The Phoenix Coyotes survived a long list of early mistakes to rally and force overtime. The New York Islanders overcame a horrible third period and pulled out a win.
The Islanders blew a three-goal lead in the third period but rescued two points when Matt Moulson scored during the sixth round of the shootout to give them a wild 5-4 win over Phoenix on Saturday night.
The Coyotes fell into a 4-1 hole after two periods before Paul Bissonnette, Taylor Pyatt and Peter Mueller scored in a 3:44 span to tie the game. Mueller's goal, his second of the season and first since Nov. 5, forced overtime and eventually a shootout.
Each team scored twice in the first five rounds of the shootout before Islanders goalie Dwayne Roloson stopped Phoenix captain Shane Doan. Moulson then beat Coyotes backup Jason LaBarbera to give the Islanders their second win in their last nine visits to Arizona.
``These were two crucial points for us,'' said Bailey, who has four goals and nine points during a six-game point streak. ``If you don't get them, they'll nip you in the butt at the end of the year.
``I don't feel like I'm doing anything different (during the streak). More of the bounces have been going my way lately.''
The Coyotes had the first four shots and a 1-0 lead on Ed Jovanovski's goal, before Blake Comeau and Kyle Okposo scored in the final 2:38 of the first period to give New York a 2-1 lead.
An instant before Okposo's goal, Jovanovski dropped New York rookie John Tavares with an elbow and was given a major penalty and was ejected.
With 4:44 of penalty time still remaining to open the second period, Phoenix coach Dave Tippett opted not to put a player in the penalty box to serve Jovanovski's penalty. That move backfired when play continued for the next 7:35 without a whistle. Play didn't stop until Phoenix's Martin Hanzal took a slashing penalty.
With the exhausted penalty killers still on the ice, Adrian Aucoin took another Coyotes penalty. The Islanders took advantage with power-play goals 35 seconds apart by Mark Streit and Bailey, grabbing a 4-1 lead and chasing goalie Ilya Bryzgalov.
``We made some mistakes, myself included for not putting a guy in the box,'' Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. ``I've never seen them go eight minutes without a whistle, but that's funny how that goes sometimes, you know?''
Roloson, 6-0-1 against the Coyotes, kept the clock and the power play alive twice by stopping pucks to prevent Phoenix icing attempts.
``I saw no one was in the box when the period started and I kept my eye on it as the penalty wound down,'' Roloson said. ``I heard the crowd cheer so I knew the (penalty) was up, but I knew the longer I could keep it going, the more chances we had. It was a chance that they took.''
Bryzgalov, the NHL's second star in December, stopped only 11 of 15 shots and has allowed 15 goals in four games since being chosen to the Russian Olympic team.
Down three goals, the Coyotes owned the third period. Bissonnette stuffed home his own rebound just before Islanders defenseman Bruno Gervais was given a 4-minute penalty for cutting Robert Lang with a high stick.
Pyatt punched in a pass from Lang during the first half of the penalty before Mueller, who had 22 goals as a rookie in 2007-08, scored his second in 36 games this season to tie it.
``Coming back from three goals makes you feel better, but we've allowed four goals the last (four) games in a row and we know as a group we can't do that,'' said Doan, who tried to rally his club with a fiery speech during the second intermission.
NOTES: The Coyotes had been 6-1-1 in their last eight home games against the Islanders, dating to the 1997-98 season. ... After allowing the first four shots, the Islanders outshot the Coyotes 23-4 over the next 35 minutes ... Bailey, who scored in his NHL debut in Phoenix last Jan. 2, has scored in his three career games against the Coyotes Phoenix hasn't rallied from three goals down to win a game since Jan. 5, 2000. ... The Islanders, who lost in Dallas on Friday, are 3-7 in the second of back-to-back games this season.
