Bryan Little News

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

Atlanta suffered the same defensive lapses that it did in their 4-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night at Philips Arena, allowing way too many shots by the once-offensively challenged Islanders.

While the Islanders have struggled as the guest this season, they have had success at Nassau Coliseum.

Each year a round about this time we show up here and find a handful of skaters who are still residing Schnide Islanda that tiny spec of land that sits smack-dab in the middle of the vast expanse of the Ocean of Zilch.

When the Atlanta Thrashers learned last week that captain Ilya Kovalchuk would miss several weeks with an injury, general manager Don Waddell called it an opportunity for other players to step up.

Brian Gionta, who scored two goals, is stopped by goaltender Ondrej Pavelec during Tuesday's game against Atlanta, which ended the Habs' home winning streak.

Washington Capitals left wing Tomas Fleischmann made his anticipated return to the ice Thursday against the Atlanta Thrashers .

Bryan Little is one of several Thrashers who will need to pick up his scoring while Ilya Kovalchuk is out with a foot injury.

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.

News has broke that Kovalchuk is out with a broken bone in his right foot and will be sidelined for roughly four weeks.

With the Thrashers yet againA in the middle of several days off before their next game, here is a quick look at some of their stats andA numbers so far after eight games played.

"I don't think we change our whole thought process because we lose one guy. I would hope not.

Atlanta Thrashers standout forward Ilya Kovalchuk will miss the next four weeks with a broken bone in his right foot, the team announced on Monday.

Goaltender Kari Lehtonen is no closer to returning to the Thrashers than he was soon after offseason back surgery.

The Atlanta Thrashers signed forward Rich Peverley to a multiple-year year contract extension Tuesday.

It's not often that Kovalchuk doesn't get a shot on goal but that was the case in the Thrashers' 4-2 win at New Jersey on Friday.

Little ready for big year. Bryan Little goes through a drill during an Atlanta Thrashers practice on Sunday in Elmira.

Here is your early morning report from Thrashers practice. Your last for nearly a week.

Ondrej Pavelec tries in vein to control the puck in Atlanta's 4-2 loss in Ottawa on Saturday night You sure can't win them all, but you'd like to think the Atlanta Thrashers could have won this one.

One month ago, we looked at a key question facing each team in the Eastern Conference .