Islanders Gameday: Season-ending must-win loss
What would you do if I sang out of tune...? | Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The patient isn’t dead yet, but you should get your affairs in order. The Islanders have one of those must-win games that would otherwise be a season-ending loss in Nashville tonight, although even if they win they’ll still be deep long shots and even if they lose they won’t quite be eliminated just yet.
Still, they enter the night seven points behind Montreal for the final wild card with six games to go.
For lottery interests, Columbus, Anaheim, Buffalo(!!!), Seattle and Pittsburgh are all still within four points’ striking distance of catching the 22nd-place Isles.
First Islanders Goal picks go here.
Islanders News
Previewing tonight: Suddenly the Isles are gunning for three in a row. The Predators, meanwhile, continue to struggle and both special teams are slumping. [Isles]
Marc Gatcomb is part of some historic trivia, but his impact is bigger than that at the moment. [Newsday | Post]
Islanders Anxiety podcast: The Isles fulfilled their destiny by giving up a record-breaking goal, but the afternoon wasn’t quite as painful as Dan and Mike expected. [LHH]
Prospect Report: Calum Ritchie and Jesse Nurmi advance, and Quinn Finley commits to another NCAA year at Wisconsin. [Isles]
Ilya Sorokin could smile about his footnote moment in history. [Athletic]
Elsewhere
Five finals in the NHL last night included the Rangers losing (teehee), the wild card-chasing Flames winning and the Blues’ 12-game win streak ending in Winnipeg. For lottery purposes, Anaheim beat Edmonton and Seattle beat Los Angeles. You never know.
They’re already bothering Auston Matthews about chasing the all-time regular season goals record, even though Alex Ovechkin’s body isn’t even cold. [NHL]
Greg Millen, a low-key strong goalie of the ‘80s who once understandably refused a trade to Quebec, has died at age 67. He had a long second career as a beloved broadcaster in Canada. Sportsnet colleagues reflect. [Sportsnet]
The Rangers are on the brink of humiliating history as they could be the fourth President’s Trophy winner to miss the playoffs the following year. I still have no idea how they won that supporters’ shield last season, it does not compute. [Post]
The latest Luke Fox Jukebox galaxy brain is that the injury-rattled Panthers are sandbagging so they face the Leafs again...that’s not how this works, that’s not how any of this works. [Sportsnet]
Johnny Gaudreau’s wife announced the birth of their third child, about seven months after his tragic death. [NHL]
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