Alternate jerseys are still unlucky

Call it a Code Red. There is something about those maroon jerseys that brings out the worst in the Thrashers . The New York Islanders got a hat trick from Matt Moulson in a 4-1 victory Thursday that snapped the Thrashers' four-game win streak. The loss came in the alternate uniforms the team is wearing this season for Thursday home games. The Thrashers are 0-4-1 wearing maroon this season. The lone overtime point came when Max Afinogenov scored with 42 seconds remaining against Boston on Nov. 19. They are 6-12-1 since the alternate look's debut last season. "I'm not that superstitious," Thrashers coach John Anderson said. "The reality is we are going to wear them every Thursday night. We better get used to it." The Thrashers will wear the jerseys seven more times this season. Even the Thrashers' previously unbeaten record when scoring first couldn't overcome the jersey jinx. Atlanta is now 10-1 when drawing first blood. Moulson scored two second-period goals, both assisted by Trent Hunter, after the Thrashers took an early lead on Slava Kozlov's first-period goal. Moulson scored 1:47 into the second period and then added a power-play goal with 4:14 remaining in the period. His game-winning tally came with 30 seconds remaining on a slashing penalty to Anssi Salmela. He took a cross-ice pass from Hunter and raced in on Thrashers goaltender Ondrej Pavelec, snapping a shot into the back of the net. Moulson also added a third-period goal to complete the hat trick, his 14th tally of the season. "We didn't play very hard today," Kozlov said. "They worked harder than us. When you don't work hard, you allow the other team to score. That's what happened to us. After the first goal, we kind of sat back and waited for mistakes instead of playing hard and getting another goal." The Thrashers fell to 14-8-3 (31 points) overall and 6-6-2 at home. They entered the game with an 8-1-2 mark in their past 11 games. Still they couldn't beat the Islanders, a team that handed them a 6-3 loss in New York on Nov. 7. "I just thought that we had a team coming in here that beat us pretty badly on Long Island, and we gave them an easy game," Anderson said. "People come in here, they've got to know they are in for a tough game, and we just didn't do that. ... If we don't put forth a better effort than that, or a more gritty effort, then teams will stay with us in the games and we'll give them a chance to win." Kozlov opened the scoring with his fifth goal of the season, at the 9:01 mark of the first period. Kozlov was on the receiving end of a great individual effort by Bryan Little, who carried the puck deep into the Islanders' zone. Little passed to Kozlov, who knocked the puck past Islanders goaltender Dwayne Roloson. It was Kozlov's fourth goal in the past six games. The Thrashers couldn't hold the lead. "When we get a lead, you want to keep it," Thrashers forward Chris Thorburn said. After Moulson's hat trick, Islanders' rookie John Tavares added an empty-net goal with one second remaining. "I love scoring. I love winning," said Moulson, who leads the Islanders in goals. "It's huge, especially against Atlanta, who is playing really well. It's great to get points against them." N.Y. Islanders 0 2 2 --- 4 Atlanta 1 0 0 --- 1 First Period 1, Atlanta, Kozlov 5 (Little, White), 9:01. Penalties --- Sim, NYI (holding stick), 2:37; Peverley, Atl (hooking), 12:58; Kubina, Atl (tripping), 17:42. Second Period 2, N.Y. Islanders, Moulson 12 (Hunter), 1:47. 3, N.Y. Islanders, Moulson 13 (Hunter, Okposo), 15:46 (pp). Penalties --- Salmela, Atl (slashing), 14:15. Third Period 4, N.Y. Islanders, Moulson 14 (Streit, Okposo), 13:09. 5, N.Y. Islanders, Tavares 11 (Bergenheim), 19:59 (en). Penalties --- Park, NYI (tripping), 7:52. Shots on Goal N.Y. Islanders 11-9-7---27. Atlanta 9-8-10---27. Power-play opportunities N.Y. Islanders 1 of 3; Atlanta 0 of 2. Goalies N.Y. Islanders, Roloson 9-2-5 (27 shots-26 saves). Atlanta, Pavelec 8-6-3 (26-23). A --- 11,704 (18,545). T---2:16. Referees --- Chris Lee, Dan O'Rourke. Linesmen---Brad Lazarowich, Scott Cherrey.N.Y. Islanders 0 2 2 --- 4 Atlanta 1 0 0 --- 1 First period --- 1, Atlanta, Kozlov 5 (Little, White), 9:01. Second period --- 2, N.Y. Islanders, Moulson 12 (Hunter), 1:47. 3, N.Y. Islanders, Moulson 13 (Hunter, Okposo), 15:46 (pp). Third period --- 4, N.Y. Islanders, Moulson 14 (Streit, Okposo), 13:09. 5, N.Y. Islanders, Tavares 11 (Bergenheim), 19:59 (en). Shots on goal --- N.Y. Islanders 11-9-7---27. Atlanta 9-8-10---27. Goalies --- N.Y. Islanders, Roloson. Atlanta, Pavelec. A---11,704 (18,545). T---2:16.