The New York Islanders took down the Los Angeles Kings at home in incredible fashion. Stan Fischler shares his thoughts on the comeback win.

Amazing?

Yes!

In fact: A-MAZING!!

That's the very least that can be said today about last night's uncanny 3-2 comeback win over the Kings at UBS.

That's UBS for Unbelievable, Beating & Solid.

Face it, folks, after two periods, the Isles appeared doomed from every angle against one of the National Hockey League's foremost teams. Check it out, if you please.

* The Kings had never lost on the road. (Now they have after setting an NHL record.)

* The Isles defense has been decimated but reserves have revived it. (Reilly cames through, big. So did Bortuzzo.)

* The Third Period once was the Isles snake pit. (Not as of last night.)

* Once slumping Pageau puts it all away on a breakaway. (What a neat backhand through the Five Hole.)

* The Kings take over at the start of OT but Sorokin launched the counterattack. Just by being himself. (YAY: Holmstrom, Dobson for originating the Pageau flight to fancy.)

When you think about it -- and The Maven does once in a while -- this could be the start of something big; and I'll tell you why:

My memory bank recalls that in a season past, the Isles once were down to the St. Louis Blues, 2-0, but came back to triumph, and a long win streak followed. (But that was then, and here's the now.)

Anders Lee once again showed how a captain leads. A Mike Reilly-Mat Barzal combine set up Anders at his office outside the Kings crease. At 8:42 of the third period -- as good a time as any to break the scoring ice -- The Man Wearing the C deposited the biscuit in the cookie jar.

"Lee was a beast," chortled his pal, Mat Barzal. "You could also see it on the tying goal. He was not going to be denied"

With a groundswell of roars inspiring them, the Isles did all the right things again. 

Only this time, it was Bo Horvat once again surgically winning a face-off. When the puck skimmed to the blue line, Scoff Mayfield fired such a shot that it demanded good things, and The Captain put the rubber where it belonged. The time was 5:49 of the third.

"We earned that win," said Lee. "We know what this team is capable of doing and this result is a good example; push through and get a bounce. The thing was that we weren't frustrated even when we were down two-zip. We played hard right to the very end."

Now it was a question of when and how the home team would convert the momentum into another terrific two-pointer. They were able to do so because something good has come over this outfit that has been unfairly media-mangled since the season began. 

It rallied to tie the count at 2-2 -- then made a couple of boo-boos but recovered -- and forced overtime.

Knowing full well that the crowd wanted to go home happy as soon as possible, Sorokin first briefly held the fort. That done, Simon Holmstrom -- becoming more of a plus-factor by the week -- and Noah (Maybe A Norris Trophy one day) Dobson combined to move the rubber to Monsieur Pageau.

I won't say that our Flying Frenchman took off like a bat out of Hell but, then again, why not? He did.

Looking very much as if he wanted to move faster than The Elmont Express, The Man Of The Minute made goalie Cam Talbot's five-hole look like a 15 hole, and the ensuing roars of approval could be heard in distant Montauk Point -- for two points that is.

Pageau: "For us, the game was a big challenge, and when we were behind by two, we took it as a big opportunity. We started the third saying, 'Okay; let's empty the tank, and if we go down, we'll go down swinging."

Sorokin was splendid with 34 saves -- Kings captain Anze Kopitar is still shaking his head over one that our goalie stole from him when L.A. was still up by two.

Pressed into action in a hurry since Lou Lamoriello nabbed from St. Louis, newcomer Robert Bortuzzo played a smart veteran's game on defense along with the other good Lou get, Mike Reilly.

"It was a fun win," said the smiling ex-Blue. "I'll even call it a 'character win.' As for me, what my aim is -- is to simply earn the trust of my team." (Which he did in no time at all.)

Okay, okay; so it wasn't The Stanley Cup; but this is one smiling Stanley who believes this win has a more invigorating feel to it than others. Or, as fan Eli Polatoff told me at the end. "It reminds me of that comeback win over the Blues and the big streak that followed."

Perhaps. Perhaps not. What we do know is that the not-very-beloved Maple Leafs are tomorrow's visitors. Toronto is loaded with stars, along with You-Know-Who, so the challenge will be as tall as last night's, if not higher.

Meanwhile, coach Lane Lambert can be secure in the knowledge that he got as much as he could wish for, and the same holds for Lamoriiello. Only days ago, Larrupin' Lou said he'd like to see a bit more out of Barzal and Horvat, and the pair has obliged The Boss with better play.

Ditto Lee, who earned the coach's praise as he should have on a glorious weekend night in Elmont. Anders earned the first star and Jean-Gabriel the second.

"Anders has been leading, forechecking, and battling," the coach concluded. "I'm very happy for him."

The Maven has news for Lambert. "So am I!"

YES!