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Bailey lifts Islanders over Flyers in SO

Mar 29, 2013 - 5:35 AM Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Josh Bailey scored the winner in the fourth round of the shootout as the New York Islanders took a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.

After Wayne Simmonds was stopped by Evgeni Nabokov, Bailey won the game for the Islanders as he buried a wrist shot past Ilya Bryzgalov.

Colin McDonald had two goals while John Tavares also lit the lamp for the Islanders, who have won their past three. Nabokov made 33 saves.

"Well for us, now we're fighting for the playoffs obviously," said Nabokov. "We're right there. Every point, not just two, is important for us, especially against a team like that. They're a good team. Regardless of what the stats are showing, they're a good team. There's a lot of character on that team. And we knew that it wasn't going to be easy."

Scott Hartnell had two goals and Mike Knuble scored the other for the Flyers, who have lost four straight. Bryzgalov turned away 33 shots.

"It sure seems like a loss right now," said Hartnell. "You need to have a good start. You get a 2-0 lead and it seems like we freeze and stop moving. That's when their skill kicks in, when you're not moving and you're not closing on checks and you're not finishing on checks. Boom, boom, boom and you're down. We are lucky to get a point, obviously. We just need to bear down when we're up, that's all."

The Flyers jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 4:14 mark of the first period on the power play when Claude Giroux sent a short pass from the left boards to the inside left circle where Hartnell snapped it in.

It was a 2-0 game with 2:35 to play in the first as Giroux skated into the zone down the middle and moved to the left before passing it back over to Knuble, who shifted to the backhand and put the puck home for his third of the year.

The only goal of the second period came with one minute left as Tavares threw a backhand on net from the right circle that hit off the skate of Luke Schenn then Erik Gustafsson before going into the net to make it a 2-1 game.

New York tied the game at the midway mark of the third period. Michael Grabner had the puck along the left boards and passed it down low to Keith Aucoin, who sent it out front where McDonald shot it in.

It was McDonald again lighting the lamp to give the Islanders the lead as he picked off a bad clear in the slot and shot it in off Bruno Gervais for a 3-2 advantage with 4:23 to play.

The Flyers, though, got a man advantage when the Islanders were called for a faceoff violation and, with Bryzgalov pulled for a 6-on-4, the team tied the game as a furious scrum in front saw Hartnell chip it in for his fourth of the year with 29.8 seconds to play.

Game Notes

The Flyers continue their five-game homestand on Saturday against Boston ... New York plays in Pittsburgh on Saturday ... Philadelphia defenseman Braydon Coburn didn't play the third period due to an upper body injury ... The Flyers were 14-1-1 in their last 16 home games against the Islanders coming into the contest, and had taken a 7-0 road win against them on Feb. 18.