Despite taking care of business in New Jersey and for the last five games, the New York Islanders have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.
- New York Islanders (40-29-12, 92 points)
- Ottawa Senators (44-27-10, 98 points)
- 5 p.m., MSG+, 88.7FM
- Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
The Islanders effectively took care of business in New Jersey last night, winning by a final score of 4-2 at the Prudential Center. Adam Pelech, Anders Lee, and Jason Chimera tallied goals in the Islanders’ final road game.
Jaroslav Halak made 37 saves on 39 shots, likely a season-high for the Devils and, in what’s likely his last game of the season, it helps bring Jaro’s save percentage back up from where it was before his send-down (.949 last night, .915 on the season).
With the Toronto Maple Leafs emerging victorious over the Pittsburgh Penguins last night by a score of 5-3, the Islanders playoff hopes are officially extinguished.
The Isles went down fighting until the bitter end. One more win will be their sixth-straight, and they will attempt to do so for the first time since February 2008 on fan appreciation night at the Barclays Center.
Post-Mortem
With a win tonight, the Islanders can finish just one point out of a playoff spot. Despite missing out on the post-season, it’s incredible to see how far they’ve ascended since being dead-last in the conference in January.
Sure, this organization has SEVERAL large question to address in the offseason, but let’s set that aside one more day. After all, we’ll have all Summer to rip into what went wrong this season.
There have been some hopeful elements to emerge from this season, particularly the youth movement (Anthony Beauvillier and Josh Ho-Sang), bounce-back movement (Anders Lee, Josh Bailey), and redemption movement (Andrew Ladd, Jason Chimera, Lee once more, and Jaroslav Halak).
With the playoffs out of the picture, it’s likely Thomas Greiss will see one last start this season with Jaroslav Halak having played last night and the back-to-back scenario.
The Islanders will look to finish strong and go out on a positive note. Put the offseason on hold, enjoy the game and cheer on the Islanders one more time. After all, some of these players could be playing in their final game as an Islander.
Once the night is over, buckle up. This offseason is set to be the most interesting in years, and both Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin have some of answering to do.