The Lakers trailed most of the game, but cut the lead to 85-

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PITTSBURGH -- The New York Islanders know 10 stunning minutes of hockey cant take away the sting of last springs playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Mark Bavaro Giants Jersey . Still, its a start. Josh Baileys goal with 1:40 left capped a furious third-period rally, and the Islanders edged the Penguins 4-3 on Friday night. Bailey took a feed from Frans Nielsen in front of the net and beat goalie Jeff Zatkoff for his fourth goal of the season. The Islanders scored three times in the final 7:14 and erased deficits of 2-1 and 3-2 to win for just the second time in seven games. "Its always satisfying against a divisional rival and a great team like Pittsburgh, and maybe a little bit added because of the playoffs," Bailey said. "But its just one regular-season win. Well see if we can build some momentum." Nielsen, Matt Moulson and Pierre-Marc Bouchard also scored for New York, and defenceman Radek Martinek had two assists in his season debut. Evgeni Nabokov stopped 39 shots against the team that tormented him at times during a spirited first-round playoff series. Pittsburghs Sidney Crosby scored his eighth goal of the season and now has an NHL-high 18 points. Jussi Jokinen and Deryk Engelland also beat Nabokov but couldnt stop the Penguins from losing their second straight. Pittsburgh went 0 for 5 on the power play and is 0 for 12 with the man advantage the last two games. "We had some chances to build on our lead, and we didnt," Crosby said. "We made some mistakes and they made us pay." Zatkoff, playing in his second NHL game, made 21 saves. Pittsburgh dominated the games first 50 minutes, peppering Nabokov relentlessly. The veteran hung in long enough for New Yorks lifeless offence to get going. Nielsen evened it 2-2 with 7:14 remaining on a nifty deflection. The tie lasted all of 16 seconds as Engelland -- a defenceman being used as a fourth-line forward due to Penguins injuries -- crashed the net for his first goal in 61 games. New York, however, kept coming. Shortly after Engellands tally, Bouchard took advantage of a Pittsburgh turnover deep in its own end and deked his way by Zatkoff to make it 3-3. "I think that (Engellands goal) easily could have taken the wind out of our sails," Bailey said. "What a move by Bouchard on the breakaway staying patient. Sometimes in that situation, you want to fire it, and he just held onto it and made a great play." The Penguins defence gave Bailey two chances to bury the game-winner. Zatkoff made a sprawling save to stop Bailey on the doorstep, but the goalie couldnt grab the rebound. Nielsen immediately fed Bailey again and he kept jabbing at the puck until it found its way behind Zatkoff. That set off a celebration on the Islanders bench. "We know even when were not playing our best weve found a way to stay in games and give ourselves a chance. That was the case tonight," Bailey said. The meeting was the first between the teams since the playoffs. The heavily favoured Penguins survived in six games, winning the clincher on Brooks Orpiks overtime goal. Moulson gave the Islanders the early lead on Friday, getting his own rebound in front of Zatkoff and backhanding the puck into an open net 10:14 into the first period. The Penguins needed barely three minutes to tie it as Jokinen beat Nabokov for his fifth goal of the season and his 12th in 20 regular-season games with Pittsburgh. Crosby put the Penguins in front six minutes into the second period when he and Chris Kunitz broke loose for a 2-on-1 rush. Crosbys wrist shot from the right circle found a sliver of space between Nabokovs pad and his blocker before sneaking inside the far post. Pittsburghs constant buzzing took some of the pressure off Zatkoff, a rookie who struggled in his only other start, a sloppy 6-3 loss to Florida on Oct. 11. While Zatkoff was certainly steadier than in his NHL debut, he couldnt get a glove on Nielsens beautiful deflection that sparked New Yorks scintillating finish. Nielsen, who added two assists, has a team-high 14 points. "A lot of times (Nielsen) is where he needs to be," Capuano said. "Its no surprise hes accumulating points because of the way he plays." NOTES: Martinek signed a one-year deal with the Islanders on Wednesday. ... Pittsburgh D Kris Letang played 25:32 in his season debut. Letang missed nine games due to a lower-body injury. ... Islanders F John Tavares pushed his point streak to nine games when he assisted on Moulsons goal. ... New York D Thomas Hickey left the game briefly in the first period. He returned wearing a cage to protect his injured nose. ... The Penguins scratched F Dustin Jeffrey and D Robert Bortuzzo. ... New York D Brian Strait missed his first game of the season with an upper-body injury. ... Pittsburgh will play at Toronto on Saturday, and the Islanders host Philadelphia. Markus Kuhn Giants Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Cullen Jenkins Jersey . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. http://www.nflgiantsfanstore.com/Womens-Phil-Simms-Game-Jersey/ . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- This was more like the Kobe Bryant the Los Angeles Lakers are accustomed to seeing. Bryant, who is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon and still learning to trust his legs, was back to making big shots down the stretch and helping his team win Saturday night -- although in a somewhat tentative manner. "I dont know what I can and cant do," Bryant said. "Im just trying to measure it. I didnt know if I could drive to the basket. Every game has been like that." Bryant took a big step in the right direction, scoring a season-high 21 points to help the Lakers defeat the Charlotte Bobcats 88-85 for their first win since Bryant returned four games ago. Bryant was 8 of 15 from the field and hit two free throws with 37 seconds left in the game to put the Lakers ahead for good. Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill had 15 points apiece for the Lakers and Nick Young had 13 points off the bench. Kemba Walker had 24 points and eight assists for the slumping Bobcats, who have lost three straight and five of their last seven. "I knew it was coming eventually, its not a big deal," Bryant said of getting his first win of the season. "We know its a marathon not a sprint. We have to do the right things game in, game out. Some games youre going to lose." Bryant averaged 11 points in his first three games. He eclipsed that by halftime. Bryant showed his touch when he banked in a 15-footer over Gerald Henderson and his range when he stepped out to knock down a 3-pointer from 26 feet. But there were some struggles as well. Bryant committed seven turnovers and air-balled a 3-pointer. But he did enough to help the Lakers win. "I think he improved a little bit," Lakers coach Mike DAntoni said. "I think he got his legs under his shot a little bit and that looked better. He got tired. He got tired toward the end and it was his first back-to-back. Theres a lot of things that he has to work through. "We have to somehow find some wins and gut it out. Its not pretty right now. We dont have a playmaker and weve got to get guys healthy and get Kobe well." The Lakers trailed most of the game, but cut the lead to 85-84 when Bryant drove the lane and scoored a left-handed layup with 1:22 remaining. Will Beatty Jersey. Al Jefferson and Walker would both miss on the other end and Bryant went to work looking to take the lead. He drew a foul on a jump shot with 37 seconds left and hit both free throws with some of the crowd chanting "M-V-P" while others booed. Henderson missed a jumper for Charlotte, but Jefferson corralled the rebound and the Bobcats took a timeout to set up the last shot. Jefferson backed down Pau Gasol but couldnt convert a baby hook and the Gasol grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Gasol hit both free throws to push the lead to three with 6.2 seconds left. Ben Gordons 3-pointer fell short as time expired. "It was one of those games that came down to the last play at the end, but we have to try to do a better job of taking care of some of the minor mistakes we made earlier in the game so it doesnt come down to the last second," Gordon said. The Bobcats (10-14) came into the week looking to improve their spot in the playoff picture in the East, but dropped all three games. Coach Steve Clifford, who worked as an assistant last year with the Lakers, said having a player like Bryant to go to in the fourth quarter -- even if not completely healthy -- is just a huge advantage. "When it comes down fourth quarter in this league if you have a perimeter player who can draw help and a second defender, its a huge advantage," Clifford said. "Were going to have to be really good at getting the ball to Al in spots. Again, its not easy. The easier thing is to have Kobe. "You can just him the ball and he just makes plays. But thats all right, that is the way our team is made and we have to learn how to do that. But it is more difficult? Its infinitely more difficult, yes it is." The highlight of the game came in the third quarter when Josh McRoberts cut down the lane, took a pass from Walker and skied over Pau Gasol for a one-handed slam dunk that brought the crowd to its feet. NOTES: Welterweight boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. was courtside. ... Henderson has scored in double figures in 22 games this season, including 15 straight. ... The Lakers have won five straight against the Bobcats. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '