SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Aaron Dell does not see a lot of action as the San Jose Sharks' backup goalie. Yet the New York Islanders would say they've seen too much of him.

San Jose's rookie netminder beat New York for the second time this season on Friday. He stopped 26 shots as the hosts got a late tiebreaking goal from Patrick Marleau to win 3-2 during a Friday matinee in front of 17,562 fans at SAP Center.

"They're trying to win every game so if I get that chance I need to come in and be the best I can," Dell said. "You just have to be ready for the opportunities you get."

The 27-year-old Dell beat the Islanders 3-2 on Oct. 18 during his NHL debut. He made only one start since before Friday. Nonetheless, Dell was up to the task as he nursed a one-goal lead while the Isles pressured hard in the third period.

"It's just mind-boggling," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "We played one of the best games we've played. We came in here against San Jose -- Stanley Cup finalists -- dominate the third period. No puck luck right now. There is no explanation."

New York tied the score 2-2 with its goalie pulled with 57.2 seconds remaining when defenseman Nick Leddy one-timed John Tavares' feed past Dell.

"It's always a long minute when it's six-on-five," Dell said. "(Joel) Ward tried to make a block there and it just went off me and in. But the boys had a big answer to end it off."

Marleau's redirection off a Brent Burns feed counted for his sixth goal of the season with 22.5 seconds left to give San Jose its third straight win. Marleau moved into a tie with Steve Yzerman for 11th all time with his 94th career regular-season game-winning goal.

"It's a great tip by him," Burns said of Marleau. "Great play by Paul (Martin), too, getting over to me. It's nice when that works out. We've been trying it for a while."

New York's Cal Clutterbuck said, "I learned a long time ago, probably the last minute and the first minute of every period can win you and lose you a lot of games, and we've lost a lot of games in the last minute of the last period. No excuse for that."

The Sharks struck for goals 34 seconds apart on consecutive shots early in the middle period to take a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.

Captain Joe Pavelski scored his seventh goal of the season at 5:09 and Burns added his team-high eighth at 5:43 in rapid-fire succession after former Sharks goalie Thomas Greiss had stymied the hosts for the first 25 minutes.

Left winger Matt Nieto's stretch pass hopped over the stick of Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk to a breaking Chris Tierney, who instead of taking a shot slid a cross-ice drop pass to Pavelski for a one-timer.

"When you've got a 40-goal scorer coming down the wing, you're not going to shoot it if it's me," Tierney said.

Burns let go with a slap shot from center ice that deflected off the stick of Islanders defenseman Calvin de Haan to handcuff Greiss on San Jose's 15th shot of the game. Burns has two goals and six points in the last three games.

"It was just a knuckle-puck," Greiss said. "Those happen with the funny bounces. You don't want to let them in, but sometimes it happens."

New York squandered a glorious opportunity when Tavares fired wide point blank with Dell diving across his crease late, after Josh Bailey's feed after Burns turned the puck over deep in San Jose's end.

"He's calm," Burns said of Dell. "At this point, it's about getting a win, getting points every night. It's great. You have to have everybody."

The Islanders scored the only goal of a first period that the Sharks dominated for the final 12 minutes. San Jose held an 11-5 edge in shots on goal and a 24-14 advantage in shot attempts.

New York capitalized on its first power play, needing only 27 seconds of a slashing minor by San Jose defenseman Brenden Dillon to convert.

Bailey's half wrist shot from the center of the blue line was redirected by Anders Lee past Dell at 3:59. Lee's fourth goal of the season was also his third in two games.

The Sharks pushed hard soon thereafter only to be turned away time and time again by Greiss. Joe Thornton was awarded a penalty shot when Boychuk hooked the Sharks' breaking center. But Thornton fired wide at 13:04.

NOTES: San Jose has allowed two or fewer goals in 13 of its 21 games. ... The Islanders have allowed a game-tying or game-deciding goal in the final three minutes of the third period eight times. ... New York next hosts Calgary on Monday while the San Jose's homestand continues Saturday against Anaheim. ... The Islanders, who continue to play without C Mikhail Grabovski (concussion), D Ryan Pulock (broken foot) and D Dennis Seidenberg (upper body), scratched G Jaroslav Halak, D Scott Mayfield and RW Ryan Strome. ... San Jose's scratches included LW Melker Karlsson and D Dylan DeMelo. ... San Jose lost the services of C Tommy Wingels to an undisclosed injury 6:30 into the first period.