NHL

Islanders’ Bailey had to restart from scratch

Two weeks ago today, Josh Bailey was a healthy scratch for the first time in his life as he sat and watched the Islanders’ 4-3 overtime win in Carolina.

“You never want that to happen,” said Bailey, the Isles’ first-round pick from a year ago, ninth overall. “It bugs you and you want to prove when you get back in the lineup that they made a mistake.”

Mistake or not, Bailey has been much more valuable since returning to the lineup the next night in Florida.

The center picked up an assist that night, and after a scoreless game in Boston, followed with goals in three straight games before Wednesday night’s disappointing 2-1 loss to Philadelphia at Nassau Coliseum, where the team will play Pittsburgh today.

“As much as it bothered me, I tried to use it as motivation,” Bailey said of the healthy scratch. “You don’t want it to happen again.”

Although he wasn’t pleased by it, Bailey said he thinks there may have been a benefit to the benching in the long run.

“I talked to [coach Scott Gordon] and we watched video, so I tried to make it as positive as I could,” Bailey said. “A lot of guys experience things like this, especially early in their career. I’m not a flashy player and obviously you want to produce, but I know if I get my chances, I’ll be productive.”

Bailey figured the way in which he responded to the temporary demotion was more important than being sidelined itself.

“I know I could have hung my head,” said Bailey, the Islanders’ fourth-leading goal-scorer, with six. “But now I think I’m more confident than I was even before. I wanted to show I could bounce back from adversity.”

The Isles have had to do their fair share of that this season, ever since they began without a win through their first six games. They would like to avoid any more trouble, now that they enter this afternoon’s game against the defending Stanley Cup champions having lost three of their last four — and with another five-game road trip starting tomorrow.

The Islanders held an early, light practice yesterday that was scheduled before the loss to the Flyers, during which they spoiled two solid periods with an ugly third.

“We just want to be consistent,” Bailey said. “We know we can be.”

dan.martin@nypost.com