Saturday, Nov. 07, 2009
Islanders shake off injuries, beat Thrashers 6-3
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closeSean Bergenheim, Blake Comeau and Jack Hillen each scored their first goals of the season to help the New York Islanders break out of a two-game offensive drought and beat the Atlanta Thrashers 6-3 on Saturday night.
The Islanders (6-6-5) have been streaky. They went winless in their first six (0-3-3). But they had won four straight before taking a two-game losing streak into this game, scoring one goal over 120 minutes. Their six goals and 45 shots were season highs.
They came out aggressively against the Thrashers (6-6-1), outscoring them 3-1 in the first period on goals by Andy Sutton, Bergenheim and Hillen. The Islanders outshot Atlanta 21-11 in the frame.
Islanders rookie center John Tavares carried the puck across to the high slot and fed Sutton at the left doorstep, and the defenseman backhanded it past Ondrej Pavelec (39 saves) at 9:11 to make it 1-0.
Zach Bogosian, Pavel Kubina, and Christoph Schubert scored for Atlanta.
Bogosian beat Dwayne Roloson (31 saves) from the top of the right circle with 7:04 to go in the period. But Bergenheim put the Islanders ahead 38 seconds later, converting a rebound in front.
Hillen scored from out near the left point with 1:04 remaining in the period to make it 3-1.
The Islanders wasted no time in the second period. Comeau, chosen as first star of the game, carried the puck into the Atlanta zone and ripped a shot past Pavelec's glove just 22 seconds into the period.
After Kubina cut it to 4-2 with a one-timer from the left dot, Tavares carried the puck behind the net and sent it to Matt Moulson between the circles. Moulson scored his team-high seventh of the season to make it a three-goal game again with 8:01 remaining in the period.
Schubert scored his first of the season with 7:57 to go in regulation to cut the deficit to 5-3. But Josh Bailey increased the margin to three with a power-play goal with 4:25 left.
The Thrashers, 5-2-1 on the road compared to 1-4 at home, played again without their best player, Ilya Kovalchuk. The star forward was lost for about a month when he broke his right foot on Oct. 24.
But the Islanders were without one of their best players, as well. The team announced before the game that top defenseman Radek Martinek would be out for the season because of a torn ligament in his right knee. Martinek was injured Friday night during a 2-1 loss at New Jersey.
The Islanders also announced that center and captain Doug Weight would be out for a week because of an upper-body injury.
NOTES: This was the Islanders' final home game until Nov. 25. They have 12 of their next 14 games on the road, including the next seven, beginning Wednesday night at Washington. ... The Thrashers finish a back-to-back set at home on Sunday against the St. Louis Blues.
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