Islanders have played their way to within a point of the second wild-card position
Anders Lee of the New York Islanders celebrates his goal late in the second period against the Columbus Blue Jackets at UBS Arena on Monday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Anders Lee checked his phone before going to bed and saw absolutely everybody the Islanders needed to lose on Tuesday night had lost. Coach Patrick Roy cited higher intervention as payback after Kyle Palmieri’s apparent winner late in regulation of Monday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets was waved off because of a controversial goalie interference call.
The upshot was the Islanders entered Wednesday night’s match against the Canucks to conclude a four-game homestand needing a victory to put themselves into the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.
“My speech was pretty easy,” Roy said after the Islanders’ morning skate. “The hockey gods took care of last night. Everybody lost. You’re coming to the rink and you’re like, ‘Wow, we got a break, let’s focus on our game.’ ”
Entering Wednesday, the Islanders had not been in a playoff position since Nov. 19. Until Monday, the Islanders had not been within one point of a playoff spot since Dec. 16.
The Islanders were seven points out of the last playoff spot on Feb. 25 with five teams ahead of them in the chase after losing their fourth straight, 5-1, to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. They were still six points out with four teams ahead of them on March 15.
“I think a lot of people counted us out, especially a couple of weeks ago, a month ago after the trade deadline,” Bo Horvat said. “We’re proving a lot of people wrong. Our whole goal is to be in a playoff position.”
President/general manager Lou Lamoriello dealt center Brock Nelson, the team’s leading goal scorer the past five seasons, to the Avalanche before the March 7 trade deadline after the sides could not agree on a contract extension. Otherwise, Lamoriello kept the team together for a playoff push.
The Canadiens still held the second wild-card spot by one point entering Wednesday after losing, 6-1, in St. Louis on Tuesday night. The Rangers remained even with the Islanders’ 74 points after losing, 3-1, in Los Angeles. The Red Wings stayed two points back after a 5-2 loss in Colorado.
The Islanders still must do their part before the regular season concludes on April 17. But now there’s more of a feeling they can control their own destiny.
“Definitely there’s some positive psychology to it,” Lee said. “We’ve been looking at that board for a while and, the next thing you know, you’re right there. That’s a good feeling. You’ve got to earn your spot to be there at this point of the year. We’re the ones that have to do it. We’re not going to rely on anyone else to have to win us a game. You’ll take it when it comes but we want to be the ones that make sure this happens and control what we can control.”
The Islanders also knew they had to remain focused on the details that have turned their playoff chances from a long shot to realistic.
“It’s so tight right now that regardless of whether we’re in that wild-card spot or two points back, the mindset is the same,” Kyle MacLean said. “You’re definitely not safe in that wild-card spot. You’ve got to be hungry. It’s probably going to come down to the wire, honestly, with the group of teams that are chasing it right now.”
“I think it’s important to stay focused on what needs to be done at the present moment,” Roy said. “Not, ‘Oh, if this happens and that happens.’ I think that’s been our success. Even when we were not controlling our destiny, we were worrying about playing the next game.”
Notes & quotes: Third-line right wing Hudson Fasching will return after missing one game because of illness. Roy said he was not tempted to keep Adam Boqvist in that spot alongside center Casey Cizikas and Pierre Engvall despite the defenseman notching two assists against the Blue Jackets as a fill-in. “It was clear if Fasch is ready to play, he’ll play,” Roy said. “They’ve been scoring important goals. The way these three guys have been playing together certainly makes my decision easier." . . . Defensemen Scott Mayfield and Scott Perunovich and forward Matt Martin remained healthy scratches.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
