Thrashers' White out for game against Maple Leafs

Thrashers forward Todd White will miss at least Thursday's game against the Maple Leafs after suffering an upper-body injury.

White was injured in the third period of Tuesday’s game against the Bruins when he was hit along the boards. He appeared to be favoring an arm or hand when he left the ice.

"We are not sure what it is yet," Thrashers coach John Anderson said.

In other injury news:

• Forward Chris Thorburn likely will return to the lineup after missing the past five games with an illness and then a back injury. Thorburn practiced Wednesday. Anderson said Thorburn probably would play, depending on what team trainers said following the workout. Should Thorburn not be able to play, Anderson said it was possible the team would dress seven defensemen Thursday or call up a player from the AHL.
• Forward Slava Kozlov will miss four or five more days, according to Anderson. Kozlov was hit in the face with a puck during Saturday's pregame skate. A CT scan was negative, but Kozlov is not ready to return. He rode an exercise bicycle Wednesday.
• Forward Evander Kane briefly skated Tuesday, but reported soreness in his fractured left foot. Kane, who has missed two and a half weeks, will be out another week to 10 days, according to Anderson.
• Defenseman Christoph Schubert, who has missed two and a half weeks with a pulled muscle in his hip, is still several weeks away from a return. Anderson said the injury is nearly healed, and Schubert will begin skating soon to work his way back into game condition.
• Prospect Angelo Esposito has returned to Atlanta to continue the rehabilitation of a torn ACL. Esposito said he expected to remain with the team through May to work with Thrashers doctors and trainers.

With the injuries, and top-line center Nik Antropov being given the practice off, defenseman Mark Popovic skated with the forwards Wednesday.

Another big game

After their four-game winning streak was snapped and they lost a chance to jump into playoff position Tuesday, the Thrashers face another important game Thursday.

The Maple Leafs are last in the Eastern Conference, but have won six of their past eight games. With a win, the Thrashers could move back to within a point of the Bruins for the eighth and final playoff spot. The Bruins host the Lightning on Thursday.

"We are going to need some teams to lose a few games for us to close the gap," Thrashers defenseman Ron Hainsey said. "There are three teams within four points. We can't really worry about that. We have to take care of our business and see where it gets us.

“We still have to put a nice stretch of 10 games together to get in. [Tuesday] was a big game, but [Thursday] is just as big.”

The Thrashers trail the eighth-place Bruins by three points and the Flyers and Canadiens (who played the Sabres on Wednesday) by four points for the sixth and seventh spots, with nine games left in the regular season.