Dean McAmmond, playing his fifth game with the Islanders since being acquired from Ottawa, scored his second goal since his arrival and wore an 'A' on his jersey in the absence of captain Bill Guerin and suspended alternate Brendan Witt. Jeff Tambellini snapped a 14-game goal drought, and Jon Sim had three assists in the only game on day's NHL schedule.
The Avalanche got two goals from Ryan Smyth, a one-time Islanders player who spurned their attempts to re-sign him in the summer of 2007. Colorado (28-35-1) is last in the West.
Joensuu, brought up from Bridgeport of the AHL on Monday because Guerin is still in trade limbo, smacked in a loose puck from in front during New York's two-goal second period that sent Colorado to its fifth straight loss.
The Avalanche started their six-game road trip with a win at Washington, but dropped the final five. They were outscored 14-3 in consecutive losses to New Jersey and New York's Rangers and Islanders.
Yann Danis made 19 saves, outdueling Colorado's Andrew Raycroft, who stopped 27 shots.
Guerin sat out a second straight game as the Islanders, the bottom team in the Eastern Conference, try to trade him before the deadline on Wednesday. A deal was expected over the weekend after Guerin was pulled from the lineup following warmups before New York played Buffalo on Saturday, but one didn't materialize.
He is still expected to be gone before the Islanders host the rival Rangers on Thursday, but coach Scott Gordon said he would have the captain back in the lineup in the unlikely event a trade isn't completed.
Joensuu probably will be back in the minors by then, too, Gordon said, but made a case to stay when he gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead 2:31 into the second. Gervais pushed the advantage to two goals with 6:56 left in the period when he knocked in a rebound of Sim's shot.
Smyth, who heard boos every time he touched the puck, got the Avalanche into a 1-1 tie 33 seconds into the middle period with a power-play goal, and then brought Colorado within 3-2 at 1:02 of the third.
The 11,298 fans who braved the snowy elements on Long Island voiced their displeasure with Smyth all night. The star forward was a trade-deadline acquisition who cried when he left Edmonton at the time of the deal and then signed with Colorado on the first day of free agency after being a rental player for New York.
Notes: Islanders RW Trent Hunter sat out due to a lower leg injury. He will be re-evaluated on Tuesday. His absence caused New York to play a player short for the second straight game. ... Colorado was without injured RW Darcy Tucker, another villain to Islanders fans, who still remember his hit in the 2002 playoffs while with Toronto that knocked out former captain Michael Peca with a serious knee injury.
NEW YORK SPORTS AND MORE
USEFUL LINKS:
SEND TIP OR PHOTO || REPORT TYPO || GET WIDGET
EYEWITNESS TWITTER || FIND US ON FACEBOOK