The next time the New York Islanders take the ice at the Nassau Coliseum, it will be in the playoffs.
It remains to be seen though whether it will be Game 1 or Game 3 of the series.
The Coliseum ice crew wasted little time after Monday night’s 2-1 loss against former captain John Tavares and the Toronto Maple Leafs, painting the Stanley Cup Playoffs logo atop each blue line. Preparations came just moments following the Islanders’ miss of a golden opportunity to gain ground on the Washington Capitals for the Metropolitan Division lead.
The first-place Capitals fell 5-3 to the Florida Panthers on Monday night but still hold a three-point advantage over the second-place Islanders with two games left to play.
“It’s unfortunate we lost,” Mathew Barzal said. “That’s the way she goes, sometimes.”
The Islanders were two points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins for second place entering Tuesday night. Sidney Crosby and Co. were playing the Detroit Red Wings at the time of this paper’s publishing. A win would see the Islanders fall to third in the division.
Should the Islanders hold on to the No. 2 spot by season’s end, they will get home ice for at least the first round, which will be played at the Coliseum. All subsequent rounds will be played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn should they advance.
It will be the first time they host Game 1 of a playoff series since 1988, in which they lost to a New Jersey Devils led by GM Lou Lamoriello (now the Islanders’ president) in six games.
With sights now set on securing the No. 2 seed in the division, the Islanders hit the road and will try to finish strong to clinch home ice.
Thursday night will bring the Islanders down to Sunrise, FL to face the Panthers, the Atlantic Division’s fifth-place team.
A win in Florida could keep the Islanders alive for the division title should the Capitals lose on Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens. It would set up a monumental clash for the division title on the last game of the season as the Islanders visit Washington.
“You want to take these final two games to prime yourself for the next stage,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said. “I’m looking forward to six more periods of good hockey and fine-tuning our game.”
