Mottau taken to hospital after shot to eye

ATLANTA - Defenseman Mike Mottau was taken to a hospital last night after being hit by a puck in the right eye during the first period.

Mottau went down hard when struck by Zach Bogosian's shot, clutching his right eye before hitting the ice. Mottau, whose face was bloodied from the impact, was helped off the ice by trainer Garrett Timms with 3:48 left in the period.

"First off, you pray that he's all right and that it's nothing career-threatening or anything like that," alternate captain Mark Eaton said. "Hopefully, we'll get some idea pretty soon that he's all right."

Mottau's absence marked the second time in eight days that the Islanders were forced to play with only five defensemen.

The Islanders also were down a defenseman Nov. 13 against Los Angeles when Jack Hillen couldn't play because of what later was revealed to be a concussion.

Through the first 20 games of the season, the Islanders have seen five defensemen go down. In addition to Mottau's injury, Mark Streit (shoulder), Milan Jurcina (hamstring), Andrew MacDonald (hand) and Hillen (concussion) are on injured reserve.

Weight out again

Doug Weight missed his second straight game with back spasms. The 39-year-old captain, who has two goals and seven assists in 18 games, did not make the trip to Atlanta . . . Former Islanders defenseman Freddy Meyer, who signed with Atlanta this past summer, was a healthy scratch for the Thrashers.