The NHL playoffs aren’t scheduled to start for another three months.
But a postseason-like intensity has already arrived for the New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Islanders will attempt to climb back into the playoff race and the surprising Blue Jackets will aim to maintain their spot in the top two of the wild-card standings Monday night when New York hosts Columbus in a battle of Metropolitan Division rivals in Elmont, N.Y.
Both teams were off Sunday after playing in the metropolitan New York area Saturday night. The Islanders never trailed in a 4-1 win over the visiting San Jose Sharks, while the Blue Jackets fell to the host New York Rangers, 1-0, in the shootout.
While the Islanders remain in last place in the Metropolitan Division and in 14th in the 15-team Eastern Conference, the win at least helped them finally gain some ground in the playoff race after a discouraging start to a seven-game homestand.
New York opened its longest homestand of the season with consecutive losses to the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers last Tuesday and Thursday. The Islanders are nine points behind the wild card-leading Senators, who edged the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. The Blue Jackets are one point behind Ottawa and in the second spot.
The Islanders had little trouble taking control against the Sharks, who are in last place in the Pacific Division. New York outshot San Jose 19-6 before Mathew Barzal snapped a scoreless tie at 8:47 of the second.
Brock Nelson, Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock added goals over the next 12-plus minutes for the Islanders, whose next 13 games are against teams that entered Sunday within four points of a playoff spot.
“It was a huge game — I think at this point in the year, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing, every single night here is important, especially when we’re on home ice,” Pulock said. “We need to be better there, and tonight was a good first step.”
The Blue Jackets got another idea of what playoff hockey might be like Saturday, when their six-game winning streak ended with their first 1-0 shootout loss since March 26, 2013 against the host Vancouver Canucks. The winning streak was the longest for Columbus since a six-game run in 2019-20 — the last time the franchise made the playoffs.
Daniil Tarasov, who made his 54th NHL start on Saturday, became the first goalie to lose his first career shutout when he stopped 26 shots in regulation and overtime before Vincent Trocheck scored on the Rangers’ second attempt in the shootout.
“It was a great hockey game,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. “Both teams played hard. It might not have been exciting as far as scoring goals, but the effort was there by both teams, the desperation was there by both teams, the patience. I really liked (how our) hockey club stayed within ourselves.”
The defensive duel opened the first of two four-game road trips over an 18-day span for the Blue Jackets, who will return home for just one game against the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 25.
–Field Level Media
