"Nik Antropov was placed on injured reserve before Thursday's game against Boston. He continues to battle what coach Craig Ramsay described as a lower-body injury related to a fall into the net he took last week in Toronto.

However, the coach admitted the team is being careful with the forward who had offseason hip surgery.

"It's just a little longer recovery than we hoped," Ramsay said. "He's feeling better each day but he had some surgery during the summer. We want to make sure there is nothing going on with that and that he's feeling healthy when he comes back into the lineup."

In 35 games, Antropov had 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists).

Tim Stapleton was re-called from AHL Chicago to take Antropov's spot on the roster. Stapleton appeared in eight games, without a point, for the Thrashers before being sent down Tuesday to make room for Patrice Cormier. Stapleton had an assist in Chicago's 3-2 win over Toronto on Wednesday."