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Bergeron scores twice as Islanders down Senators

Jan 14, 2008 - 4:22 AM By Mark Robinson PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

OTTAWA (Ticker) -- Marc-Andre Bergeron scored twice on the power play and Mike Comrie recorded a third-period goal as the New York Islanders defeated the shorthanded Ottawa Senators, 3-1, on Sunday.

Prior to the game, the Senators announced that All-Star Dany Heatley will miss the next six weeks with a separated shoulder that he suffered in Ottawa's 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

In the first period of Sunday's game, Ottawa lost its third-leading scorer when Jason Spezza was on the receiving end of a hit from defenseman Freddy Meyer.

"It was a big hit," said New York netminder Rick DiPietro, who made 31 saves for his second straight win. "It (the hit) definitely got their team upset about it, but Freddy made a clean hit, and any time you can make a play like that - especially against one of their skilled guys - it definitely charges your bench up a little bit."

The absence of the Heatley and Spezza removed 109 points and two-thirds of one of the most potent offensive lines in the NHL from the Senators, who suffered their first regulation loss in their last 11 meetings with the Islanders.

"That's a big hole to fill, definitely," Ottawa center Mike Fisher said, "but we had some chances that we could've converted. It just wasn't our night. And you have to give them credit. They played a great game and deserved the win."

New York took a 1-0 lead in the first period after Bergeron opened the scoring with just 22 seconds remaining in the opening session.

With New York on the power play, captain Bill Guerin's wraparound attempt was denied by goaltender Martin Gerber but Bergeron pounced on the rebound and was able to push the puck past Gerber for his seventh goal of the season.

Bergeron's second goal at 4:36 of the third - his eighth of the season - was the result of a mad scramble with the man advantage. After defenseman Chris Campoli's backhander was deflected by Gerber along the right boards, Bergeron skated into the slot and blasted the puck into the net.

Islanders coach Ted Nolan was pleased in particular with the performance of his special teams.

"We all know the importance of the power play and penalty killing; I thought tonight we were good on both sides," Nolan said. "We had some good shots through traffic and Bergeron was able to put two in the net for us."

Comrie, the Islanders' leading scorer who was mired in a four-game scoreless streak, added an insurance goal against his former team less than two minutes later in the final period.

"They're a great skill team, but we tried to get on them and I thought we skated well," Comrie said. "We stuck with our game plan and kept going. It's obviously a good win for our club."

"It's a big win," DiPietro said. "It makes an average road trip a pretty good one. We managed to win the last one and it was nice to finish up the trip this way."

Daniel Alfredsson, who has scored at least one point in all but six games this season, scored his third power-play goal in two games with a tip-in the second period.

The 35-year-old is aware goals will be harder to come by without his All-Star linemates, Heatley and Spezza.

"We know we'll have to play better defensively because we know we're probably not going to score as many goals," Alfredsson said. "But it's a great opportunity for someone who's going to get more ice time, and it's better now than in April or May, so we'll find a way."