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. Hank Aaron Brewers Jersey . The Oilers jumped into the free agent market early by signing defencemen Keith Aulie (six-foot-six, 228 pounds) and Mark Fayne (6-3, 210 pounds) and left-winger Benoit Pouliot (6-3, 197-pounds). Two days earlier MacTavish traded lightweight forward Sam Gagner to Tampa Bay for 6-3, 203-pound right winger Ted Purcell. David Freitas Brewers Jersey . The Yankees made the moves before Tuesdays game against Baltimore. Robertson was listed retroactive to Monday. Robertson posted two saves in three games as the replacement for retired Yankees closer Mariano Rivera before getting hurt. https://www.cheapbrewers.com/1399y-tyler-austin-jersey-brewers.html . Both sides came closest to scoring in the first half, when Roma had a goal from Mattia Destro waved off for offside and Inters Rodrigo Palacio headed high. "A draw was a fair result. Neither squad had many chances," Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic said. Jimmy Nelson Jersey .The team had a meeting prior to facing Russia at the world junior hockey championship and got the effort theyve been looking for by defeating the Russians 4-1 to advance to the quarter-finals. Lorenzo Cain Brewers Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. San Antonio took the series lead Monday night with a 122-105 home victory in Game 1. The Spurs used a balanced scoring attack and clamped down defensively late in the third quarter to claim the win. LUBBOCK, Texas -- Marcus Smart hustled back on defence to prevent a dunk and went careening into the crowd behind the basket. He was helped to his feet with only seconds remaining and No. 19 Oklahoma State on its way to a fourth straight defeat. Thats when all the trouble started. Suddenly incensed, Smart got in the face of a Texas Tech fan who appeared to say something to the star guard. Smart shoved him with two hands. The man stumbled backward a bit, but didnt fall. Teammates quickly pulled Smart away from the fracas, and he pointed back in the direction of the fan. Smart was called for a technical foul but was not ejected. He remained on the bench until the final buzzer. As fans stormed the court to celebrate Texas Techs 65-61 win Saturday night, Smart was escorted off the floor by a man wearing Oklahoma State colours -- with a uniformed police officer trailing right behind. A unanimous selection to the preseason All-America team, Smart could now face discipline from the Big 12. Texas Tech spokesman Trenten Hilburn said John Underwood, the conferences associate commissioner for basketball, said the league would review the situation. "I didnt see it yet. I want to make sure I see it and see what happened," Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said after the game. "Im still trying to figure it out." No Cowboys players were made available to reporters after the game. Smart tried to block Jaye Crocketts dunk attempt from behind with 6.2 seconds to go and tumbled into the front row of the crowd. He was helped up by one man but then went after another, Jeff Orr, who travels thousands of miles each year to attend Texas Tech basketball games, according to athletic department spokesman Blayne Beal. Smart pushed Orr, and fans nearby looked stunned -- one wide-eyed woman next to Orr pointed at Smart as he was pulled away. Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith said he turned away from the play and didnt see the altercation. "You really have to find the film to see what happened," he said. "I assume the officials saw what happened. Thats why he got a technical out of it. The frustration when youre losing sometimes on a losing streak, Ive been there before, it can be tough. Im sure he regrets doing that, whatever he did, so things like that happen in the heat of the battle." Crockett scored 21 points and tied his season high with 12 rebounds to lead Texas Tech.dddddddddddd Smart had 22 points and Phil Forte added 15 for the Cowboys (16-7, 4-6 Big 12). Considered one of the best all-around players in the country, Smart has showed frustration more than once during an inconsistent season. The sophomore guard got off to a fantastic start, leading to speculation that he could be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft this year. He has struggled in some recent games, though, including a four-point effort against West Virginia when he kicked a chair on the bench. That led to him apologizing to his teammates afterward. This one was tied at 61 when Crockett hit the go-ahead shot with 41 seconds remaining. Oklahoma States LeBryan Nash lost the ball in the lane, and Crockett raced toward the basket at the other end. Smart knocked the ball away and was called for a foul, then pushed Orr and drew the technical. Dusty Hannahs and Crockett each made one of two free throws for the final margin. The Red Raiders (12-11, 4-6) earned their second win over a Top 25 team in the past month. They beat then-No. 12 Baylor in January. None of Texas Techs players had ever played in front of a sellout crowd at home before. The last two at United Spirit Arena came in January 2007, including New Years Day when former Red Raiders coach Bob Knight got his 880th win to become the winningest coach in Division I. This victory gave the Red Raiders as many Big 12 wins this season as they had the past two years combined. The score was tied 13 times and the lead changed 12 times as each team put together runs throughout the game. Oklahoma State went on a 17-7 spurt to open the second half, including two 3-pointers by Forte and six points from Smart, to go up 44-36. But the Red Raiders didnt buckle. They used a 9-2 run to pull to 46-45 with 11:14 remaining. Texas Tech went ahead 51-48 on a 3 by Crockett right before Kamari Murphy picked up his fourth foul with 7:47 left. The Cowboys answered, culminating with a 3-pointer from Smart to go up 57-54 with 4:31 remaining. Crockett quickly tied it at 57 with a 3. Oklahoma State struggled early, making one field goal in 11 tries. But the Cowboys used a 10-0 run to go up 14-10. The Red Raiders answered with a 9-2 run and later an 8-2 spurt in the final 1:29 of the half to lead 29-27. Oklahoma States point total for the half was a season low. ' ' '