Bailey, Isles edge Ducks in OT

[October 17, 2016]  NEW YORK -- Strong starts each of the last two seasons helped catapult the New York Islanders to the franchise's first back-to-back playoff appearances in more than a decade. So nobody needed to remind the Islanders how important it was to ensure a season-opening two-game losing streak didn't turn into a three-game skid Sunday night.

The Islanders squandered a two-goal third-period lead Sunday night but earned their first win of the season when Josh Bailey scored 54 seconds into overtime to lift host New York to a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks in the home opener at Barclays Center.

With the win, the Islanders (1-2-0) avoided going winless in their first three games since the 2006-07 season, when they recovered to reach the playoffs. But New York would much rather travel a postseason path like it did last season, when it opened 6-2-2, or in 2014-15, when it went 6-4-0 in October.

"You can't win a season in the first 10 (games), but you can lose it," Islanders right winger Cal Clutterbuck said. "It's big for us to get in the win column. Thought it was a good game for us overall."

The Islanders dominated the first 20 minutes, when Brock Nelson scored 7:59 into the contest to highlight a period in which New York recorded the game's first 12 shots and outshot the Ducks 16-3 overall.

The Ducks outshot the Islanders 23-12 over the next two periods, but New York was credited with 15 blocked shots in the second before doubling its lead 7:59 into the third. Clutterbuck's stick broke on a shot but he recovered to kick the puck to Tavares, who swooped in and put his own rebound past goalie John Gibson.

The Ducks scored 32 seconds later, when Cam Fowler's shot ticked off Thomas Hickey and caromed off Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak. Anaheim did not muster another serious threat until pulling Gibson with fewer than two minutes remaining.

The extra attacker paid off with exactly 60 seconds to go, when Ryan Getzlaf's shot from one knee sailed past Halak.

"They did a good job of blocking shots tonight," Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle said. "A lot of things were going their way, but we found a few cracks in the armor to slide two by."

It didn't take long for the Islanders to find a crack in overtime. After a Clutterbuck shot bounced off the post, Nick Leddy corralled the rebound and dished to Bailey, who was perched at the blue line. Bailey swerved around the trio of Ducks defenders on the ice before breaking free, swooping in and firing a shot past the sprawling Gibson into the middle of the net.

"It's the way the game is sometimes -- that's what makes it fun," Bailey said of the late swings in momentum. "This is a tough league to get wins in and they've got some good players over there and they found a way to tie it. They were pressing, just like we would have been if we were down."

Islanders celebrate the game winning goal by right wing Josh Bailey (12) in overtime against the Anaheim Ducks at Barclays Center. New York Islanders won 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Halak made 24 saves for the Islanders, who have allowed just nine goals in their first three games, including four in the last two.

"You just want to win hockey games," Islanders head coach Jack Capuano said. "When you do the right things, you want to get rewarded. They haven't gotten rewarded in those (previous) six periods of hockey."

The Ducks (0-2-1) are winless through three games for the second straight season, though they avoided their first 0-3-0 start since 2010-11.

"We didn't have a very good first period tonight and we played really well in the second and the third, I thought," Getzlaf said. "So it's good to be able to get that point. Something to build on."

Gibson recorded 27 saves for the Ducks.

NOTES: A moment of silence was held in honor of former New York Jets defensive lineman Dennis Byrd, who was killed in a car crash Saturday in Oklahoma. ... With the win, the Islanders improved to 26-16-2 all-time in home openers. This is the franchise's second season at Barclays Center. ... Islanders C Casey Cizikas appeared to hurt his leg blocking a shot in the second period and played just 38 seconds in the third period. Head coach Jack Capuano said he didn't know the severity of Cizikas' injury. ... The Islanders scratched C Mathew Barzal and G Jean-Francois Berube. In addition, the club also placed LW Shane Prince (lower body) on injured reserve. ... The Ducks scratched D Simon Despres (concussion symptoms), LW Emerson Etem and D Korbinian Holzer. ... The Ducks' five-game road trip is their longest to begin a season since 1996-97, when they also opened with a five-game trek.

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