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UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders were even with the Florida Panthers in the first period, and coach Jack Capuano liked nothing about it. He let his players know it, and they responded with an impressive final 40 minutes. Josh Bailey had a goal and assist, and the Islanders kept up their strong finish with a 4-2 victory over the Panthers on Tuesday night. "We got off to a real slow start," Capuano said. New York, on the verge of elimination in the Eastern Conference playoff race after qualifying for the post-season a year ago, quickly bounced back from Quinton Howdens short-handed goal less than two minutes in and sent the Panthers to their fourth straight loss. Travis Hamonic, Matt Martin and Mike Halmo also scored, Colin McDonald had two assists, and Evgeni Nabokov made 20 saves for the Islanders, 4-0-1 in their past five. "Guys have done a good job keeping each other up, keeping the spirits up even though it can be tough," Bailey said. "When you think about last year down the stretch and how much fun it was, its difficult. We definitely dont want to find ourselves here ever again, but youve still got a job to do." Florida, which won two earlier meetings this season, is one of three NHL teams with fewer points than New York. "No one is happy with where we are," Martin said. "Its a rough year and a year were not proud of, but to be going down the stretch with some wins and playing good hockey definitely feels a little bit better." Brandon Pirri closed the scoring for Florida, making it 4-2 with his 11th goal -- on a power play -- with 5.9 seconds left in the game. Scott Clemmensen stopped 36 shots for Florida, which lost 6-3 at New Jersey on Monday. "We let them capitalize on too many chances," Panthers centre Nick Bjugstad said. "We have to stay positive and try to end the season with better efforts." The action started quickly for the Panthers, who scored short-handed for the second straight night -- the fourth time that has happened in team history. On his first NHL shift, defenceman Jonathan Racine was called for interference when he levelled forward Cal Clutterbuck 42 seconds in. Florida then struck first. Howden knocked the puck free at the left point and raced the other way alone. He easily stayed in front of Frans Nielsen and beat Nabokov at 1:50. The Islanders tied it on the same power play, 45 seconds later, when Hamonic netted his third goal. Bailey won a faceoff and got the puck back to Hamonic, who snapped a shot through traffic at 2:35. "The surge started to go our way a little bit, but we didnt play our style in the first," Capuano said. "I wasnt happy at all, and I know the guys werent happy, either, but youve got to find a way. You cant have slow starts in this league." Florida gave the Islanders two other power plays in the period in which the Panthers were outshot 11-5. They were about to get an advantage with 2:19 left when Matt Carkner high-sticked Scottie Upshall in front of the penalty box and knocked him to the ice. But Panthers teammate Erik Gudbranson charged Carkner, and they immediately fought. Gudbranson was given an extra penalty for instigating, wiping out the power play. The Islanders added two goals in the second, including Baileys seventh 17 seconds after he served a penalty. McDonald got two whacks at the puck, and Bailey slammed in the rebound at 11:18. New York stretched the lead to 3-1 with 2:24 remaining. McDonald knocked the puck away from Racine at the left point and took off alone. The hard-charging Martin came down the middle and ripped in the rebound of McDonalds shot for his eighth goal. "They kept coming at us, kept crashing the crease," Clemmensen said. "They never stopped working, never gave up on plays all night." Halmo converted his rebound 4:21 into the third to make it 4-1. It was his first NHL goal in his 13th career game. "Everyone in here wants to play hard and be successful and give management something to think about for next season," Martin said. "Were in a profession where no ones job is really safe, so if you want to play here, youve got to show it." NOTES: For the third straight year, Martin was given the teams Bob Nystrom Award, honouring leadership, hustle and dedication. ... Racine and RW Bobby Butler were recalled from San Antonio (AHL) on Tuesday. Butler was scratched. ... With Montreal clinching a playoff spot, the trade between the Canadiens and Islanders in which Thomas Vanek was dealt by New York is completed. The Islanders will receive an extra second-round draft pick and give up their fifth-rounder to Montreal. Wholesale Nike Shoes China Paypal . Burris threw for 247 yards in one half of a game -- on pace for a nearly 500-yard outing -- as the Redblacks downed the woeful Montreal Alouettes 26-10 in CFL pre-season play Friday night at Percival Molson Stadium. Wholesale Nike Shoes For Sale . Even if he is shooting 38 per cent from the field overall this season, the Utah Jazz rookie always feels like his final shot is going in. http://www.discountnikeshoes.com/ . -- The Sacramento Kings and guard Jimmer Fredette have completed a buyout of his contract, clearing the way for the former BYU sensation to become a free agent. Discount Nike Shoes China . Amaro broke the NCAA all-time record for receiving yards in a season for a tight end with 1,352 during his junior campaign, eclipsing the mark of 1,329 set by Rices James Casey in 2008. Discount Nike Shoes Online .500 ball against teams with winning records, so they needed a huge lift from somebody Tuesday night in a matchup of division leaders.SALT LAKE CITY -- Blowing out Utah for a second time this month was not in the cards for Portland. With the Jazz making a fourth-quarter rally, the Blazers struggled to fight through offensive sluggishness and escape with a win. Nicolas Batum and Damian Lillard provided the lifeline in the final minute. Batum drained a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock and Lillard followed with another shot from long-range on the next possession to lift the Blazers to a 105-94 victory over the Jazz on Monday night. "The ball bounced their way a few times," Lillard said. "We knew it would be tough because we just played them two or three days ago. Theyre a better a team on their home floor. With us not having the greatest offensive night, we just wanted to stay the course and get the job done -- which we were able to do." LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24 points and Damian Lillard added 18 to propel Portland to a bounce back win after a loss to Dallas on Saturday snapped a four-game winning streak. Robin Lopez chipped in 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Wesley Matthews added 16 points for the Blazers, who notched their second win over Utah in December. Reserve Alec Burks had 20 points for the Jazz, who dropped their fourth game in a row. Enes Kanter added 19 points and Gordon Hayward chipped in 17 for Utah, which trailed the entire second half after nine ties and nine lead changes in the first half. "I thought we were doing a better job out there," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "I thought execution on the offensive end is getting a lot better. Were sharing the ball." Portland played clean basketball to build a second-half cushion and hold off a late Jazz rally. The Blazers had 23 assists and shot 47.1 per cent (40 of 85) from the floor, while committing just 11 turnovers. Portland broke open a close game by making six straight baskets to start the third quarter. Aldridge drained a jumper to start the run and Matthews capped the spurt with a 3-pointer, giving Portland a 64-51 lead at the 8:29 mark. Kanter made a pair of baskets to shave the lead to 64-57. It only set the stage for another Blazers run. This time, Portland rattled off four unanswered baskets -- capped by Lopezs layup -- to extend its lead to 72-57 with 4:13 remaining in the third quarter. The Blazers shot a blistering 61.1 per cent (11 of 18) from the field in the third quarter. And they ddid it by finding holes in the Jazz defence and attacking them with precision.dddddddddddd "With our offence, I want us to be opportunistic with whatever the game gives us," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "If it gives us 3s, we knock them down. If it gives us the paint, thats good too with LaMarcus on the block. One thing weve done well with offensively is we take what the game gives us." Utah made another run at the Blazers midway through the fourth quarter. Back-to-back jumpers from Hayward cut Portlands lead to single digits. Then, Trey Burke made a pair of free throws to bring the Jazz within 89-82 with 5:45 remaining. Utah cut the lead to seven several more times and pulled within 97-92 on a pair of free throws from Hayward with 1:28 left. But then Batum and Lillard drained their consecutive 3-pointers to put the game out of reach during the final minute. "You play good D for like 22 or 23 seconds and they hit the crazy shots," Kanter said. "Its tough you know -- thats basketball. You cant think about it. We just need to learn how to close games." Burke and Kanter put on a two-man show for the Jazz in the first quarter. The duo combined for 13 of Utahs first 15 points to help the Jazz keep pace with the Blazers. Portland created a small cushion late in the first half. Trailing by one after a layup by Kanter, the Blazers scored six straight points and took a 40-35 lead on a pair of free throws from Aldridge. They extended the lead to 49-41 after Lopez dunked and Aldridge scored an uncontested layup on back-to-back possessions. "We played sluggish tonight," Aldridge said. "We didnt have that killer (instinct) in us tonight. Guys were just tired tonight. Every game cant be great. I thought tonight was a good win for us because we came here and didnt make shots, but guys still put it up." NOTES: Portland notched its first win in its last six trips to Utah. The Trail Blazers are off to their best start since 1990-91, when they won 27 of 30 games to open the season. Utah announced that former coach Jerry Sloan will be honoured with a banner raising ceremony on Jan. 31. Sloan coached the team from 1988 to 2011, recording 1,127 victories during his tenure. . Lopez had his ninth double-double of the season. ... Batum matched a season-high with 11 assists. . Burks is averaging 16.6 points per game in his last seven games for the Jazz. ' ' '