"This is a great opportunity for them to come in and establish themselves."

So said Mark Recchi after the morning skate today when talking about Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen. The consensus among Recchi, Chris Thorburn and Joel Kwiatkoswki, who all played with Armstrong and Christensen in Pittsburgh, is that both players will be well-loved in Atlanta and will thrive in their new roles. Armstrong is the more outgoing of the pair and plays a more physical role, while Erik Christensen is a high-skill player who the other three former Penguins said was under-utilized in Pittsburgh.

"They had him flipping around on wing and all of that," said Recchi. "He's not a winger. He's just a natural centerman. Very high skill level. He shoots the puck great. He passes the puck great. He's a strong skater and good kid. He's going to be asked to play every power play and be an offensive player and I think you're going to see him thrive here."

Christensen and Armstrong will get a prime opportunity to showcase their skills tonight at home when the Thrashers host the Islanders. The pair will play together on the second line with Eric Perrin as the middle lines get a bit of a makeover.

Kovalchuk will stay with Todd White and Mark Recchi on the first line, Eric Perrin will play left wing with Christensen in the middle and Armstrong on the right side of the second line, Kozlov and Holik stay together with Bryan Little to their right and the checking line of Boulton, Slater and Thorburn stays intact. Brad Larsen, Mark Popovic and Steve McCarthy are tonight's healthy scratches. Kwiatkowski will play with Exelby as the defensive pairings remain unchanged from Tuesday night. Here is your updated lines chart.

Christensen will also play on the top power play unit, along with Bryan Little, Mark Recchi, Ilya Kovalchuk and Toby Enstrom. Armstrong was one of Pittsburgh's top penalty-killers so he'll see plenty of ice time doing the same here in Atlanta.

Check the video player for Don Waddell's media scrum. It should be up shortly. The one thing I got Don to address which hadn't been mentioned by any other media is whether or not a fourth alternate captain will be named. At this point there are no plans to name one but that doesn't mean it won't happen if the coaching staff feel it's needed.

For those who are curious about these sorts of things, Colby Armstrong took over the locker room stall used by Marian Hossa and Erik Christensen is in a stall between Eric Boulton and Slava Kozlov.