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Bergeron, power play keep Islanders rolling

Jan 1, 2008 - 4:39 AM RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron helped the New York Islanders take advantage of the power play Monday night.

Bergeron scored two goals and set up another - all with the man advantage - and Wade Dubielewicz made 28 saves to lead the Islanders to a 4-1 triumph over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Captain Bill Guerin and Ruslan Fedotenko also tallied for New York, which has won three of its last four games since starting goaltender Rick DiPietro suffered a knee injury.

"We knew it was a tough month coming in, and sometimes you've got to look at the overall picture," Islanders coach Ted Nolan said. "By giving Ricky an opportunity to get some rest, get totally healed and show faith in the other goaltender.

"The last five games, this group of guys has been playing as a group, and I think that's a strong indication for our (success) for this busy month and the rest of the year."

The Islanders, who have won five of their last six games, exploited the Hurricanes' penalty killing unit with three extra-man goals. Carolina is ranked 30th in penalty killing, making New York's 22nd-ranked power-play look like one of the best in the NHL on Monday.

"They're an aggressive team and they chase around, so if you can get passes on your tape, then you find some things open up," Bergeron said. "That's exactly what happened tonight. We reacted well to their pressure and we got some goals out of it."

Bergeron opened the scoring with a power-play tally at 2:05 of the second period when his one-timer beat goaltender John Grahame on the glove side.

After Mike Commodore took Carolina's second straight penalty to start the second period, Guerin gave the Islanders a 2-0 lead just 83 seconds after Bergeron's goal.

Bergeron kept the puck in the zone and Mike Comrie delivered a pass to a wide-open Guerin in the high slot. Guerin took his time and unleashed a slap shot past Grahame on the glove side.

New York continued its offensive onslaught in the middle session at 5:45 when Fedotenko scored on a doorstep tip-in at the left post to take a 3-0 lead and chase Grahame from the contest.

Cam Ward's arrival seemed to give Carolina a boost as Craig Adams scored 32 ticks later when he gathered in a rebound off Commodore's slap shot and put it past Dubielewicz to cut the deficit to 3-1.

That was the only blemish for Dubielewicz, who has helped keep the Islanders in the Atlantic Division race in DiPietro's absence.

"We jumped on them pretty quick, and when they took some penalties in the second period, we didn't look back," Dubielewicz said. "It's a big factor, the guys are starting to believe in me."

The Hurricanes' momentum did not last long as Bergeron struck again on the power play at 13:20 with a heavy slap shot from the deep slot. It marked Bergeron's first multi-goal performance since he recorded a hat trick on January 14, 2006.

The second period was a disaster for the Hurricanes, who took five penalties and allowed three power-play goals.

"It's been like that all year," Commodore said. "I don't know why it's been the second period. I don't know. Whatever it is, we should figure it out. It was a better third period than it was against Columbus, but by then, it's too late.

"We can't come back two, three goals all the time. We just didn't play well. We just flat out didn't play well.

Grahame stopped just 11 of the 14 shots he faced, while Ward yielded a goal on 10 shots in just over 32 minutes of action. It was the second consecutive game that Carolina made a goaltender change during the contest.

Carolina captain Rod Brind'Amour said he was amazed that the Hurricanes still were atop the Southeast Division considering their recent play.

"The good thing is that we haven't played well for the whole season and we're still sitting there," Brind'Amour said. "That's strange. We definitely have to pick it up."