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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
I turned on the game at 7:12 PM last night.
It was already over; I just didn’t know it yet.
I let out an audible gasp and ran to my phone to see how they were possibly down 2-0 with just a little over a minute played in the first period. How does that happen? A lack of intensity? Urgency? In a must-win game? The Caps had lost six straight (0-5-1) and were playing without Alexander Ovechkin, TJ Oshie, and others. Oh, and they dressed just 17 skaters due to cap constraints.
It’s painful to think about.
There was a lot of hockey left, and the Isles absolutely got their chances over the next 10 minutes, but nothing went, posts were hit, and hope dwindled further when Washington went up 3-0 later in the period.
The team was deflated and dejected after the game, but they have a pulse heading into their final regular season game vs. MTL at UBS Arena on Wednesday night. They received a degree of help when John Tavares scored on a breakaway in OT to defeat the Florida Panthers, allowing for a scenario where the Isles can still catch Florida. But more help is required to make the post-season as they no longer control their fate and opened the door for the Pittsburgh Penguins to win out and knock the Islanders out of playoff contention.
PLAYOFF SCENARIOS
Let’s quickly run down the playoff scenarios now that the Islanders no longer control their destiny and need help in one of three games coming up.
If the Islanders earn two points in OT or the shootout against the Montreal Canadiens, they will earn a playoff spot if the following happens:
A Pittsburgh loss (of any kind) vs. Chicago (tonight) or Columbus (Thurs)
A Florida Panthers loss vs. Carolina (Thurs)
Additionally, if the Islanders defeat the Montreal Canadiens in regulation, they will earn a playoff spot if the following happens:
Florida Panthers loses in the shootout or OT vs Carolina (Thurs). In this scenario, the Islanders would finish with the same RWs, but have one more ROW than the Panthers, earning them the tie-breaker.
As Carolina lost to Ottawa, it increases the likelihood that they’ll need the game to clinch the Metropolitan Division and the No.2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Coming up, Bo Horvat extends an apology, and Zach Parise is nominated for an NHL award. Plus, prospect Matthew Maggio is headed to the AHL on an ATO, the first great moment in franchise history, and a look at Flats’ plaque.
Let’s dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: The Washington Capitals scored twice in the opening 1:03 of the game on their way to a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders at Capital One Arena on Monday. Dylan Strome scored twice, and Darcy Kuemper made 38 saves for Washington (35-36-9), who played without Alexander Ovechkin, TJ Oshie, and others. Rasmus Dahlin and Craig Smith had first-period goals, and Tom Wilson added an empty netter. Hudson Fasching and Casey Cizikas scored, and Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves for the Islanders (41-31-9) in the loss.
KEY MOMENT(s):
🔻 Dylan Strome scored just 36 seconds into the first period when he controlled a loose puck in the right face-off circle and beat Ilya Sorokin with a wrist shot.
🔻 Rasmus Sandin made it 2-0 at 1:03, scoring on a wrist shot to the far side from along the left board that Sorokin didn’t pick up well and let slide through.
3 REACTIONS
❶ DIDN’T GET IT DONE: "It's extremely frustrating," Head Coach Lane Lambert said. "We knew what we had to do and we didn't get it done. We just have to move on and get it done on Wednesday."
❷ NOT ENOUGH:"I didn't see enough shots," Lambert said about the power play. "So move the puck around. At some point somebody's got to get to the net. When we did get it to the net a couple of times we did we created opportunity, but we had opportunities to score and get back into that game."
❸ NEED HELP: "That is disappointing," Zach Parise said when asked about losing control of their playoff destiny. "You're in a spot when you win a couple and you're in and now we need help, so hopefully we get it."
GameScore Impact Card
⏭ NEXT UP: It’s Game 82. There is one game left to play in the regular season; it comes on Wednesday night at UBS Arena against the visiting Montreal Canadiens. The puck drops from Elmont, NY, at 7:00 PM ET
📊 STANDINGS: For the time being, the Islanders remain in playoff position as the Pittsburgh Penguins host the lowly Chicago Blackhawks later tonight. A Penguins win will leap ahead of the Isles and knock them out of playoff position.
📰 NEWS: After his post-game comments on Saturday created unintended headlines, Bo Horvat stated that it was a “heat of the moment thing” and that “emotions got the best” of him. Below is his entire reaction to his comments going viral, courtesy of Kevin Kurz of The Athletic.
🏆 NOMINATIONS ARE IN: Islanders iron-man, the ageless Zach Parise, is the team’s nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy as voted on by the Professional Writers' Hockey Association. In 81 games this season, Parise has scored 21 goals and added 12 assists for 33 points, two shy of last year’s total.
Parise has played in 163 consecutive Islander games, every game since joining the team in October 2021. Overall, his streak is 164 games, making it the 15th-longest active streak in the NHL. In his career, Parise has scored 429 career goals, good for ninth among actives. He has tied Bill Guerin for 81st place; Joe Thornton and Alex Kovalev are next with 430 goals.
🏒 TRYOUT TIME: 2022 5th-round draft pick Matthew Maggio's historic season came to an abrupt end when his Windsor Spitfires were surprisingly swept by the Kitchener Rangers in the first round of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Playoffs. The early exit afforded Maggio the opportunity to sign an Amateur Tryout (ATO) with the Islanders American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Bridgeport Islanders.
The 20-year-old forward led the OHL in goals scoring 54 and registered 111 points in 66 games, which also led the OHL. The Spitfires captain also tallied an OHL career-best 57 assists this season.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, The Isles missed the net 27 times, most since a February 28, 2018, game against Montreal (32). The Isles had 94 attempts – their most since having 94 in a shootout loss to Vancouver on January 17, 2016. The only game that they had more attempts (since the stat was recorded officially in 2007-08) was on October 25, 2008, vs. Carolina, when they had 95 attempts in a 4-3 loss. It is the most attempts they have ever recorded on the road (the previous record was 92 in Ottawa on November 1, 2013).
🗓 ISLES REWIND: On April 11, 1975, playing in their first playoff series, the upstart Islanders shocked the rival New York Rangers when J.P. Parise scored 11 seconds into overtime at Madison Square Garden to give the Isles a 4-3 win.
At the time, it was the fastest goal in NHL Stanley Cup Playoff history. Parise had been acquired on Jan. 5, 1975, from the Minnesota North Stars along with Jude Drouin, who set up Parise's game and series-ending goal.
🎧 Hockey Night in New York: Living on a Prayer: The Isles went into DC and came out at the mercy of the hockey gods after dropping a bad loss to the already eliminated Washington Capitals. Seany & Chris went live to discuss what went wrong, the aftermath, and how the final days of the season might play out.
🔗 Bo Horvat apologizes for postgame diss of Canucks by Andrew Gross, Newsday “Bo Horvat’s line with Simon Holmstrom and Anders Lee entered Monday night’s matchup against the Capitals at Capital One Arena off two straight productive games. But, first things first, Horvat wanted to apologize for a line about being in this playoff push that sounded like a dig at his former team.”
And we leave you with this …. the latest Plaque Series is on former captain and Islanders Hall of Famer, Patrick Flatley, known as “The Chairman of the Boards.”
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Pretty sure if they don't make it, this will be just about the first time they were in a late season (down to the last game or two) playoff push and didn't make it. Happy to be part of potential history.
After it was 2-0 and we had multiple chances including a post or two and then we let up a goal because our best defender tripped over a loose stick, it felt like it was not going to be our night. They had plenty of chances and needed one to go earlier than one finally did. Very frustrating. Not over yet since we need our game to go our way and one of 3 games to go our way, but geez - what a disappointment.
Joe - I had a similar feeling. I got a notification from Kurz before I could put the game on and all he said was "uh oh". I didn't even consider 2-0 as an option given it was like 7:12. I'm just glad I didn't pull the trigger on attending!
.....a LOT of the early deficit and loss can be laid at Ilya's feet - no, NOT exclusively but, BIG contributing factor; should've been just a BIT further to his right against Strome - also, LUDICROUS to criticize Pelie & Pulie for the former tripping on the latter's stick - caused by a Washington player's actions (and MANY of their actual infractions were uncalled).....Kuemper was (again) MOSTLY why the Capitals ultimately prevailed but, FRUSTRATING to see another team's SUFFOCATING forecheck TOO much of the game : (