Mark Popovic News

Colby Armstrong calls it "puck luck." The bounces and there are many in the game of hockey have been going the way of the Thrashers forward of late.

As Ilya Kovalchuk goes, so go the Thrashers. The Thrashers' recent struggles, a three-game losing streak heading into Saturday's game against Montreal, have coincided with the lack of scoring from their captain.

The Thrashers scored one goal last night in Calgary, losing 2-1 to the Flames. Monday night they were able to slip all of two into the net in Torontoa after they found themselves down 5-zip after two periods, that is.

Monday night's butt kicking aside...the Thrashers are in the midst of a pretty good season.

Thrashers coach John Anderson hoped his team learned a lesson from its 6-3 loss to the New York Islanders on Nov.

Rich Peverley #47 of the Atlanta Thrashers skates against the Carolina Hurricanes during a preseason game at Philips Arena on September 21, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia.

The bumbling Florida Panthers knocked out their own starting netminder Tomas Vokoun early in the game.

Maxim Afinogenov scored with six seconds remaining in the third period to give the Atlanta Thrashers a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers for their fourth consecutive victory.

The Thrashers didn't quite measure up. Hyosub Shin, hshin@ajc.com Thrashers' goaltender John Hedberg searches for the puck after blocking a shot by Pittsburgh Penguins' Maxime Talbot in the second period.

The Thrashers are getting goals in Ilya Kovalchuk's absence most of it from their defensemen.

On Sunday night, the Thrashers hosted the St. Louis Blues in the Philips Arena. It's surprising just a few days ago I had written that the Thrashers needed to change up their defensive pairings, which would guide them to better defense and wins.

The Thrashers were willing to try anything to break their four-game home losing streak.

Back from the morning skate for tonight's game against Rick Nash and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Columbus star Rick Nash entered Thursday's game fourth in the NHL with 21 points, including 10 points in his past six games.

Colby Armstrong scored 13:14 into the third period and the Atlanta Thrashers earned their first regulation win in Montreal in over five years, 5-4 over the Canadiens on Tuesday night.

Jim Slater returned to the Thrashers' lineup Thursday after being a healthy scratch the past seven games.

Alex Ovechkin scored twice to add to his NHL-leading total, Semyon Varlamov stopped a penalty shot and the first-place Washington Capitals held on at the end to hand the Atlanta Thrashers their fourth straight loss, 4-3 on Thursday night.

Life without Ilya Kovalchuk begins now. The Thrashers host Washington Thursday, their first game without their star captain Kovalchuk, who is expected to miss four weeks with a broken bone in his right foot.

Reporting from Thrashers practice Tuesday. Before the players take the ice and we get an idea of what the new lines will look like without Ilya Kovalchuk, a couple of updates.

Reporting from Thrashers practice Monday morning and Ilya Kovalchuk is not on the ice.