ISLANDERS 5

DEVILS 2

The Islanders are making a statement, at least in their own minds, but that’s the first place it starts. And first place, even just a point share of the Atlantic lead, is evidence.

“We’re working towards this, to be on top, but we have a long way to go,” Alexei Yashin said after putting up three assists in last night’s 5-2 swamping of the Devils at the Meadowlands.

“But we can’t get lost, [like] we beat Jersey and won the Cup.” The Isles are making noise, winners of three straight with points in seven of eight (5-1-2). And they have won five straight from the Jersey boys.

“We played a team that had some skill and they picked us apart,” said Martin Brodeur after his two-game shutout streak ended. “It’s hard to play solid hockey when you make those mistakes and pay the price every time.” Besides losing in regulation at home (only 8,269 in attendance) for the first time this season (4-1-1), the Devils also saw Scott Gomez aggravate the groin injury he came back from too soon.

“I just kind of felt a little pinch,” said Gomez, who didn’t return for the third period. “It’s no use to kabosh it. You don’t want to aggravate it more.” Brodeur’s sixth career two-game shutout streak ended 8:00 into the first. Jim Dowd, signed Wednesday after coming to camp on a tryout basis, mishandled a breakout pass and Mike York took over.

York fed Trent Hunter in the right circle, and Hunter stepped inside of Colin White to rifle his second of the season past Brodeur’s stick. Brodeur’s shutout streak ended at 136:28, not counting 51 seconds on the bench for an extra attacker in Pittsburgh last week.

Rookie Travis Zajac answered for New Jersey at 15:30, grabbing Jamie Langenbrunner’s blocked shot in the slot as Alexei Yashin collided with Brendan Witt, leaving Zajac free to connect from the slot.

It was only 32 seconds later that the Isles moved in front to stay, on Miro Satan’s second this year. At the left side of the net, Satan put Hunter’s rebound over a sprawled Brodeur.

“They felt confident to play us. We haven’t played our game against them,” Patrik Elias said. “As the game went on, we were a step behind.” In the second, Jason Blake had just ripped a shot off Brodeur’s mask when the puck came back to Alexei Zhitnik for a straight-out slap through traffic and past Brodeur’s waffle. Yashin, who had nine points in his previous five games, picked up his first assist of the night on the play.

“We should have been fresh and ready to go, but we didn’t come out that way,” Langenbrunner said of the Devils team that had been off since Saturday.

*

The Isles play host to the Thrashers tomorrow while the Devils visit Montreal, where Claude Julien previously coached . . . With Dowd signed, Dan LaCouture was assigned to the Devils’ Lowell farm.