UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) – Shawn Bates scored with 28.2 seconds left in overtime and the New York Islanders recovered from two blown leads to beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 Tuesday night.

Bates, a Massachusetts native, took a breakout pass from Jason Blake in front of defenseman Jiri Slegr and came in alone on rookie Hannu Toivonen. His quick shot got through for his second goal of the season.

Joe Thornton tied it for Boston with only 1:01 left in regulation, just after the Bruins pulled Toivonen for an extra attacker. It was the Bruins’ fourth overtime loss in six games.

Thornton, who also assisted on Nick Boynton’s goal that got Boston even at 2 in the second period, flipped a shot into traffic in front. The puck came back to him and he slid another shot that found its way under goalie Garth Snow’s stick.

The late goal enabled the Bruins to earn a point for the sixth straight game.

Defenseman Chris Campoli gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead 4:39 into the third period by beating Toivonen with a 50-foot wrist shot.

Snow, filling in for regular New York goalie Rick DiPietro (bruised knee), made 29 saves in his second game as a starter. Toivonen stopped 19 shots in his third start in place of Andrew Raycroft, out with an injured hamstring.

For the second straight game, the Islanders couldn’t protect a third-period lead at home. They dominated the first half of the first period and grabbed a 2-0 advantage on goals by Oleg Kvasha and Janne Niinimaa.

But former Islanders player Dave Scatchard cut the Bruins’ deficit in half with 4:39 left in the first period and Boynton tied it 10:06 into the second off a faceoff win by Thornton.

Snow kept the Islanders from falling behind in the middle period by stopping 16 shots as Boston controlled play. New York led Buffalo 4-3 in the third period Saturday before yielding three straight goals for the Islanders’ third loss in four games.

The Islanders’ new top line needed less than a minute to click as Kvasha, now centering Alexei Yashin and Miroslav Satan, scored his first of the season. Kvasha beat Toivonen from the high slot at 52 seconds.

Niinimaa, who also helped set up Kvasha, netted his first of the season with an assist from Yashin. After rushing into the Boston zone, Yashin stopped and pulled the puck back out toward the blue line as he waited for help. Yashin spotted Niinimaa to his left and fed him a quick pass. The puck left Niinimaa’s stick just as quickly, beating a surprised Toivonen to make it 2-0 at 11:56 of the first.

Yashin, a longtime center, was shifted to left wing after playing the position in Russia last season during the lockout. New York coach Steve Stirling made the move to give Yashin less defensive responsibility and get him higher in the Islanders zone so he can break out quicker on offense.

It wasn’t the only line combination affected, as Stirling moved other players around partly to get injured forward Mark Parrish back into the lineup. Parrish missed four games because of a hip injury.

Notes: Bruins D Jiri Slegr played in his 600th NHL game. … Scatchard, who took two of Boston’s three penalties, scored 81 goals in 41/2 seasons with the Islanders from 1999-2004. He has three goals and two assists in his last six games. … DiPietro could be back Thursday for New York’s home game against Pittsburgh. … Boston D Brian Leetch and LW Brad Isbister were both injured in the second period and didn’t return.

AP-ES-11-01-05 2149EST