KANATA, Ont. – On this night, the charity point earned against the Senators was no consolation for blowing a four-goal lead.

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any more hostile between these two teams, the Senators hit Garth Snow so hard that the second-period collision between his head and Zdeno Chara’s shoulder altered the course of a game that the Islanders should have won comfortably.

The result was far less dominant play in the Islanders’ cage and considerably less disciplined play in their end for the rest of the way en route to a 4-4 tie on a night they and Snow seemed in total command.

Steve Stirling said the point Ottawa stole was “gift-wrapped.”

Said Kenny Jonsson, “I think for 40 minutes we played with the best team in the league.”

The 6-foot-9 Chara ran into Snow with enough force to send him reeling and knocked the Isles’ entire defense off their game for the rest of the night.

In a monumental collapse, the Islanders coughed up a 4-1 lead against one of the most dangerous attacks in the conference. Snow was brilliant early, turning aside several quality scoring chances by Ottawa’s puck wizards. He allowed only one goal to beat him in the game’s first 40 minutes.

But after Chara was whistled for goaltender interference at 18:36 of the second, it was almost like Snow lost whatever mojo he had going against the Sens’ creative and entertaining offensive unit. At one point Marian Hossa tried to flip the puck over the net to himself in the slot.

Michael Peca scored two goals in a game for the first time in nearly a year and Mattias Weinhandl and Mariusz Czerkawski each had goals and an assist for the Isles, who jumped out to a 4-0 lead late in the second period.

But the bulge did not last long, as the Senators struck back 17 seconds after Peca’s second goal – a one-timer that beat Patrick Lalime clean over the stick side.

Consecutive goals, thanks primarily to defensive zone gaffes, got the Sens back into it early in the third when Todd White and Martin Havlat each beat Snow with point-blank shots. Chara would got the tying goal with a slapper from the right point at 8:31.