Thrashers begin life without their captain with matchup against Capitals

October 29, 1:24 PMAtlanta Thrashers ExaminerPhil Foley

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Kane will be asked to pick up the slack for Kovalchuk, who is out 3-5 weeks with a broken right foot

(AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

The Atlanta Thrashers begin life without Ilya Kovalchuk when they take on the Washington Capitals at Philips Arena on Thursday night (7:00 PM, SportSouth, 680 “The Fan”).

Atlanta’s season suffered a bad break when the club after a freak accident by Kovalchuk, when an errant shot cracked a bone in his right foot in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks.

The club will be without their superstar for somewhere between three and five weeks. A big blow for Atlanta, which has been struggling of late as Kovalchuk had nine goals in the Thrashers’ first seven games.

The team used their captain’s hot start to get out to a blistering start of their own, taking four of their first five games. But Atlanta has struggled recently, failing to find the win column in each of its last three contests.

Expect Evander Kane to be swept into the spotlight in Kovalchuk’s absence.

The rookie, who was told on Wednesday that he was sticking around with the big team instead of going back to juniors, was positioned alongside Atlanta’s top line of Nik Antropov and Maxim Afinogenov after Kovalchuk left the tilt against the Sharks.

It’s time for the No. 4 overall pick, who is named after boxing great Evander Holyfield, to show if he’s the new “Real Deal” or whether he is just a contender.

The 18-year-old rook should start on Atlanta’s top line on Thursday.

Antropov, who missed practice this week with a nagging groin injury, should make the start as well.

It will be interesting to see what coach John Anderson does with the lines in this one. Assuming Kane moves to the first line, Marty Reasoner may be thrust into Atlanta’s third line pairing alongside Colby Armstrong and Rich Peverley.

Either Jim Slater or newcomer Jason Krog will anchor Atlanta’s fourth line. Krog, who was recalled from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves on Tuesday, is familiar with Anderson’s system.

However, Anderson’s line combinations have been all over the place this week with the injury to Kovy and Antropov’s absence. It’s possible that all four lines may be shaken up on Thursday.

One thing is for sure, however. Zach Bogosian will see a good deal of time anchoring Kovalchuk’s place at the point in on the power play.

In a quirky start to what has been an odd season for Atlanta, the Thrashers will face the Capitals for the second time in a week at home. By the end of this one, Atlanta will have posted as many games in Blueland against the Washington as they have the rest of the NHL.

Ondrej Pavelec will get the start in net for Atlanta. Washington may start Semyon Varlamov between the pipes. The 21-year-old Russian Varlamov was in net for the Caps’ 5-4 win over the Thrashers last Thursday.

Pavelec will try to erase memories of a painful night at Philips Arena, where the netminder allowed three Washington tallies in a span of 88 seconds, including a 150-foot marker by Washington’s Jeff Schultz.

Expect another sensational effort from a determined Alex Ovechkin, who has been held off the scoresheet for the past two games and did not score here last Thursday. Ovechkin, who was tied with Kovlachuk for the NHL lead with nine goals when the Atlanta captain was injured, leads the league with 11 tallies on the season.