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UNIONDALE, N.Y. - For just the third time in franchise history, the New York Islanders are perfect through their first four games.John Tavares scored the decisive goal of the shootout and the Islanders beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 on Thursday night.San Joses Logan Couture and New Yorks Kyle Okposo traded goals earlier in the shootout before Tavares beat Alex Stalock in the fifth round. San Joses Joe Thornton missed on his turn and the Islanders improved to 4-0-0 before a raucous crowd at Nassau Coliseum.The Islanders were perfect through four games previously to start in 1976-77 and 2001-02.These are fun games to play because theres such great energy in the building, said Tavares, who added two assists and leads the NHL with nine points. We brought a good work ethic and a determination to win battles.San Joses Tomas Hertl tied the tense game at 11:16 of the third after goals by Okposo and Josh Bailey earlier in the period put the Islanders ahead 3-2.Stalock made a spectacular glove stop on Tavares in the last minute of overtime and finished with 42 saves.The pace of the game was great, it was a real test of our players, Sharks coach Todd McClellan said. But I thought they had more tenacity.The Islanders dominated the first two periods, outshooting the Sharks 28-11 but they trailed 2-1 entering the third.Okposo scored a power-play goal at 5:57 on a slick pass into the slot from Frans Nielsen. Josh Bailey put the home team ahead at 8:38 with his second of the season.The goal inspired one of many loud choruses of Lets Go Islanders! from the Nassau Coliseum crowd. The Islanders will leave the classic arena after this season for the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.The fans are tremendous, they are passionate, Tavares added. They want us to be a playoff team and thats what we want too. We want to be a tough team at home.Okposos goal was the Islanders sixth on the power-play in 14 chances this season.Thats one of the premier teams in the West and I think we outplayed them, Okposo said. Thats the kind of game were capable of. And we still have room to grow.Brent Burns and Patrick Marleau scored second-period goals for the Sharks, who had opened with three wins.Burns opened the scoring for the Sharks at 1:39 of the second with assists to Joe Pavelski and Mirco Mueller.It was the first NHL point for the 19-year-old Mueller, a first-round draft pick by the Sharks in 2013. The goal was first of the season for Burns, who shrugged when asked if the wide shots differential between the teams was a true barometer of the game.Sometimes stats are weird, he said.Nick Leddy tied it for the Islanders at 4:05 of the second, pouncing on a loose puck in the high slot and sending it past Stalock for his second goal.Patrick Marleau put the Sharks back on top with a power-play goal at 9:14, scoring from the left point 7 seconds after Ryan Strome went off for cross-checking.Marleaus team-best third goal this season was the 440th of his career. The 35-year-old forward is playing his 18th season with the Sharks.The Islanders opened the season with two wins over the Carolina Hurricanes and a comeback 6-3 victory over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. They next will visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.Our puck management was good and we had good decision making, Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. We did a lot of little things well.San Joses John Scott hammered Mikhail Grabovski midway through the first period with an apparently clean hit. Grabovski didnt return to the game. The Islanders said the forward sustained an upper body injury.Earlier Thursday, the Islanders sent rookie defenceman Griffin Reinhart to AHL Bridgeport and activated Calvin de Haan from injured reserve.NOTES: The Islanders wore the blue alternate jerseys they debuted for last Januarys outdoor game against the Rangers at Yankee Stadium ... The Islanders scratched Colin McDonald and Eric Boulton plus defenceman Matt Donovan. ... San Jose scratched Mike Brown and Mike Sheppard and defenceman Scott Hannan. Bill Buckner Jersey . Although Olivetti, a qualifier, had 13 aces, he failed to force a single break-point chance on Gasquets serve and lost his own three times. Gasquet next plays third-seeded Jerzy Janowicz of Poland, who won had 18 aces in a 6-2, 6-4 win against seventh-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France. Keith Moreland Cubs Jersey . Duhamel, from Lively, Ont., and Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., were third with 210.84 points. Teammates Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto were fourth. Duhamel and Radford, who were seventh at the Sochi Olympics, also won bronze at last years world championships in London, Ont. https://www.cheapcubs.com/1280t-bill-buckner-jersey-cubs.html . But last years runner-up Jarkko Nieminen crashed out despite winning the first set against Denis Istomin. Istomin fired 10 aces and won 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2 to even his career record against Nieminen at 3-3. Kyle Hendricks Cubs Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Steve Mason, Philadelphia (4) - Mason was brilliant all night long with save after big save on Benoit Pouliot, Carl Hagelin and Derick Brassard. Steve Cishek Jersey . For the Blue Jays the time was Wednesday and the ace was R.A. Dickey. He stepped up. "I feel some responsibility as a stopper from time to time," said Dickey.GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Nathan Horton just kept on smiling. He grinned during warmups, beamed after his first shift and screamed with joy following his first goal. Horton sure is happy to be playing hockey again. And the Columbus Blue Jackets are thrilled their big investment made an immediate impact. Horton scored in his Columbus debut, Curtis McElhinney made 34 saves for his second shutout of the season, and the Blue Jackets beat the sluggish Phoenix Coyotes 2-0 on Thursday night. R.J. Umberger also scored for the Blue Jackets, who snapped a two-game losing streak amid a burst of energy provided by Horton, Columbus $37 million off-season free-agent acquisition. "I had so much fun out there," said Horton, unable to contain his smirk even after the game in dressing room. "Its so exciting to be back." Horton, the ex-Boston Bruins winger who missed the first 40 games following shoulder surgery, poked in a rebound late in the second period for his 199th career goal. Umberger added a second power-play goal midway through the final period and the Blue Jackets shored up their struggling penalty kill in a performance they hope helps them climb back into the Eastern Conference playoff race. "You can tell were a good team when we play hard," Horton said. "I really enjoyed being out there with the guys." Mike Smith stopped 29 shots for the Coyotes, who lost defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson to injury early in the first period and they were shut out for the first time this season. It also ended a streak of six straight overtime games for the Coyotes. "We didnt compete hard enough," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. Horton, who helped Boston win the Stanley Cup in 2011 and then had 19 points in 22 playoff games for the Bruins last season, signed a seven-year, $37.1 million free-agent deal with the Blue Jackets last summer. In his first game since last seasons Stanley Cup final, Horton was matched with Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov. They had two solid opening shifts before Hortons first shot was kicked away by Smith midway through the first period. Late in the second period after Smith took a penalty for playing the puck outside the trapezoid, James Wisniewski took a shot that Smith poked away. But the 6-foot-2, 229-pound Horton was in front of thhe net and tapped in the rebound at 15:51.dddddddddddd "Sometimes I felt good, sometimes I felt bad," Horton said. "Its been a long time since Ive played." How much did the Blue Jackets need Horton? His goal snapped an 0-for-18 power-play drought. His presence even seemed to inspire the defence, which had allowed six power-play goals in the previous two games. Columbus killed all five Phoenix power plays. "We had a big talk about it (Tuesday)," Umberger said of the penalty kill. The Blue Jackets also activated goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (groin), who had been out 12 games, and defenceman Dalton Prout (upper body), who had missed six games. Bobrovsky served as the backup to McElhinney. He made several difficult saves, including on Keith Yandles point-blank shot early in the third period. "I think he was disappointed after last game," Columbus coach Todd Richards said of McElhinney, who allowed five goals in Colorado Tuesday. "You could tell after the game he wasnt happy. Even (Wednesday) he wasnt happy. And its a great response." Ekman-Larsson suffered an upper-body injury early in the first period on a hit into the boards by Derek MacKenzie. No boarding was called on the play and Tippett said they kept him out as a precaution, leaving Phoenix with only five defencemen. A day after being passed over by the U.S. Olympic team, Yandle soon went after MacKenzie. The two served fighting majors in a sloppy first period that saw only six shots apiece. But the Blue Jackets dominated the second period and Phoenix had little energy as it failed to earn a point for only the third time in 12 games. "We didnt manage the puck very well tonight," Smith said. "You lose Ekman-Larsson early in the game like that and you turn pucks over, it puts a lot of stress on five (defencemen). It wears on them." NOTES: Blue Jackets D Jack Skille (abdominal injury) returned to Columbus after being injured Tuesday vs. Colorado. ... The Blue Jackets sent F Jonathan Marchessault, D Tim Erixon and G Mike McKenna to Springfield (AHL). ... The NHL record for consecutive OT games is seven, set by Edmonton (2003) and Toronto (2008). ... Former Columbus first-round pick Rusty Klesla (illness) returned for Phoenix after missing three games. ' ' '