ATLANTA – Shawn Bates scored twice, including a short-handed goal in the closing minutes of the third period to help the New York Islanders to their third straight victory, 7-3 over the Atlanta Thrashers on Wednesday night.

Bates clinched the win with his eighth goal with just over seven minutes left and the Islanders leading 4-3 when he beat Thrashers goaltender Adam Berkhoel on a breakaway with his team down a man.

Miroslav Satan, who also had two goals, made it 6-3 with about four minutes remaining. Jason Blake made it a rout with a power-play goal with 27 seconds left in the Islanders’ highest-scoring game of the season.

Atlanta had outscored opponents 19-2 in winning three in a row. Ilya Kovalchuk scored a franchise-record six goals in his previous two games, but was scoreless against the Islanders.

New York took a 2-0 first-period lead.

Bates opened the scoring just over six minutes in and Trent Hunter scored his third goal on a power play with about three minutes remaining in the period.

Atlanta’s Jaroslav Modry scored seven minutes into the second period to make it 2-1, beating goalie Garth Snow on a 20-foot slap shot from the left side.

The Islanders made it 3-1 on Arron Asham’s third goal of the season three minutes later.

The Thrashers got within a goal again when Peter Bondra scored his 10th goal with less than eight minutes to go, but Satan responded with his 10th for the Islanders five minutes later for a 4-2 lead.

Atlanta made it a one-goal game again when Jim Slater scored his third goal less than three minutes into the third period to get to 4-3.

Marc Savard, Atlanta’s leading scorer with 26 points, added two assists.

The Thrashers were trying to match a franchise-best four wins in a row, which they did twice in 2003-04 – on Nov. 16-23 and on Dec. 6-12.

Notes: Atlanta F Patrik Stefan missed his seventh straight game with an oblique muscle strain. … Thrashers G Mike Durham was placed on the injured list Tuesday, and G Michael Garnett was recalled from Chicago (AHL). … Islanders captain Alexei Yashin scored 300th NHL goal in Monday night’s 3-2 win at Pittsburgh.

AP-ES-11-16-05 2139EST