Losing a 3 goal lead.... 1st times in a long time

Saturday's loss to St. Louis marked the first time in a long time that the Isles have led a lead like that get away.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the last times involved guys named Ovechkin and Malkin.

Last time Isles had a 3-goal lead and didn't win:  March 13, 2012 -- Isles led Caps 3-0 and 4-1, as John Tavares reached 30 goals for the first time.  Alex Ovechkin cut the lead to 4-2 after two and Dmitri Orolov and Ovechkin evened the game in the 3rd period. Matt Hendricks wins the game in a shootout.

Last time Isles had a 3-goal lead and lost in regulation: Thanksgiving Eve, November 26, 2008.  Doug Weight, Trent Hunter and Bill Guerin give the Isles a 3-goal lead but Brooks Orpik breaks the ice for Pittsburgh with 19 seconds left in the second period. Sidney Crosby gets the Penguins close at 6:18 of the second and Evgeni Malkin takes over from there, completing a natural hat trick into an empty net as the Penguins rally for a 5-3 win and denying the Isles a chance to get back to NHL-.500.

Last time Isles had a 3-goal first period lead and lost in regulation: January 22, 2002.  Isles led the Rangers 4-1 before the game was 9 minutes old; Rangers close it to 4-3 by end of first, Steve McKenna ties it in the second and Theo Fleury wins it in the third (5-4 Final).

 

All is certainly not lost for the Isles; Tampa and Vancouver both lost on Saturday night, meaning the Isles still lead the entire NHL in wins with 19.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick