One of the biggest trends for the Pittsburgh Penguins has been their ability to let leads slip away.

PITTSBURGH - For the 16^th time this season, the Pittsburgh Penguins let a third period lead slip out of their hands.

11 of those games have resulted in losses for the Penguins, and it’s this continuous trend of shooting themselves in the foot that barely keeps them in a wild card spot.

The most recent collapse comes from blowing their third straight third period lead to the New York Islanders.

Despite being down 3-1 with just over five minutes remaining, the Islanders scored twice to force overtime.

The Islanders potted the game winner and for the first time ever, sealed a season sweep of the Penguins.

Head coach Mike Sullivan said weeks ago that the Penguins keep finding ways to lose, and it’s not good that the problem still hasn’t been solved.

It’s a difficult tightrope to walk if you’re the Penguins; you have a lead and want to give yourself space, but also don’t want to allow scoring opportunities the other way.

“We don't want to give them easy offense, but we're still trying to score,” Sullivan said. “I think that's an important aspect of learning how to play with leads and handle leads, and work to get the next goal.”

Far too often, the Penguins fail to record that ‘next goal’ and instead they see it fly into the back of their net.

The Penguins still have a great chance to make it to the playoffs, but they’re waiting far too long to solve issues that have been plaguing them since their seven-game losing streak in October/November.

“It's tough to swallow. It stings.”

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