were rolling. Or at least, looked like they were rolling. In the fin

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders were seeking a positive finish to a frustrating season on home ice. Ottawas Jason Spezza and Craig Anderson did their best to block that effort. Spezza scored twice and Anderson made 45 saves as the Senators topped the Islanders 4-1 on Tuesday night. The Senators (34-31-14) will still miss the post-season for the first time since 2011 and just the third time since 1996. They were making their first appearance this season at Nassau Coliseum, and the Islanders won the previous two meetings in Ottawa. "It feels good to put together a team effort and come away with the win," Anderson said. "We played well." Matt Kassian scored an empty-net goal at 19:48, his first this season. Spezza, the Senators captain, had the chance for a hat trick, but instead passed to Kassian. Frans Nielsen scored the lone goal for the Islanders with his career-best 25th in the teams home finale. Anders Nilsson made 28 saves for the Islanders (31-37-11), who wont reach the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years. They finished 13-19-9 at home. "The effort has been there and will continue to be there," Islanders defenceman Travis Hamonic said. "Were going to keep pushing and playing hard until the end." Spezza opened the scoring on a tip-in at 12:45 of the second. Nielsen then tied it 22 seconds into the third. Rookie defenceman Kevin Czuczman and Josh Bailey had assists, giving Bailey points in six straight games. Spezzas go-ahead goal at 12:45 of the third came when his shot edged under crossbar behind Nilsson. Ales Hemsky, who assisted on both of Spezzas goals, added his 13th at 14:26 of the third to make it 3-1. The Islanders qualified for the post-season last year for the first time since 2007 and lost to the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in a tough six-game opening-round series. But they never found firm footing this season after trading captain John Tavares longtime linemate Matt Moulson to Buffalo for Thomas Vanek on Oct. 27. They subsequently traded Vanek to Montreal at the March 5 deadline. The Islanders also had to contend with a litany of injuries to key players, particularly veteran defenceman Lubomir Visnovsky, who missed most of the season with a concussion and starting goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. Then, Tavares suffered a season-ending knee injury during the Winter Olympics in February. The Islanders have dressed at least nine rookies in their last nine games in which theyve gone 5-2-2. They are 7-4-2 in their last 13 contests. There are 11 rookies on the current roster: Defencemen Calvin de Haan, Scott Mayfield, Matt Donovan and Czuczman in addition to forwards Brock Nelson, Brett Gallant, Mike Halmo, Anders Lee, John Persson and Ryan Strome plus Nilsson. All but an injured de Haan played against the Senators. "Im proud of the young guys, they are playing hard," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "When we get our team back next year and play the way we can play, I think we can make a push and get back to the dance." Gallant, 25, made his NHL debut. He had 245 penalty minutes in 56 games for Bridgeport of the AHL. The feisty forward levelled Kassian with a single punch midway through the first period. "He caught me with one," said Kassian, sporting a postgame bruise under his right eye. "Sometimes that happens in a fight, you get punched right in the face." The Islanders conclude their season with road games at Montreal, New Jersey and Buffalo. Ottawa hosts New Jersey and Toronto before finishing at Pittsburgh. NOTES: Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck left during the first period with an upper-body injury and didnt return. ... Ottawa was without defencemen Colin Greening and Jared Cowen with lower-body injuries, plus forward Bobby Ryan (sports hernia). ... Defenceman Thomas Hickey is the only Islander to play all 79 games this season. ... The Islanders are 25-10-4 when they score at least three goals and 6-27-7 when they do not. Cheap Fake NBA Jerseys . Here are some of the best from Week One and some to watch in Week Two: TOP PERFORMERS Anthony Allen, RB, Saskatchewan (176 YDS, 2 TD, 30 touches vs. Hamilton) - Powerfully-built back burst onto the scene in his CFL debut, after a couple of years in the NFL, playing 21 games with the Baltimore Ravens. Discount Fake NBA Jerseys . Despite Barcelona showing the same vulnerability in defence, Messis best performance since returning from a lengthy injury layoff ensured that his side bounced back from a defeat by Valencia in the previous round. http://www.fakenbajerseys.com/ . A lawmaker is hoping the buzz from California Chromes run for the Triple Crown might build support for a bill that would place the U. Fake NBA Jerseys Online .com) - Former foes from the Mountain West Conference battle in the 23rd annual Las Vegas Bowl, as the 23rd-ranked Utah Utes clash with the Colorado State Rams at Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday. Fake NBA Jerseys China .28 mph. Logano will start on the front row next to Penske Ford teammate Brad Keselowski, who came in second Friday at 193.099. The Penske drivers swept the top two spots for the second straight race, reversing their qualifying finish in Phoenix a week ago. MIAMI -- Down by 15 early, the Miami Heat could have hit the panic button. Instead, they found a way to move within two wins of another trip to the NBA Finals. LeBron James scored 26 points, Dwyane Wade added 23 and the Heat shook off a horrid start to beat the Indiana Pacers 99-87 on Saturday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, taking a 2-1 lead and breaking a back-and-forth trend in the rivalry. The teams had alternated wins and losses in 13 straight meetings -- until now. Miami once trailed 37-22, before outscoring Indiana 77-50 the rest of the way. "A lot of our situations that weve been through where weve struggled have been against this team," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Thats what they do to you. Theyre very good. Its a function of their defence. "But we had no choice but try to re-gather." That they did. And then some. Ray Allen added 16 points and led a late-game charge for the Heat, who will host Game 4 on Monday night. And it was the second time this season the Heat rallied from 15 points down to beat the Pacers in Miami -- it also happened on Dec. 18. "Tough loss for our guys," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Thought we competed pretty well, came out of the gates really strong, got off to a good start and then didnt manage our foul trouble well and didnt manage picking up their defensive intensity well." Its the third straight series where the Pacers have faced a deficit. "A ton," Vogel said when asked how much resiliency the Pacers have left. "Its very early in the series." Paul George scored 17 points for Indiana, shooting 5 for 13 in his return after being concussed late in Game 2. Roy Hibbert had 16 points, David West added 13 and Lance Stephenson scored 10 for the Pacers, who never trailed until early in the third quarter. Miami started the game 2 for 10 from the floor. The Heat then made 21 of their next 31 shots, including eight straight in the third that gave the two-time defending NBA champions their first lead. James dunk with 7:36 remaining in the third put Miami up for the first time, 52-51. That was the first of nine lead changes in the quarter, before the Heat did what Spoelstra implored his team to do in a pregame locker room address. "Impose our identity," Spoelstra said. Eventually, the message reached the Heat, and their two best players led the way. "We just want to get better as the series goes on," James said. "WWe want to move their defence from side to side.dddddddddddd When we do that, we give ourselves an opportunity to get to the lane. And when our shooters get going it definitely adds more space as you saw in the fourth quarter." James 3-pointer with 1:21 left in the third put Miami up 67-63, then its biggest lead of the night. Wade subbed in for James with 5.7 seconds left because the four-time MVP was dealing with what appeared to be a hamstring cramp and connected on a 3-pointer with 1.4 ticks remaining for a 74-67 lead going into the fourth. James retreated toward the locker room at that point, stopping halfway down the hallway known as "Championship Alley" while trainer Mike Mancias stretched him out. Meanwhile, Wade -- not exactly known for behind-the-arc prowess -- opened the fourth quarter with another 3, the Heat were up 10 and the floodgates were opening. Indiana got to 76-74 before Allen made a 3-pointer, and with that, the tone was set for the final minutes. Allen made three 3s in the final 5:59, the last of those putting Miami up by 15. "I think we need to stick to what we do," West said. "We got away from ourselves. We tried to make some stuff on the fly, which is not us." The halftime score looked ugly: Pacers 42, Heat 38. That didnt even come close to describing how much Miami struggled at times. Heres one example: After 11 minutes, it was Hibbert 10, Heat 10. Indiana led 19-5 early and 37-22 midway through the second. Luis Scola scored eight points off the bench in less than three minutes, and the Pacers were rolling. Or at least, looked like they were rolling. In the final 6:22 of the half, they had more turnovers (six) than points (five). And Miami took advantage, especially after George went to the bench with his third foul. Wade and James combined for 14 of Miamis final 18 points in the second, and a pair of short shots by Wade in the final minute helped pull the Heat within four at the break. NOTES: Commissioner Adam Silver was in attendance, posing with plenty of fans for photos. ... Stephenson had nine rebounds by halftime. The Heat, in total, had 11. ... Heat F Shane Battier, announced earlier in the day as the winner of the leagues Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award, got his trophy in a pregame ceremony from 2013 recipient Chauncey Billups. ... Greg Oden was active for Miami for the first time since Game 4 of the opening round, with Michael Beasley on the inactive list. 23:54ET 24-05-14 ' ' '