NHL

Islanders blow another lead, lose to Flames

CALGARY, Alberta — The Islanders get a two-goal lead. The Islanders blow a two-goal lead. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Joe Colborne scored twice and Sean Monahan had the other goal in a furious third- period rally that saw Calgary overcome a 3-1 deficit with less than nine minutes to go to edge the Islanders 4-3 on Friday night.

Kyle Okposo, Colin McDonald and Brock Nelson scored for the Islanders. The Isles are 1-1-1 with one game to go on a four-game road trip that ends in Vancouver.

The third period unfolded just like it did Thursday night in Edmonton, when the Islanders blew a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss.

“We just stopped playing,” said Okposo, who leads the team with 26 goals. “We gave up a goal and we stopped moving our feet and stopped going after them. We dominated the game for 50 minutes. There’s no reason we should lose that game.”

Tied 1-1, the Islanders took their first lead early in the second period on an uncharacteristic giveaway by Giordano, which led to a goal by Okposo.

The Isles took a 3-1 lead to the third period.

“We were playing well until 10 minutes left and they get one, they find a bounce off the end boards and score and we just pucker up,” said Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey.

It’s the 12th time the Islanders have lost a game in which they held a two-goal lead.

The Islanders made it 3-1 in the second period when Nelson took a feed from Josh Bailey and ripped a wrist shot over Joni Ortio’s glove.

This happened on a night Calgary honored former star Joe Nieuwendyk, an inspired new generation of young centers led the Flames to a thrilling victory.

Colborne was not yet born when Nieuwendyk scored 51 goals as a rookie in 1987-88. Nonetheless, the touching ceremony made an impact on the Calgary-born, 2008 first-round pick acquired from Toronto at the start of the season.

“You forget how good he was,” said Colborne, whose first career two-goal game gives him seven goals on the season. “You hear his points and stuff and you almost forget until they walk you through his career, and that was really cool for me.

“I might have felt it a little more than some of the other guys because he was one of my favorites growing up.”

Colborne got the comeback started at 11:29 when he knocked in a rebound off the end boards after Mark Giordano’s point shot missed the net.

After Monahan went forehand to backhand on a pretty play in close to tie it at 14:22, Colborne completed the win, deflecting in Giordano’s slap shot at 15:41.

“Joe Nieuwendyk started the game and Joe Colborne decided that he would finish the game,” said Flames coach Bob Hartley.

Calgary has won seven of its last eight home games.

“Obviously it’s always fun after a win but after a game like that when you’re down and you come back, it feels that much better,” said Monahan, who leads the team with 19 goals. “After those couple goals by us, it felt like they stepped back a little bit. At that point when you have momentum like that, it almost feels like that next goal’s coming and that’s what happened.”

Finnish rookie Markus Granlund also scored for Calgary, which had eight rookies in their lineup for the first time since Dec. 10, 1996.