The New York Islanders accomplished two things that had eluded them during the early part of the season: they scored consistently on the power play and they held a third period lead. The result was a satisfying 3-1 road win over the slumping Ottawa Senators Thursday night which ended a three-game losing streak for the Islanders.

Perhaps even more encouraging for the Islanders was the play of rookie center Josh Bailey. Bailey, the Isles' top pick in this year's draft, registered his first NHL point in only his second NHL game when he assisted on Kyle Okposo's power play goal at the 12:42 mark of the first period. Okposo's tally tied the game at 1-1. Bailey controlled the rebound of a shot by Chris Campoli and made a decisive and strong centering pass to Okposo between the circles. Okposo drilled a one-timer past Ottawa goalie Alex Auld for the first of what the Islanders hope are many goals between their two most talented young players.

"I think Josh has done a great job in a very short amount of time," said Islander Coach Scott Gordon. "His puck poise, just the patience he has with the puck, is the biggest thing he has going for him."

Trent Hunter's tally with the man advantage put the Islanders ahead to stay with just 2:30 minutes left in the second period. Hunter put home a backhander from just outside the crease to score his seventh goal of the young season and his third in the past four games.

The Islanders have struggled to hold third period leads all season but Bill Guerin's power play goal just 2:31 into the game's final 20 minutes gave the Isles some breathing room. Doug Weight patiently held the puck near the goal line and centered to Guerin who tipped it home to make it 3-1 New York.

The Islanders did make it interesting late by giving the Senators four power play opportunities in the third period. Ottawa outshot the Isles 16-5 in the third period, but Islander goalie Joey MacDonald stood firm and maintained the two goal lead.

The Sens' biggest chance came when New York defenseman Thomas Pock was assessed a five-minute major for elbowing with 4:16 left in the game. Pock's elbow came up and hit Ottawa rookie Ryan Shannon in the head. He was also assessed a game misconduct. Shannon did not return to action and no update was given on his condition after the game.

Pock insisted the blow to the head was not intentional. "I didn’t mean to hit him like that," Pock explained. "It is what it is. I’ve got to give him a call later. I talked to him before the game, you know, I’ve known Ryan for a long time now. We played in college against each other. It’s always bad and I feel bad about it. It was a bad play, that’s all I can say about it. I hope he’s all right."

The loss was the Senators' third straight. "Five-on-five, we were struggling to create some chances and get quality," Senators center Mike Fisher said. "For whatever reason, it’s not happening. It’s disappointing, for sure, but we’ve got to just keep plugging away and sticking to the plan."

Meanwhile, the Islanders are beginning to gain some confidence that the team is finally getting comfortable in Gordon's aggressive forechecking system.

"For us, it's pretty simple. If you skate, you're going to put teams on their heels," said Gordon. "Early in the year, we were coming out of the gates slow and were very slow to establish momentum. The element of work ethic is starting to come naturally. Give credit to the players, they're doing a great job."

These same two teams meet again Saturday night at the Nassau Coliseum.

Notes

Mike Comrie was out of the Islander lineup for the second straight game with a hip injury. He remains listed as day-to-day.

Defenseman Radek Martinek is very close to returning to the lineup. He may return to action Saturday night according to sources close the team.

Saturday night's game will be a special night at the Nassau Coliseum. As part of the Islanders’ Hockey With a Heart campaign, a portion of the proceeds from the game will be donated to Autism Speaks, the nation's largest autism advocacy organization.