RALEIGH, N.C. - Even as the lead quickly grew to four goals, Matt Martin and the New York Islanders never felt comfortable. It turned out they needed each of those goals — plus one more — to finally beat the Carolina Hurricanes. Colin McDonald had two goals and an assist, and Martin also scored twice for the New York Islanders, who held on for a 5-4 victory on Tuesday night. "You could just tell it was going to be a bit of a crazy game," Martin said. "Obviously, you never want to give up a 4-0 lead but we held on and found a way to win." McDonald scored both of his goals in New Yorks four-goal first period. Cal Clutterbuck and Martin also scored in the burst that produced four goals in a span of 7:15. A combined 20 players had a point in this matchup of the bottom two teams in the Metropolitan Division. "Were not going to make the playoffs this year, but guys are fighting for jobs for next year," McDonald said. Andrei Loktionov had a goal and an assist, Jeff Skinner and Alexander Semin each scored power-play goals, and Nathan Gerbe added a goal for Carolina, which fell to 5-10 since the Olympic break. Cam Ward stopped six shots but allowed three goals before he was replaced by Anton Khudobin 6:12 in. Khudobin made 21 saves. Anders Nilsson stopped 24 shots for the Islanders, who are 13-4-1 in their last 18 road games and have won three of four overall. Carolinas best chance to force overtime came when rookie Elias Lindholm drew a holding penalty on Kevin Czuczman with 4:48 left. But Nilsson caught Semins knuckling wrister with 2:55 to play. This game was a fitting metaphor for an inconsistent season for the seventh-place Hurricanes — who were both bad enough to fall into a 4-0 hole against the last-place Islanders, yet good enough to come back. "The effort and the preparation has got to be better," veteran defenceman Jay Harrison said. "Theres no excuse and theres no secret recipe. Thats the bottom line. Thats the only way." Skinner started the rally 9 seconds into a delay-of-game penalty on Johan Sundstrom, snapping the puck past Nilsson at 12:38 of the first. Loktionov made it a two-goal game by beating the goalie from a tough angle 2:28 later. When Semin struck from the wing on another power play 2:42 into the second to make it 4-3, that deep deficit was nearly gone. Even after Martin put the Islanders up 5-3 with 3:03 left in the second with his second goal — a slick one-timer from between the circles — Gerbe made it a one-goal game 22 seconds later when he scored from a tight angle. It was a stark reversal to the start, when the Islanders built a four-goal lead in less than 11 minutes. But maybe not a surprise for Carolina — which has been outscored 61-37 in first periods this season. "You cant come out and spot a team four goals in the first period and think youre going to come back and win the hockey game," Carolina coach Kirk Muller said. "Its a mystery why we come out so hesitant and afraid to play in the first period." McDonald stuffed the puck past Ward 3:39 in and then chased him when he made it 3-0 at 6:12. Khudobin took over, but by the time he lost track of the puck and Martin whacked it into an open net at 10:54, the Islanders appeared on their way to an easy win. "I think we knew they were going to come back and push back," Martin said. NOTES: D Thomas Hickey and C Ryan Strome had two assists apiece for New York. ... C Jordan Staal had two assists for Carolina, which had won each of the previous three meetings by one goal. ... Before the game, the Hurricanes reassigned D Ryan Murphy to their AHL affiliate in Charlotte. New England Patriots Gear . "Im not doing enough to help them," Durant told The Oklahoman on Monday of his 28-9 team. "Im shooting too much. Im shooting too many threes. Im not helping them out at all. Lawyer Milloy Jersey . Adding playoff teams. Monitoring instant replay from league headquarters. Possibly creating a set of guidelines to prevent locker-room bullying. https://www.patriotsjerseysale.com/911p-...y-patriots.html. -- At the beginning of training camp, Andrew Bogut set a goal to play all 82 regular-season games and regain his place among the NBAs best centres. Fake Patriots Jerseys . The attacking midfielder arrives on a free transfer from Spains Malaga. The 28-year-old joins Scottish striker Kenny Miller and Argentine midfielder Matias Laba as designated players on the Whitecaps roster. Marshall Newhouse Jersey . David Perron had a career high four-point night with two goals and two assists as the Oilers experienced an offensive explosion, blasting the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-0 to record a rare home win for their second victory in a row.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- If USA Hockey needed a reminder of how well Ryan Miller can play, the Buffalo Sabres goalie provided one. Playing three days before the U.S. Olympic hockey roster will be released, Miller made 49 saves to lead the Sabres to a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals in a six-round shootout on Sunday night. "Olympics or not, hes going to play like that no matter what," said Drew Stafford, who scored the Sabres regulation goal. "If Im picking the team, hes my guy, but Im a little biased on that end." Miller stood out as the Sabres were outshot 50-17. He stopped 12 shots from Alex Ovechkin before the shootout and then stopped him and five others in the tiebreaker. "That was worth the price of admission to watch goaltending like that," Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. "Very rarely do we get to see it live, and tonight he was sensational." Steve Ott scored the lone shootout goal as the Sabres improved to 5-0-1 in their last six home games after starting 3-12-1 there. Philipp Grubauer made 16 saves for Washington, and Troy Brouwer scored the Capitals only goal. Buffalo is 4-1-2 in its last seven games. "It feels good when they stay out and you get a win like that," Miller said. "Its nice." Washington controlled the majority of the play, registering 15 shots in the first three periods before adding five in overtime. "We made the right decisions with the puck, and the power play was working today, but we didnt score," Ovechkin said. "(Miller) was on top of his game and he carried them into the shootout and onto victory." Capitals coach Adam Oates had a hard time faulting his team after its dominant performance that didnt produce a win. "I cant really complain," Oates said. "Theres games that your goalie steals games for you, and I kind of look at that one as a game that their goalie did for them." Washington had the first 12 shots, and with 13:52 gone, Miller stopped Eric Fehr from point-blank range to keep the Capitals off the board. Buffalo finally put a shot on Grubauer with 4:23 left in the first. Matt DAgosttinis odd-angle snap shot was met with a loud cheer from the home crowd.dddddddddddd Grubauer said the lack of action didnt bother him. "Its OK," Grubauer said. "Youve got to face it shot by shot, and not look at different outcomes or how much time goes by. You just see it as a little break." Ott took a cross checking penalty 5:53 into the game, but Washingtons NHL-best power play couldnt take advantage. Miller made a shoulder save on a deflection by Mikhail Grabovski. The Capitals had a 15-3 shots edge in the first period. Grubauer stopped Grabovski and then foiled Matt Moulson with a left pad save in the crease off the ensuing faceoff. Capitals forward Tom Wilson laid a heavy hit on Ville Leino late in the second period, and Marcus Foligno challenged him to a fight. Foligno was given an instigator penalty and 10-minute misconduct, putting Washingtons power play back on the ice. Despite being outshot 30-10, Buffalo took a 1-0 lead when Stafford tapped in Christian Ehrhoffs rebound with 1:42 left in the second. "Christians shot was an easy little wrister, and those are the ones that find their way through," Stafford said. Grubauer made a glove save on DAgostini moments later to keep the Capitals deficit at one goal. Washington tied it off a giveaway by Ott 5:34 into the third period. Brouwers slap shot beat Miller over the right shoulder. "Ott tried to backhand the puck, and it just slipped off the backhand of his stick," Nolan said. "When he makes a mistake its not because hes not trying. It was a bad bounce for us." Miller returned to form over the next few minutes, including three successive saves from a prone position. "Hes the best goalie in the league, and I dont say that lightly by any means," Ott said. "The team didnt steal the game, Ryan Miller stole that game for us." NOTES: Brooks Laich sat out a second consecutive game and for the 13th time in 14 games because of a groin injury. ... The Sabres used the same lineup from Fridays shootout loss in Toronto. ... Washington outshot an opponent for the first time in six games. ' ' '