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Gerber, Fisher fuel Senators past Islanders

Jan 30, 2008 - 4:01 AM UNIONDALE, New York (Ticker) -- Martin Gerber has enjoyed his recent visits to Long Island. The New York Islanders have not.

The Ottawa goaltender stopped 23 of the 25 shots he faced and Mike Fisher had a goal and an assist as the Senators topped the Islanders, 5-2, on Tuesday.

New York has lost a season-high five straight at Nassau Coliseum since recording a 5-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils on December 29.

"We started the game really well," said Gerber, who has won his last four starts on Long Island. "I thought we put a lot of pressure early on. We got stuck a little bit, but we finished the game off well. I saw the pucks well and I felt good."

Someone who was not feeling good was captain Daniel Alfredsson, who played only 12:20 before sitting out the third period after aggravating a hip injury.

"We'll see how it is (Wednesday)," the All-Star said. "You don't want it to be where you are playing 80 percent the rest of the season. It was getting better last week.

"It's in the last two pushes when it is not good. It happened with a cycling shift, when I had to reach for the puck with my leg and got caught a little."

Defensemen Andrej Meszaros and Chris Phillips scored 35 seconds apart to stake the Senators to a quick 2-0 lead.

With Ottawa on the power play, Meszaros blasted a shot from just inside the blue line which beat goaltender Rick DiPietro at 9:18 of the first period.

Phillips doubled the advantage on the next shift by skating into the left faceoff circle and wristing the puck past DiPietro stick side.

Dean McAmmond increased Ottawa's lead to 3-0 by tallying 6:38 into the second period.

Fisher outworked a pair of Islanders defensemen along the boards before backhanding a feed to McAmmond, who beat DiPietro for his seventh goal of the season - and third in as many games.

"It was a pretty good effort," Fisher said. "We felt really good at 3-0, but we were making some mistakes and they were (feeding) off of that. Their power-play goal turned it around, so it was important for us to regain the momentum."

Sean Bergenheim put the Islanders on the scoreboard with 4:02 remaining in the session.

Josef Vasicek stole the puck from defenseman Joe Corvo and quickly fed Bergenheim in the slot. Bergenheim made no mistake, beating Gerber for his fourth goal of the season.

Defenseman Bryan Berard halved the deficit just 6:35 into the third period.

With New York on the power play, Miroslav Satan fired a cross-crease pass to Berard, who beat an out-of-position Gerber for his third goal of the season.

Fisher gave Ottawa a 4-2 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the third period.

Neil stole the puck from Bergenheim in the Ottawa zone, circled the net and fed Fisher on the doorstep for his 19th goal of the season.

"Their fourth goal put us behind the eight-ball," Berard said. "They are a very skilled team, especially with their sticks. If you lay off them and you are not hard with your passes, they will pick them off out of the air. They can turn on you in a hurry."

Ottawa coach John Paddock praised Fisher's line for their recent play.

"In Florida, (that line) scored all the goals and in Tampa Bay they played very well," Paddock said. "They've been solid for the last three or four games."

All-Star Jason Spezza added an empty-net goal with 64 seconds remaining to seal the win.