ITPV » it easier with 10 turnovers, four by Oladipo

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. Ondrej Palat Jersey . The Blueshirts hope to stay alive once again when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins in Sundays Game 6 battle at Madison Square Garden. Tyler Johnson Jersey .com) - The Eastern Conferences best team takes on one of its worst Tuesday night when the Atlanta Hawks pay a visit to the Wells Fargo Center to take on the Philadelphia 76ers. http://www.lightninghockeystore.us/Martin-St-Louis-Jersey/ . The 40-year-old midfielder was put in charge on Tuesday when David Moyes reign ended after 10 months with the defending champions in seventh place in the English Premier League. Ryan Callahan Lightning Jersey . When the next inning rolled around Wednesday, though, Nationals manager Matt Williams sent Strasburg to the mound to face the top of the Dodgers order in what would become a 3-2 victory for Washington, the first time this season the No. Andrei Vasilevskiy Jersey .com) - Jenny Boucek is the new head coach of the Seattle Storm.ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Dallas Mavericks demonstrated the value of experience and consistency to the Orlando Magic. The veteran Mavericks made all the right plays at all the right times against a young, careless Magic team, beating Orlando 108-100 behind 19 points and eight assists from Monta Ellis, who had plenty of help. Dirk Nowitzki chipped in 18 points and a game-deciding 3-pointer to turn back the last Magic attempt at rallying from a 15-point first-half deficit. Reserve forward DeJuan Blair also scored 18 and made 4 of 6 free-throw attempts when the Magic intentionally fouled him late in the game to expose his 41.2 per cent free throw shooting. Vince Carter, another veteran reserve, added 12 points as the Mavericks reserves outscored Orlandos 43-25. Shawn Marion and Jose Calderon had 11 apiece and Calderon added nine assists. "We had a lot of guys play well," Dallas Coach Rick Carlisle said. "Weve got to do it collectively. Its not going to be the one superstar putting the team on his back. Its going to be all of us going together." Dallas had only 10 turnovers for the game, compared to 19 for Orlando. The Mavericks scored 22 points off Orlandos mistakes. "Were sharing the wealth out there and its starting to show," Marion said. "We had some lapses on defence, but going to have those. The more we cut down on turnovers and value each possession, good things are going to happen to us." Rookie point guard Victor Oladipo had a career-worst nine turnovers, four of them in the fourth quarter. His back-to-back turnovers, when the Magic had cut the deficit to 91-87 with six minutes left in the game, effectively blunted Orlandos attempt to overtake Dallas. "I just have to perform better in those circumstances," said Oladipo, the second pick in the June draft. "It was a close game and I have to learn to execute in those times. Most of it, really, is on me." Oladipo played the entire fourth quarter, despite starter Jameer Nelson being healthy and having a good game with 15 points, one assist and one turnover. Nelson didnt play in the final 17 minutes of the game. "If we didnt have those turnovers down the stretch, maybe the game could have been different," Magic Coach Jacque Vaughn said. "Those are the details well continue to work on. We need to learn to value the basketball whetheer its the first quarter or the fourth quarter.dddddddddddd" Arron Afflalo led the Magic with 25 points and Nikola Vucevic added 16 and eight rebounds. Oladipo had 10 points and six assists to go with his nine turnovers. Dallas shot 51.2 per cent in the game, but lost that and nearly every other statistical battle. The Magic shot 52.9 per cent for the game and outrebounded Dallas 40-30. "We played sensibly," Carlisle said. "None of us are going to get too far ahead of ourselves. Weve done some good things and its really important that we just stay focused." The game started as a jump-shooting contest with both sides hitting better than 50 per cent most of the first quarter and trading baskets with little interruption. There were six lead changes and six ties before the Mavericks went on an 11-0 run near the end of the period to take a 31-24 lead. Dallas finished the period 13 of 26, and didnt have a layup until back-to-back fast breaks in the final minute of the period. The Mavs shot even better in the second period -- 59.5 per cent -- but nearly all of those came around the rim as Orlandos sloppy passing and turnovers led to fast-break opportunities. Dallas stretched its lead to 15 on a jump-hook from Blair in the lane and settled for a 59-46 halftime lead. Orlando made it easier with 10 turnovers, four by Oladipo, that the Mavericks turned into 15 points. The Mavericks hit their first five shots in the second half, including a pair of 3-pointers from Nowitzki, but couldnt get any separation because they also turned the ball over three times. That allowed the Magic to pull within 81-74 on a dunk by Oladipo with 3:39 left in the period. The teams traded baskets the rest of the way and Dallas finished the quarter with an 87-80 lead. NOTES: Kyle OQuinn, the Magics backup C, sat out the game with a sprained ankle. F Solomon Jones was activated after missing seven games with a torn meniscus. He played eight minutes and scored two points. . Ellis is the Mavericks leading scorer this season at 22.2 a game. If he remains there, he would be the first Maverick other than Nowitzki to lead the team in scoring since Michael Finley in the 1999-2000 season. . Magic F Andrew Nicholson has gone 0 for 10 on 3-pointers over the last six games. Nicholson did hit two bombs against the Mavs, but both times referees ruled he had a toe on the line. ' ' '