by Chris Vivlamore; Staff , The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"That [Rick] Nash is pretty special when he has the puck," Anderson said. "We've got to get our [defense] up on him and limit his space in the neutral zone. ... I'd like to get Kubina against him, a big, strong body."

Pushing Antropov

Nik Antropov leads the Thrashers with 12 assists, three more than Rich Peverley. However, the top-line forward does not have a goal in 11 games this season.

Anderson said he wants Antropov to shoot more.

"I think that because of where he's positioned when he gets the puck, he's right in the middle and he likes to dish it off on either side," Anderson said. "So he doesn't shoot as often as we'd like him to. I think last year he had like 250 shots [actually 224], and he's not anywhere near that pace right now. We've got to get him putting more shots on net."

Etc.

The Thrashers are 5-1-1 on the road this season, the third best mark in the Eastern Conference. They trail only Pittsburgh and New Jersey, which are each 7-0 on the road.

Defenseman Mark Popovic was the Thrashers' healthy scratch.

Blue Jackets 4, Thrashers 3

Columbus 2 2 0 --- 4

Atlanta 0 2 1 --- 3

First Period

1, Columbus, Voracek 5 (Chimera, Brassard), 10:11. 2, Columbus, Brassard 3 (Voracek, Chimera), 12:18. Penalties --- Tyutin, Clm (delay of game), :36; Slater, Atl (tripping), 17:15; Antropov, Atl (hooking), 19:49.

Second Period

3, Atlanta, Little 2 (Enstrom, Bogosian), 4:06. 4, Columbus, Torres 7 (MacKenzie, Hejda), 5:49. 5, Atlanta, Enstrom 1 (White, Kozlov), 11:01 (pp). 6, Columbus, Torres 8 (Dorsett, Russell), 12:45. Penalties --- Vermette, Clm (tripping), :43; Torres, Clm (tripping), 6:24; Filatov, Clm (tripping), 10:06; Tyutin, Clm (holding), 17:43.

Third Period

7, Atlanta, Kubina 2 (Afinogenov, Hainsey), 2:06 (pp). Penalties --- Hejda, Clm (hooking), :21; Dorsett, Clm (hooking), 3:36; Umberger, Clm (holding), 11:43.

Shots on Goal

Columbus 11-8-2---21. Atlanta 6-18-11---35.

Power-play opportunities

Columbus 0 of 2; Atlanta 2 of 8.

Goalies

Columbus, Garon 2-1-0 (35 shots-32 saves). Atlanta, Pavelec 5-4-1 (21-17).

Att. --- 10,878 (18,545). Time --- 2:21.

Referees --- Steve Kozari, Dan O'Rourke. Linesmen---Scott Cherrey, Darren Gibbs.

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