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Islanders squander another third-period lead vs. Penguins

Nov 9, 2008 - 4:22 AM By Doug Mittler PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

UNIONDALE, New York (Ticker) -- The New York Islanders squandered another third-period lead before goaltender Dany Sabourin took over for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the shootout.

Sabourin stopped all three shots he faced in the bonus format, including one by Trent Hunter that was followed by a lengthy review, as the Penguins rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Islanders, 4-3, on Saturday night.

Petr Sykora scored the lone goal of the shootout, and Sabourin stopped Doug Weight, captain Bill Guerin and Hunter to lead the Penguins to their third straight win.

"I like shootouts," Sabourin said. "It's a chance to go 1-on-1 with the other team."

"We deserved to win that game," Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien said. "Both teams were playing real well defensively, but we bounced back and we wanted to win that third period."

After denying Weight and Guerin, Sabourin stopped Hunter's shot before sliding back across the goal line. The goalie appeared to pull the puck out of his pad as he reached the line, and the play was upheld after a lengthy video review.

"It was a tough call," Sabourin said. "It was pretty close. It was in my pad where my knee was. There's no way they can see the puck."

"Whether it was the right call or the wrong call, based on the video, it was the right call because you can't see the puck," Islanders coach Scott Gordon said.

Tyler Kennedy scored a pair of goals, Jordan Staal also tallied and Mike Zigomanis recorded two assists for Pittsburgh.

Weight, Tim Jackman and Andy Hilbert scored and defenseman Andy Sutton set up two goals for New York, which watched a third-period lead disappear for the fourth time in five games.

"We just didn't play 60 minutes together," Hilbert said. "We're going to have to figure it out soon."

"It's terrible," Sutton added. "If you lose and learn from it, it's one thing, but if you lose and don't learn from it, it's completely another."

The Penguins completely dominated the third period, outshooting the Islanders, 18-1, and finally tying it with 3:15 left, when Kennedy redirected a slap shot from the right point by defenseman Alex Goligoski past screened goaltender Joey MacDonald.

"You know with a lineup (that includes Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin), they're going to get their chances," MacDonald said. "We worked so hard to get the lead. We just seem to sit back and let them come in."

"We had opportunities to change the momentum and we didn't do it," Gordon said. "Pittsburgh came out in the third and one of the things they did was shoot the puck. They shot from everywhere."

Crosby credited his team for its ability to rebound from a two-goal deficit.

"We came out hard in the third period," he said. "We had to - we had no choice, we were down. We got a lot of pressure on them, and it finally paid off."

Crosby, who had recorded 35 points in his previous 20 games against New York, was kept off the scoresheet in this one. There was a question as to whether the superstar captain would be available after leaving practice early on Friday, but he participated in the morning skate and logged over 24 minutes of ice time.

The Islanders took the lead late in the first period as Sabourin was unable to get his glove on Weight's shot from the left faceoff circle with 3:37 remaining. But the Penguins tied it 2:16 into the second, when Kennedy put in a backhander from alone on the left side after receiving a pass from the high slot by Zigomanis.

New York regained the advantage when Jackman scored off the rebound of a shot by Weight at 8:51. Less than six minutes later, Hilbert took a centering pass from rookie Kyle Okposo and beat Sabourin from alone at the top of the crease with a backhander to make it 3-1.

Staal stole the puck from defenseman Bruno Gervais and scored on a breakaway with 3:59 left in the second to cut the deficit to one.

Saturday marked a return to Nassau Coliseum for right wing Miroslav Satan, who played the last three seasons with the Islanders before signing with the Penguins in the offseason.

Satan, who entered with a three-game goal-scoring streak, was held without a point.

MacDonald turned aside 29 shots.