosian did not practice Wednesday. He is listed as day-to-day with a shoulder injury, according to Ramsay. ... Goaltender Peter Mannino went through his first practice with the team. He arrived in Los Angeles as a replacement for Ondrej Pavelec, who is on injured reserve after losing consciousness and collapsing during the Thrashers' season opener.

“Any time you get a chance to come up to the NHL it’s a pretty special thing,” Mannino said. “It’s an unfortunate situation. I want to come in here and work hard for the guys and do whatever I can in any type of situation they want me to be in.”