ISLANDERS 3, OTTAWA 1
Bergeron and Comrie score in the third for a nice end to the long road trip

By Adam Baruch and Jason Lockhart

Marc-Andre Bergeron and Mike Comrie scored in the third period to boost the Islanders to a 3-1 victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Ottawa Senators, Sunday night at ScotiaBank Place. Rick DiPietro stopped 31 shots to help lift the Islanders to 2-1-2 on their five-game road trip through Canada.

"We played some great teams on this trip, and Ricky was always there to hold the fort," said Bergeron. "We found a way to get some points. Getting six points against these teams is pretty good. We'll take it."

Power play goals were the story of the night. Bergeron scored two power play goals, with the Islanders earning nine power play opportunities against an Ottawa team that had just defeated the Western-leading Detroit Red Wings the night before.

"We all know the importance of penalty killing and the power play," said head coach Ted Nolan. "Bergeron had a couple of nice shots on the power play. Every time a team has an emotional game the night before, you try to catch them off their guard. We were able to take advantage tonight. With 20 minutes left in the game it was all about laying it on the line to make this a good trip. Our guys worked hard to get the two points. We know how tough this Western swing was. It was a quick turnaround going from out West to meet an Eastern Conference rival. Give them full marks."

The Islanders took the early lead with just 22.0 seconds left in the first period when Bergeron’s wrist shot beat a sprawled out Martin Gerber on the power play. Comrie and Bill Guerin collected the assists.

Ottawa struck back late in the second period, finding the back of the net with 3:53 remaining in the second to tie the game at 1-1. Wade Redden’s soft wrist shot from the blue line was deflected by Daniel Alfredsson past DiPietro for his 22nd goal of the season.

In the third, Bergeron tallied his eight goal of the season on a slap shot at 4:36, while on the man-advantage. Comrie then made it a two-goal game against his former team, when he went end-to-end and finished off the play with a nice move to get the puck by Gerber, 6:16 into the period.

With time winding down, and Gerber pulled, DiPietro sent the puck down the length of the ice, narrowly missing the goal.

"He wanted that goal," said Nolan. "He's our MVP and enthusiastic out there."

Gerber earned the loss with 28 saves.

The Islanders return home to face the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.


Five Stars of the Game:
1. Marc-Andre Bergeron: Two power play goals, including the game-winner
2. Rick DiPietro: Stopped 31 of 32 shots faced against the top scoring team in the NHL.
3. Mike Comrie: Had the insurance goal, picked up an assist and had six shots on goal
4. Daniel Alfredsson: Scored Ottawa’s lone goal, his 22nd of the season
5. Bill Guerin: Tallied three shots on goal and assisted on the first goal of the game


Stat of the Game: Ottawa was held to one goal or fewer for just the third time this season

Slapshots: The Islanders won in Ottawa for the first time since the 2002-03 season…The Islanders closed out their five-game road trip at 2-1-2…Rick DiPietro recorded 30-or-more saves for the sixth straight game…The win gives the Islanders at least a tie in the season series with Ottawa for the first time since 2003-04.

 
Check out the Islanders TV Game Day tab for complete coverage of tonight’s game.





ISLANDERS
Goaltenders
39 Rick DiPietro
34 Wade Dubielewicz

Defensemen
25 Andy Sutton – 4 Bryan Berard
14 Chris Campoli – 47 Marc-Andre Bergeron
  8 Bruno Gervais – 44 Freddy Meyer

Forwards
10 Richard Park – 89 Mike Comrie – 13 Bill Guerin
26 Ruslan Fedotenko – 18 Mike Sillinger – 7 Trent Hunter
81 Miroslav Satan – 63 Josef Vasicek – 20 Sean Bergenheim
11 Andy Hilbert – 28 Tim Jackman – 57 Blake Comeau


OTTAWA
Goaltenders
1   Ray Emery
29 Martin Gerber

Defensemen
4 Chris Phillips – 24 Anton Volchenkov
2 Luke Richardson – 14 Andrej Meszaros
7 Joe Corvo – 6 Wade Redden
5 Christopher Schubert

Forwards
19 Jason Spezza – 27 Randy Robitaille – 11 Daniel Alfredsson
20 Antoine Vermette – 22 Chris Kelly – 10 Shean Donovan
37 Dan McAmmond – 58 Cody Bas – 16 Brian McGrattan
12 Mike Fisher - 25 Chris Neil