UNIONDALE, N. Devin Booker Jersey .Y. -- Even before John Tavares became the new captain of the New York Islanders, he developed a knack for netting game-winning goals. Nothing has changed in that regard since he got the C on his sweater. Tavares put the Islanders in front late in the second period, and New York overcame a quick two-goal spurt by Edmontons Taylor Hall for a 3-2 victory over the Oilers on Thursday night. New York (3-2-2) has played six one-goal games this season and this time maintained their slim advantage throughout a scoreless third period against the skidding Oilers (1-6-1). The 23-year-old Tavares, who became captain last month, has points in six straight games. "We were really focused tonight and we kept their skilled players at bay," said Tavares, who led the Islanders with 28 goals last season. "I like the way we kept it together in the third. It was a good way for us to finish it off." Tavares beat goalie Devan Dubnyk with a snap shot in front with 1:07 left in the second off a pass from Kyle Okposo. It was his fourth goal of the season. Okposo had scored his second during a power play at 4:54 of the middle period to make it 2-2. Josh Bailey put New York ahead 1-0 in the first before Hall struck. Hall gave the Oilers a 2-1 lead when he scored a pair of goals just 8 seconds apart in the first. That broke the club mark of 9 seconds, set by Wayne Gretzky on Feb. 18, 1981. That was little solace for Hall and the struggling Oilers, whose only win was a 5-4 shootout home victory over New Jersey on Oct. 7. "Its an empty feeling because a loss is a loss," said the 21-year-old Hall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NHL draft, one year after Tavares had the same honour. "Its great to know I have the record but tonight wasnt our best effort. The wheels have really fallen off for us as these losses have piled up." Hall, who has three goals on the season, displayed plenty of frustration. "We had the lead and chance to grab the reins and we didnt do it," he said. "We should have done better. Its tough." Edmonton has had its struggles on Long Island, too. This was the Oilers seventh straight road loss to the Islanders and their ninth in 12 overall meetings with New York. They havent beaten the Islanders on the road since Dec. 14, 1999. The Islanders, 2-0-2 at home, surrendered late tying goals to Columbus and Buffalo before losing in shootouts at Nassau Coliseum. Against the Oilers, they played a strong third, outshooting Edmonton 15-8 and giving the Oilers few quality chances against Evgeni Nabokov, who made 27 saves. Okposos power-play goal, which came while Luke Gazdic served a tripping penalty, pulled the Islanders even. After Bailey opened the scoring at 9:59 of the first, Hall tied it with at 15:52 with a wrist shot from the left circle. He then knocked a rebound past Nabokov at 16:00. Except for the lapse during Halls scoring spurt, the Islanders dominated a briskly played first period, outshooting the Oilers 16-7. New York outshot Edmonton 40-29 overall. New Oilers coach Dallas Eakins was showing signs of exasperation, usually reserved for midseason slumps when teams tumble from playoff contention. After only eight games behind the bench, he was shaking his head. "I knew this renovation was going to be messy, but I didnt think it would be this messy," he said of the Oilers, who havent reached the playoffs since 2006. The 38-year-old Nabokov made several sharp saves for the Islanders, particularly on a one-timer by Nail Yakupov midway through the second. He recorded his 338th career win, 18th on the NHL list. "Your goalie has to be your best player sometimes, and Nabby certainly was, especially for the three penalties we had to kill," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "He was our best guy tonight." The Oilers, who have allowed a league-high 35 goals, were coming off a 3-2 loss at Pittsburgh on Tuesday after a 4-2 defeat at Washington the previous night. NOTES: The teams will meet March 6 in Edmonton. ... The Oilers are 0-3-1 on a six-game trip that continues in Ottawa on Saturday and concludes in Montreal on Oct. 22. ... The Oilers were missing centre Sam Gagner (broken jaw) and defenceman Corey Potter (back). ... Islanders fans booed Edmontons Ryan Smyth every time he touched the puck. Smyth left the Islanders after playing only 18 games after a heralded trade late in the 2006-07 season. Suns Jerseys From China . Trailing 4-1 in the final set, Sharapova steadied her erratic service game and took command again to beat the 56th-ranked American 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on clay at the Magic Box tennis centre. The ninth-ranked Russian looked to be cruising before McHale broke late in the second set to tie the match and then took her commanding lead in the final set after breaking Sharapova. Dragan Bender Jersey . Thats how the Ravens won when Ryan was their defensive co-ordinator from 2005-08, and that is precisely the formula Baltimore used to beat Ryans New York Jets on Sunday. http://www.cheapsunsjerseyschina.com/steve-nash-jersey/ . "Yes, Id like to get them in," Detroits rookie manager said. "Mother Natures going to have a say in that." Sure enough, the Tigers had their game against the Kansas City Royals postponed because of rain on Thursday.World Cup South Africa 2010 was a special time. Football coming to a soccer-mad continent, but to a country where the game wasnt most popular had a peculiar charm. The cultural experience was a rich one for both locals and visitors alike. Its too bad the football didnt live up to the occasion and celebration around it. The soccer was poor four years ago: stale, cagey and safe. Teams played not to lose and the result was often times a difficult product to watch. Fast forward to the first two days of Brazil 2014, and the games couldnt be more different. Four games in, and the tournament is four for four in appealing, captivating football. Attacking, purposeful and entertaining: the matches through two days have had it all. 15 goals so far is an impressive tally, representing a breath-taking start. Problem is the question lingers whether our initial taste of the 2014 World Cup will be characterized by top football or the sour taste of dubious referee decisions? To many poor officiating has overshadowed the standout play seen through two days. Its a shame on the worlds biggest stage the officiating of the sport remains subpar. Significant dollars, national pride, and worldwide perspective and opinion of soccer are shaped and are on the line. Instead of conversations about Robin van Persies scoring prowess and Neymars mesmorizing skill, the discussion revolves around bad calls and disallowed goals. Croatia was slighted in the opener after an incompetent referee decision awarded the hosts a penalty. The penalty given by Yuichi Nishumura should never have been. Brazilian striker Fred clearly flopped, and Nishumura hesistated before pointing to the spot and conspicuously showing Dejan Lovren a yellow. The crowd and the moment got the best of the official. Nishumura looked tentative throughout the match, ill-suited for the occasion. Neymar made it 2-1. Good night, Croatia. Harsh. Mexico had two goals disallowed in their 1-0 win over Cameroon thanks to an over-anxious linesman. Two offside calls that never were cost Giovani Dos Santos the headlines. More importantly for Mexico, those are two valuable goals gone by the wayside in a group where goal differential may decide who advances and who goes home. Mexico was victim to a Carlos Tevez goal from an offside position in 2010. Twice unlucky, this time on Friday the 13th doesnt bode well. The trifecta of unjust decisions was completed when Spain was given a penalty in their Group B opener against the Netherlands when Diego Costa stepped on the leg of a diving Stefan De Vrij. The penalty was given for poor defending and not a foul. The defender has to stay on his feet. But a penalty conceded was not deserved. Xabi Alonso converted to give Spain the early lead. If it were not for an incredible turn of events leading to the Dutch slaughter of Spain in Salvador, it would be another black eye on the game. Regardless the scoreline, the flawed decision has the viewing public talking. The biggest problem the game of soccer has given itself is a lack of credibility and belief the proceedings are on the up and up. The word most commonly spewed criticism by casual onlookers after two days is "fix" because of years of negative press and exaggeration of the shadiness of the global game. Whether its true or not, there is a level of distrust among a cynical fanbase. Not so cynical that the world stops watching, but negative enough to cry bloody murder. To the devout fan, the questionable officiating has become a frustrating distraction to the true beauty. Bad refereeing shouldnt be accepted as commonplace. But it is. p;While goal-line technology has proven a worthy addition to the game, its clear referees need more help in doing their job. Jared Dudley Jersey. Relying on the judgment of one man attempting to marshal proceedings on a massive playing field at a time when the game is faster than ever is proving to be a challenge too daunting. Giving more responsibility to the referees assistants hasnt helped much. It has made the job of a linesman that much more difficult, having to lend a helping hand to calling fouls in their quarter of the field while holding the line, maintaining their position to call offside. They are being entrusted to do two things at once, with no room for error. What should the priority be: holding the back-line or adjudicating the play? Its tough. FIFA remains open for more criticism, making its priority to include referees from all member confederations to the World Cup. Why arent the best officials, no matter where they are from, sent to officiate the most important games? Officiating crews from four continents have overseen the first four games. Are they the best in the world? Its difficult to say yes. So what more can be done to help referees? Instant replay on decisions involving goal-scoring situations is an answer. A quick review of whether a goal was scored from an offside position or not should be simple. Its reasonable to expect a clear decision, one way or another, with the use of replay to provide a conclusive answer by the end of a goal celebration. Getting the decision right should be priority. This is simplistic, and would give the fourth official a job other than babysitting the managers. Other reviewable decisions arent quite as easy. Although the laws of the game (fouls, handballs, etc...) are crystal clear, the interpretation of the rules are not. What one official deems a foul, or hand-to-ball or ball-to-hand varies. Replay may strike up more internal debate on situations there may not be a clear answer. If more replay is brought in, there has to be a clear line how far and for what the technology is applicable. This is a must. And to tell you the truth, I dont have an answer where that line should be. FIFA embracing an idea as such is best case a long shot. There are too many reasons why not to apply than there is to use. The status quo will remain. Instead of more technology, perhaps the best answer is to add another official to the field of play. Two on-field referees. The NHL added a referee when the game became too fast and the officials couldnt keep up. Angles and referee positioning would be markedly better, and fatigue would be less an issue. Although they may see the game different ways, four eyeballs are better than two. Perhaps another referee would have caught Costas head butt of Martins Indi? Perhaps another official could have helped Graham Poll in the 2010 World Cup Final when the head referee said he didnt have a proper angle when Nigel de Jongs challenge went high into the chest of Alonso. Officiating will always be imperfect, and we can accept that. What we cant accept is a reluctance to change when it hurts the integrity of the game. A second referee is the easiest answer, and could represent a step in a positive direction. Referees will always make mistakes. Its a bigger mistake to do nothing. Its been a spectacular start to the tournament. There is no reason to believe the top play wont continue. And there is no reason to believe the negative talking points surrounding officiating wont continue too. What will you focus on? I tend to worry it will be the latter. And you wouldnt be wrong or alone. 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