The climb into the Eastern Conference playoff race grew even steeper for the New York Islanders while they were idle Saturday.
The task might not get any easier Sunday night, when the Islanders return to the ice by facing the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in Elmont, N.Y.
The Islanders are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night. The Panthers are completing a back-to-back road set after falling Saturday to the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1.
The loss Friday was the third straight (0-2-1) for the Islanders, who fell six points behind the New York Rangers in the race for the second wild card following the Rangers’ 4-0 win Saturday night over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
There are four additional teams ahead of the Islanders, who have 66 points and are almost as close to the last-place Buffalo Sabres (58 points) in the Eastern Conference as they are to the Rangers.
The perilous state of their playoff hopes meant the Islanders couldn’t derive much optimism from earning the loser point Friday, when Leon Draisaitl scored both Edmonton goals, including the breakaway with 1:07 left in overtime.
“You want the extra point, so it definitely feels sour,” said Islanders left winger Pierre Engvall, who had a shot turned back by the Oilers’ Calvin Pickard to set up Draisaitl’s game-winner. “But we can only get back here next game and get two points in that one.”
The visit from the Panthers will be one of many challenges the Islanders face down the stretch. Fourteen of New York’s final 17 games will be against teams that either entered Sunday in a playoff spot or were within two points of a wild-card berth.
Getting a chance to defend their Stanley Cup title won’t be a problem for the Panthers, who lead the Atlantic Division with 85 points even after losing for the second time in three games Saturday. Florida is four points ahead of both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs in the division.
But coach Paul Maurice hopes the mini-slump helps crystallize the focus for the Panthers, who have been outscored 8-6 over the past three games following a six-game winning streak in which they outscored their foes 20-5 and posted three shutouts.
Florida never led Saturday, when Patrik Laine and Cole Caufield each scored in the first for the Canadiens. Mackie Samoskevich cut the gap in half in the second, but the Panthers never tied the game in the third despite outshooting Montreal 11-2.
“I don’t want to tell you how I thought we played, because I want to be respectful of the effort from Montreal — they played hard and fast,” Maurice said. “I can’t really give you an assessment of how good that was because I’m not sure it relates to how we played.
“We’d have to play considerably better before I can assess what the other team did to us.”
–Field Level Media
