The New York Islanders are crawling their way back into the Atlantic Division, one game at a time.

Last night the Islanders beat the Atlanta Thrashers 4-1, thanks in help to goals from Ruslan Fedotenko, Miroslav Satan, Sean Bergenheim, and Defenseman Marc-Andre-Bergeron. The difference between attempted shots between both teams is astounding- The Islanders attempted 49 shots against Thrashers goalie Kari Lehtonen, while the Thrashers attempted just 10. The defense tonight, headed by Radek Martinek, certainly played to their potential last night at Nassau Coliseum.

“There was a method to our madness tonight,” Islanders coach Ted Nolan said. “It’s one thing to throw pucks at the net, and it’s another to throw them at the net when someone’s in front. Tonight, we scored three goals that way. It was a good, solid team effort.”

One component missing from the Islanders’ play of late was the dominance of All Star goalie Rick DiPietro. Before the Thrashers game, Rick had given up 38 goals in his previous 10 games, an average of 3.8 goals per game. If DiPietro can pick up his play down the stretch for the Isles, it’d be easier to foresee the Islanders get out of last place in the Atlantic Division.

“As far as team defense, this has been our best game in a while,” DiPietro said. “What we did tonight was a real big step.”