NEW YORK, 29 February 2004 — Oleg Kvasha picked up one goal and two assists to carry the New York Islanders to a 4-2 victory over the host Buffalo Sabres Friday.

Buffalo’s post-season aspirations were dealt a huge blow as the Sabres slid eight points behind the Islanders for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. New York is one point adrift of Montreal for seventh position.

Rick DiPietro made a career-high 42 saves in goal as the Islanders completed a four-game series sweep of the Sabres while landing their seventh straight win over Buffalo. Mariusz Czerkawski and Mattias Weinhandl both had a goal and an assist for the Islanders. Roman Hamrlik also scored for New York.

Chris Drury and JP Dumont each recorded a goal and an assist for the Sabres, who have lost three in a row after a six-game unbeaten streak.

In East Rutherford, Dany Heatley’s powerplay goal with 5:48 left gave the Atlanta Thrashers a 3-2 upset win over the New Jersey Devils.

Atlanta achieved its victory despite being without leading scorer Ilya Kovalchuk, who was benched for missing a team meeting earlier in the day. The absence of the 33-goal Kovalchuk did not stop the Thrashers ending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey’s three-game winning streak. The loss also spoiled the 1,000th career game of Devils coach Pat Burns, who is in his second season in New Jersey.

Garnet Exelby and Patrik Stefan also netted for the Thrashers, who ended a two-game losing streak. Brian Gionta and Patrik Elias replied for the Devils.

In Sunrise, Olaf Kolzig made 28 saves to help the Washington Capitals to a 4-1 win over the Florida Panthers. Washington, which earlier in the day dealt leading scorer Robert Lang to Detroit, notched four goals in the third period against Roberto Luongo.

In Dallas, Marty Turco produced 18 stops in goal as the Stars overcame the Minnesota Wild 3-1. Manny Fernandez made 28 saves for Minnesota.

In Chicago, Luke Richardson tallied with less than three minutes to go in regulation time to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a 4-3 triumph over the Blackhawks. Fred Brathwaite pulled off 33 stops for the Blue Jackets, who rallied from a 3-1 deficit.

In Phoenix, Ethan Moreau collected two goals and an assist as the Edmonton Oilers hammered the Coyotes 7-2. Adam Oates scored his second goal of the season for the Oilers and added an assist.

In San Jose, Patrick Marleau picked up a goal and an assist to help the Sharks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2. Alex Korolyuk also had a goal and an assist for the Sharks. Pittsburgh has lost 19 of its last 20 games.

NHL Scoring Leader Traded to Red Wings

Robert Lang, the NHL’s co-leading scorer, was traded Friday to the title-contending Detroit Red Wings from the lowly Washington Capitals, who continued to deal away top talent.

The Red Wings landed the 33-year-old Czech center in exchange for 19-year-old Czech left wing Tomas Fleischmann and two future draft picks, including Detroit’s first-round choice this year.

Lang shares the NHL points lead with Tampa Bay’s Martin St. Louis. Lang has 29 goals and 45 assists in 63 games while St. Louis has 30 goals and 44 assists.