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. Matt Nokes Jersey . Carling Bassett-Seguso was a world No. 8 almost 30 years ago. Currently 13th, Bouchard is assured of equalling that when the next rankings are released Monday. Colorado Rockies Pro Shop . on the 15-day disabled Monday list because of a strained right hamstring. https://www.cheaprockiesjerseys.us/224t-...ey-rockies.html. Footballs governing body said Tuesday that of the 2,577,662 tickets allocated for this years tournament, 1,041,418 have gone to people in Brazil. The U. Mike Hampton Jersey . -- Falcons running back Steven Jackson, who has missed the last four games with a hamstring injury, is expected to practice on Wednesday. Michael Cuddyer Jersey .Y. -- That hangover from the Big East tournament is gone for Villanova.PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins hired Ray Shero as general manager eight years ago with the mandate to build a roster around two of the games brightest stars and turn ticker-tape parades through downtown into an annual rite of spring. Nearly a decade -- but just one Stanley Cup later -- Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin find themselves on a perennially underachieving team. And Shero finds himself out of a job. The Penguins fired Shero on Friday, three days after another early playoff exit, this one a seven-game loss to the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Coach Dan Bylsma remains in charge until Sheros replacement gets a chance to evaluate the entire organization top to bottom. "We share the disappointment of our fans that we have not had success in the playoffs over the past five seasons," co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle said in a joint statement. "We believe that new leadership in the general managers office will bring a new approach and new energy, and help us return to championship form." Assistant general manager Jason Botterill will serve as general manager on an interim basis. Penguins President and CEO David Morehouse called Botterill a candidate to take over and believes whomever the team brings in wont need to make major changes on a club that won 51 games in 2013-14. "Its not a complete rebuild," Morehouse said. "This is a team that has had a level of success. What were trying to do now is get from good to great." Its a destination the Penguins reached only briefly during Sheros tenure, spending most of the time in a murky middle ground that made them one of the leagues model franchises during the regular season but a symbol of disappointment once the calendar crept into May and beyond. Pittsburgh won the franchises third Cup in 2009 but has failed to produce a bookend. Pittsburgh is just 4-5 in playoff series over the last five years after blowing a 3-1 series lead against New York. Morehouse didnt blame the 51-year-old Sheros ouster on one specific misstep. "This is a decision thats been in the works for a long time since weve won the Cup," Morehouse said. "We wanted to get back to the Stanley Cup finals and we havent and were going to make some changes." The Penguins brought Shero in before the 2006-07 season and tasked him with finding the right kind of players to complement Crosby and Malkins otherworldly offensive talent. It culminated on a giddy night in Detroit in 2009, when the Penguins edged the Red Wings 2-1 in Game 7 to earn the franchises third Cup, a run that included the crucial trade deadline acquisitions of forwards Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin. It was supposed to mark the beginning of a dyynasty.dddddddddddd. Yet five seasons have come and gone with the Penguins in a familiar position: watching the final stages of the playoffs go on without them. It hasnt been for lack of trying. Shero remained aggressive in investing in a "win now" mode as the ensuing disappointments piled up. He enthusiastically said the Penguins were "all in" last year after trading for Jarome Iginla, Jussi Jokinen, Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray. The moves often created headlines but little else, and boatloads of regular-season victories and a sellout streak seven years and counting proved no longer good enough. Whether Bylsma will be along for the ride remains unclear. The affable, open-minded Michigan native was a revelation when the Penguins promoted him from their American Hockey League affiliate in the spring of 2009, hoping his optimism would help a loaded team break out of a midseason funk. It worked brilliantly. Four months after taking the job, the former NHL nomad who spent nine seasons as a gritty fourth-line forward was raising the Cup in ecstasy. Considering Crosby and Malkin were both in their early 20s at the time, champagne toasts were expected. A half-decade later, Bylsma is the winningest coach in franchise history with 252 wins but the wait for another Cup run continues. While Pittsburgh enjoyed nearly unparalleled success from October to April -- including easily capturing the Metropolitan Division this year despite losing more than 500-man games to injury -- the Penguins again struggled to adapt in the post-season. Morehouse said the new general manager will determine whether Bylsma and the rest of the staff gets another shot. The 43-year-old Bylsma has two years remaining on his contract, the product of an extension he received last June as a vote of confidence from Shero following a four-game sweep at the hands of Boston in the Eastern Conference finals. The deal came with a promise to adopt a more defensive-minded approach. The Penguins even brought in longtime NHL coach Jacques Martin as an assistant, an old-school yin to Bylsmas new-school yang. Crosby took the blame for the teams underperformance as the Penguins cleared out their locker on Thursday. A day later the general manager ordered to put the leagues leading scorer in a position to keep Pittsburgh at the top was cleaning out his office. Whoever ends up redecorating will have his tough choices to make. At the same time, he gets to start with Crosby and Malkin firmly entrenched. Both players are signed through the rest of the decade. There are worse places to start. "A lot of teams would like to be where we are," Morehouse said. "However we do have high expectations and we do want to get to them." ' ' '