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Thrashers hope to rebound versus Islanders

Mar 24, 2011 - 3:06 PM (Sports Network) - The Atlanta Thrashers have almost run out of time in the Eastern Conference playoff race and they'll try to rebound from a brutal loss when they visit the New York Islanders tonight at Nassau Coliseum.

The Thrashers are 11th in the East standings and find themselves nine points back of Buffalo for the eighth and final playoff seed in the conference.

Atlanta had a chance to gain some ground on the Sabres when they played in Buffalo on Saturday, but Craig Ramsay's club wound up on the wrong end of a blowout. The Sabres recorded an 8-2 rout of Atlanta, dealing the Thrashers their second loss in three games.

Chris Thorburn and Alexander Burmistrov both tallied for the Thrashers. Ondrej Pavelec was pulled after allowing three goals on 11 shots in the first period, while Chris Mason stopped just 12-of-17 shots in relief.

"They out-hustled us when it counted. They deserved to win," Thrashers winger Anthony Stewart said.

The setback was the eighth for Atlanta over its last 10 road games. The Thrashers, who are capping a two-game swing tonight, are just 14-16-5 as the guest this season.

The Islanders are two points in back of Atlanta in the East standings, but, New York has played two more games than the Thrashers. However, the Isles have won their last two games and will try for their first three-game winning streak in over a month tonight. New York won four in a row from Feb. 10-15.

New York last played on Tuesday, when it recorded a 5-2 victory in Tampa. Matt Martin scored the eventual game-winner in the second period and Al Montoya recorded 36 saves to lead the Isles to the win over Dwayne Roloson and the Lightning.

Josh Bailey, Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen also recorded goals for New York, which has won two straight following a three-game slide.

"I thought we outplayed them in every facet of the game tonight," Okposo said. "And it showed in the scoreboard."

Roloson was facing his former club for the first time since a January trade sent him from the Isles to the Bolts. He gave up four goals on 27 shots.

The Isles are kicking off a two-game homestand tonight and will also host Philadelphia on Saturday. New York is 16-15-5 as the host this season.

Atlanta has taken two of three from the Islanders this season, but New York notched a 4-1 road win when the clubs met last on Feb. 1. The Isles have taken five of eight overall in the series, but the Thrashers have won three of the last five encounters at the Coliseum.