CALGARY, Alberta -- The player known as Bailes bailed out the New York Islanders on Thursday.

Right winger Josh Bailey shot the put into the roof of the net with 17.8 seconds left in overtime, giving the Islanders a 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames.

"It was a great play," Bailey said. "I was just trying to get back door, and I knew (center John Tavares) would find a way to get it over.

"I wasn't even sure it went in at first. I was just judging by (Flames goalie Joni Ortio's) reaction. It felt good. It was a big win for our team."

Bailey beat Ortio with a high shot over the goalie's glove to give the Islanders (33-19-7) their third consecutive victory.

Defenseman Thomas Hickey scored his first goal in 37 games for the Islanders, and it came in his home town.

Right winger Jiri Hudler had a goal for Calgary (26-30-4), which lost its third straight.

A frustrating night for Tavares, during which the New York captain did not have one good scoring chance himself, ended joyfully when he set up the winning goal during the three-on-three extra session.

"I actually fanned on the pass to (defenseman) Travis (Hamonic) and realized I had a step on (Calgary left winger Johnny Gaudreau), and Bailes did a great job of getting the puck up to the top of the net," Tavares said.

"It was nice to win after not one of our better games."

The Islanders, who are in third in the Metropolitan Division, closed the gap on the second-place New York Rangers to one point.

New York relied heavily on goaltender Jaroslav Halak, who has won three consecutive starts and three straight games against the Flames, including a 29-save shutout in October. Halak made 31 saves Thursday.

A big presence came in the form of Islanders left winger Matt Martin, who threw his body around all night and twice fought Flames left winger Brandon Bollig, who took exception to a stiff bodycheck Martin threw at Flames captain Mark Giordano.

"This is a tough building to play in," Martin said. "For a while it felt like they were skating circles around our team. We hung in there, and Jaro made a lot of good saves. We battled hard."

Bollig said, "We're two teams that weren't going to back down from one another. We are two physical teams, and regardless of our situation, we're still trying to win games, as are they. So I think we put in a heck of an effort tonight, and it's unfortunate we didn't get the win. I think we surely deserved one with the way that we played."

A three-way passing play involving the three members of the Flames' top line produced the game's first goal at 4:16 of the first period. Gaudreau fed center Sean Monahan, who passed to Hudler, who finished the play.

At 9:49 of the third period, Hickey joined the rush and took a pass in the slot from Martin, then put a backhand past Ortio.

The Flames have fallen 14 points back of a wild-card spot in the Western Conference, prompting speculation that they will be heavy sellers prior to Monday's NHL trading deadline.

A season-ending knee injury to starting goalie Karri Ramo two weeks ago opened the door for the Ortio to get a chance to play. It was Ortio's second start since being recalled from the American Hockey League on Feb. 12, but he is still looking for his first win in seven NHL games this season. Ortio's last NHL victory was Jan. 19, 2015, at Los Angeles.

"I'm feeling good out there, but I think tonight we did even a better job defending," said Ortio, who will be a restricted free agent at season's end.

"It was a solid 60, 64 (minutes) from us. It's frustrating when you work for that. It helps that you get the point out of it. We would've liked to have two, but that's the way it goes."

NOTES: Flames D Kris Russell remained out of the lineup for the sixth consecutive game with a lower-body injury despite being cleared to play by the team's medical staff earlier in the day. A pending unrestricted free agent, Russell is among the Calgary players most mentioned in trade rumors leading up to Monday's deadline. ... Calgary's lone healthy scratch was RW Josh Jooris. ... Flames D Tyler Wotherspoon lost two teeth and needed stitches after being hit with a puck during Thursday's morning skate. ... D Calvin de Haan (lower body) and C Mikhail Grabovski (back) did not accompany the Islanders to start their seven-game road trip, which began Tuesday in Minnesota. ... New York's scratches were G Jean-Francois Berube and D Ryan Pulock, who is still looking to make his NHL debut after being recalled from the AHL on Monday. "At some point on this trip, you'll see Ryan Pulock get in there," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said.