UNIONDALE, NY - When it comes to the power play, it doesn't seem to matter which members of the Islanders organization are in the lineup this season. Regardless of whether the the roster is filled with veterans or a bunch of call-ups from the minors, the Isles just can't seem to score with the man advantage.

Unable to convert four such opportunities last night at the Coliseum, the Islanders blew a 2-0 lead as they lost to the Phialdelphia Flyers, 4-3, after a shootout, despite an impressive performance by goaltender Wade Dubielewicz, who faced a barrage of 54 shots.

“Dubie was sensational again,” said head coach Ted Nolan. “He's a battler and he gave us a chance to win tonight. The defense were a little bit pressured tonight. They've got a good hockey club and they took advantage of our inexperience on the blueline tonight.”

Richard Park got the Islanders on the board at 14:59 of the first period, when a dump-in off the end board took a weird bounce and ended up right in front of the goal, surprising Philadelphia goaltender Antero Niittymaki. The Isles' alternate captain also had a hand in doubling the team's lead at 7:43 in the second period, when he took part in a beautiful rush down the ice with rookie forwards Blake Comeau and Kyle Okposo that resulted in a goal for the former and another assist for the recently called-up latter.

The Flyers would eventually chip away at the home team's lead, however. When Bryan Berard took a hooking penalty to prematurely end his team's man advantage, Daniel Briere cut the lead in half at 15:43 of the second period, after an impressive cycling display by Philadelphia once they got their own power play.

Joffrey Lupul tied the game at 3:22 in the third period, knocking in a loose puck from the slot with Dubielewicz screened in front by both of his defensemen. The Islanders regained the lead midway through the third, when Frans Nielsen, playing in his first NHL game in just over a month, took a Freddy Meyer pass in the neutral zone and skated the puck into the Philadelphia zone. The Danish-born Nielsen maneuvered his way to the left circle and ripped a wrister that beat Niittymaki high on the glove side.

Philadelphia, however, kept coming. Firing the puck at will, the Flyers tired both Dubielewicz and the Islanders' defense, which was cut to a five man rotation by the end of the game, as Aaron Johnson went to the locker room for undisclosed reasons. The fatigue gave the Flyers the opportunity to tie the game up once again, as Radek Martinek failed to clear the puck from behind his own net, allowing Patrick Thoresen to find Mike Richards right in front of the Islanders' net. Richards one-timed the pass past Dubielewicz, which tied the game, 3-3, at 15:38 of the third.

“They wore us out a little bit,” Nolan said. “Give the kids from Bridgeport a lot of credit. They put a lot of miles and a lot of games in this last little while, but the human body can only last so long.”

A late penalty by Lupul carried over into the overtime, but the Islanders couldn't capitalize on it, or the subsequent penalty taken by Flyer defenseman Jaroslav Modry at 1:52 of the extra session.

In the shootout, it was Daniel Briere, the Flyers' third shooter, who was the only shooter to score, giving the Flyers a much-needed two points. The loss was the first shootout loss of Dubielweicz's NHL career. He had previously gone 4-0.

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