Thrashers' Thorburn looking to regain early form

“The last five games for me personally ... are not where I wanted to be,” Thorburn said before Thursday’s game against Minnesota. “I had a good start and these last games, I haven’t been where I need to be as a teammate and I’ve got to bring more to the table. I need to limit my mistakes, have confidence from the coach to put me out there in desperate times because that’s the type of player I want to be.

"That’s what I want to bring to the team. I have to have a good game and rebound and build off one good game at a time, one good shift at a time.”

After the productive start, Thorburn hasn’t had a point in 10 games. Ramsay went so far as to put his arm around Thorburn on the bench during Tuesday’s game at Ottawa to offer a technical tip and some moral support.

“He’s trying to keep me positive because hockey is full of ups and downs,” Thorburn said. “You can’t feel sorry for yourself, but at the same time it’s easy to get negative. That’s what he’s trying to keep us from. In Ottawa, he was giving me a tip about what to do in that certain situation. It makes sense after the fact but hockey is so fast and you have to be a step ahead and that’s where I’m not. I’m thinking way too much which puts me behind the eight ball.”

Ramsay reunited Thorburn with Jim Slater and Eric Boulton against the Wild, a line known as the Greek Gods the past two seasons.

Mason likes All-Star game change

Goaltender Chris Mason is a fan of the changes to the All-Star game because, quite frankly, anything would be better.

The NHL announced Wednesday that it was doing away with the conference vs. conference format. Instead two captains will select sides from a pool of players chosen by fan balloting and NHL officials.

“I definitely think that something needed to be changed because I didn’t mind watching the skills competition but the game, in my opinion, was absolutely horrendous,” Mason said. “I can’t imagine anybody wanting to watch a bunch of guys go out and not try, laugh around, stuff like that. It’s a complete waste, if you ask me, the way it was set up before if guys aren’t going to try. I can understand that guys don’t want to get hurt, but put some effort in. It’s a tough one in a contact sport to have an exhibition like that. It should be interesting. If they had stakes, like home-ice advantage or something, it might help. I’m glad they are doing something.”

Etc.

Center Patrice Cormier, on the injured list with a broken right foot, has begun skating. He was on the ice at Philips Arena prior to Thursday morning's practice. The highly regarded prospect has worn a walking boot after a hard cast was removed last month. Cormier also shot a few pucks while being watched by team trainers. Cormier broke his foot blocking a shot during rookie camp on the eve of training camp in September. ... Center Bryan Little took part in the non-contact practice Thursday. There is no timetable when he would return from a concussion, but Ramsay said he might be available for weekend games against Pittsburgh and Washington.