"Nik Antropov doesn't have lofty goals for his first NHL game in nearly six months.

The Thrashers center made his exhibition debut Wednesday against Nashville as he continues to return from offseason hip surgery.

"Just get my legs back," Antropov said of what he hopes to accomplish in his first action.

Antropov dealt with a hip injury much of last season. He finally missed the last two regular season games once the Thrashers were eliminated from playoff contention. Hip surgery and an offseason of rehabilitation followed.

"Practice is a practice. You can skate as fast as you can or score 100 goals, nobody cares," Antropov said. "Just get myself back into game situations, the speed, the positioning, the little things. Hopefully I'll get a chance to put one in or set someone up. The main thing is just to get back in there."

Antropov skated on a line with Fredrik Modin and Fredrik Pettersson.

"He looks really good," Thrashers coach Craig Ramsay said. "... We just have to get him a game. You can't expect miracles. He's a big, strong body and he has to start learning what we are doing. It's one thing to practice it and another to carry it into a game."

The center is coming off one of the best of his 10 NHL seasons. In 76 games he scored 24 goals, the second most of his career and two short of his career best. Antropov had career highs with 43 assists and 67 points."