Rick DiPietro could have taken a 2 1/2-hour siesta in the Islander goal last night, and it’s possible nobody would have noticed.
Workdays don’t come easier than this for a goalie. DiPietro faced only 10 shots and stopped all except the last one, helping the Isles extend their win streak to three with a 4-1 win over the Thrashers at the Coliseum.
Only a garbage goal by Todd White in the final 1:17 of regulation kept DiPietro from recording his third shutout of the season, but the Islanders matched their longest winning streak in nearly two months.
The Isles (27-25-7) set two marks last night – allowing the fewest shots on goal in franchise history (the previous low was 11 against Detroit on March 3, 1977) and finishing with the largest shots discrepancy. The Islanders outshot the Thrashers 49-10, breaking the team’s previous mark of plus-38, also set in 1977.
“This was probably one of the best complete efforts we’ve had since we’ve been here,” coach Ted Nolan said.
There was some ugliness late, with Atlanta’s Garnet Exelby hit with a game misconduct for spearing and then sucker-punching Blake Comeau. Bryan Berard came to Comeau’s defense and also drew a game misconduct.
Comeau said he suspects Exelby was just frustrated.
“When we’re playing physical … that’s when we’re on top of our game,” Comeau said.
The Islanders picked up a point on Boston for the eighth spot in the East, moving within three after the Bruins lost 4-3 in overtime in Toronto.
The Isles killed seven of the eight power plays they faced, and their 49 shots were their highest total of the season.
They got rolling in the second period, capitalizing on a two-man advantage to make it 3-0 on Marc-Andre Bergeron’s slap shot past Kari Lehtonen at 12:03. Earlier in the second, Ruslan Fedotenko scored his 13th, helping alleviate the sting of a frustrating opening period for the Islanders.
Despite getting 16 shots in the first 15 minutes, the Isles had nothing to show. Then, Miroslav Satan slipped the puck past Lehtonen, letting the Islanders take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
mpuma@nypost.com