ATLANTA – Atlanta Thrashers star Dany Heatley expressed sadness Tuesday night for the car wreck that killed teammate Dan Snyder, saying he was “very sorry over the loss of my close friend.”

In his first public comments since he crashed his Ferrari into a wall, Heatley issued a statement before the Thrashers played the New York Islanders.

Heatley was charged with vehicular homicide after Snyder died last week of injuries sustained in the Sept. 29 crash. Snyder fractured his skull in the wreck and never regained consciousness. Heatley was also injured and might miss the entire season following knee surgery.

Last Friday, Heatley joined the rest of the team in Elmira, Ontario, for Snyder’s funeral.

“I am deeply saddened and very sorry over the loss of my close friend and teammate, Dan Snyder,” Heatley said. “I am deeply moved by the strong show of support his family and I have received from the town of Elmira and sincerely thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers.

“The entire Snyder family … have demonstrated amazing strength and compassion during this very painful time.”

Test results showed Heatley consumed a small amount of alcohol before the crash. His blood alcohol content was less than 0.015, far below the state’s legal limit of 0.08.

Because Heatley wasn’t drunk and Snyder’s relatives say they forgive him, prosecutors could decide the car crash was just an accident, with no need to pursue felony charges and sentences ranging from three to 15 years.

Heatley, the MVP of last season’s All-Star game, broke his jaw and tore two ligaments in his knee. He had surgery to repair the knee, and the Thrashers said they expect him to play this season.

“The accident has taken a huge emotional toll on me, and of course, my family as well,” Heatley said. “At this time, my focus is on the Snyder family and my rehabilitation from the injuries that I sustained in the accident.

“I am working hard with my rehabilitation and will return to the ice as soon as is medically possible. I will continue to support the Snyder family and my team in every possible way. I sincerely thank you for your understanding.”

Islanders 2, Thrashers 2

ATLANTA – The Atlanta Thrashers nearly did it again.

Marc Savard scored early in the third period and the Thrashers twice came back from one-goal deficits to tie the New York Islanders 2-2.

Atlanta (2-0-1) still has the best start in franchise history.

Frantisek Kaberle had a great chance to give Atlanta its third straight victory, skating in alone on Rick DiPietro. But Kaberle, a defenseman, didn’t get enough on the shot, and DiPietro slapped it away.

Eric Cairns gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead off an assist from Sven Butenschon midway through the second period before Savard tied it.

Shawn McEachern took the puck into the corner before sending it in front to Savard, who easily beat DiPietro.

Mark Parrish scored only 35 seconds into the first period, giving the Islanders a 1-0 lead. Patrik Stefan tied it early in the second period with his first goal of the season.

Canadiens 5, Capitals 1

MONTREAL – Yanic Perreault had two goals and an assist, and Donald Audette also had three points as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Washington Capitals 5-1 in their home opener Tuesday night.

Audette, Andreas Dackell and Stephane Quintal also scored for Montreal, which has won two straight while outscoring opponents 9-1 since a season-opening 5-2 loss in Ottawa on Thursday.

Fresh from his 18th career shutout Saturday in Toronto, Jose Theodore stopped 16 shots for the Canadiens, who were founded in 1909 – eight years before the NHL was formed. They are 53-19-15 in home openers since the NHL began in 1917. Robert Lang scored for Washington, which played without suspended forward Mike Grier. Grier served a one-game penalty imposed by the NHL earlier in the day for elbowing the Maple Leafs’ Robert Reichel as the Capitals began a six-game road trip Monday with a 2-2 tie in Toronto. Alexander Semin, chosen 13th overall in last year’s draft, assisted on Lang’s goal in his NHL debut as he joined fellow 19-year-old players Boyd Gordon and Steve Eminger in Washington’s lineup.

The Capitals – without defensemen Brendan Witt and John Gruden for a second straight game because of injuries – are 0-2-1 since a 6-1 victory over the New York Islanders in their opener Thursday.

Dackell opened the scoring 6:00 in with his first of the season. After taking Joe Juneau’s pass from the right corner, Dackell fanned on his first attempt from the circle before recovering to fire a wrist shot over goalie Sebastien Charpentier’s left shoulder and just inside the crossbar.

Perreault scored a power-play goal at 16:05, taking a pass from Michael Ryder behind the net and beating Charpentier from the slot to put Montreal up 2-0.

Washington made it a one-goal game again just 40 seconds later after Canadiens defenseman Stephane Quintal flubbed a pass along the boards. Semin passed to Lang, who beat Theodore at 16:45 for his second goal of the season.

Perreault got his second goal of the game just 19 seconds into the second period to restore Montreal’s two-goal lead. Quintal made it 4-1 when he got credit for the Canadiens fourth goal after his centering pass from the right corner went in off defenseman Josef Boumedienne.

Audette, who assisted on both of Perreault’s goals, increased the lead to four at 14:53 as he took a pass from Perreault and put a shot from the left side through Charpentier’s legs.

Notes: There was a moment of silence in memory of Atlanta center Dan Snyder after the Canadiens were introduced during pregame ceremonies. … There was some booing from the upper reaches of the arena at the beginning of the U.S. national anthem. … Charpentier, a native of Drummondville, Quebec, made his first start of the season and first career appearance against Montreal. … The Canadiens began a stretch of six straight home games.

AP-ES-10-14-03 2218EDT