Islanders News: Blown.

In a pivotal matchup, the Islanders had a 3-0 lead last night and let it steadily slip away to salvage only an OTL point. Some will identify a turning point when Alex Ovechkin delivered a high hit to J-G Pageau in the corner, dazing Pageau and sending him off the ice, but garnering no call from the officials. They reviewed on video and still found nothing, or no cause to overrule themselves under current protocol.

It’s a story we’ve seen before and, well, hopefully Pageau is truly okay and we don’t suddenly get a “day to day, upper body” deal after he returned to the game.

Islanders News

• Tremendously disappointing result in what has been a maddeningly mediocre season. Time to reconstruct? [LHH]
• Islanders blow three-goal lead, lose 4-3 in OT. That sums it up. [Newsday]
• Or “brutal” OT loss, you might call it, if you’re the tabloid type. [Post]
• Three Takeaways: “Frustrating loss for sure.” [Isles]
• On the high Ovechkin hit to Pageau’shead: Pageau thankfully returned, but Lane Lambert was very surprised no penalty was called. [Post]
• Down 3-0, the Capitals decided “enough is enough.” [NHL]
• Hudson Fasching, who had the most shots of any Islander last night, continues to impress, though I don’t think his “rec goalie could’ve stopped that” goal against Darcy Kuemper should be part of the equation. [Newsday]
• All-time hits leader Cal Clutterbuck continues to deliver the checks, and deal with the hurts, while carrying on. [Newsday]
• So hear me out: We’re going to talk about Denis Potvin, one of the top 2-3 defensemen of all time, and the 19th-best player overall in our rankings, but we’ll spend the entire write-up talking about why Smurfs fans don’t like him. Good call, Athletic. You’re really adding a fresh perspective on this routine exercise. (And if other commenters are to be believed, apparently he’s ranked behind Paul Coffey — the guy who had tons of points (in an offense-heavy era) but was traded by three teams who went on to win the Cup without him. [Athletic]

I confess I could not follow this video review but I’m sure they got it right ‘cause they’re never wrong:

Elsewhere

Last night’s other scores include the Penguins winning in OT, the Smurfs beating the Blue Jackets and the Devils winning in a shootout.

• So this second-year Matt Boldy guy gets a seven-year, $49 million extension from the Wild. Wow. [TSN]
• Trade Deadline Update: Here is your top insider sharing nothing new but instead suggesting who he’d like to see be dealt to which team. [Athletic]
• Which Jim is more responsible for destroying the Canucks — Benning, or Rutherford? [Nucks Misconduct]
• Rutherford concedes “major surgery” is needed. [Sportsnet]
• Why is Rick Tocchet a fit in Vancouver? [Sportsnet]
• Separately, the Canucks declare that Tanner Pearson’s hand injury, now after its third surgery, was not mishandled. [NHL]
• The process for selling the Senators has taken another step, with serious bidders allowed to peek under the hood. [TSN]
• After John Tortorella eliminated screen time on the bench (banning iPads for the Flyers), Larry Brooks asked Rangers players how they use it. Most said it’s not a big deal or tool, except for checking on power play setups. [Post]