If the New York Islanders are going to make the playoffs, they need to find the win column soon because they're running out of runway and are behind the eight ball. Lucky for them, they're still right there with 14 games to go.
Let's make one thing clear.
If the New York Islanders are going to make the playoffs, they need to find the win column soon because they're running out of runway and are behind the eight ball.
Patrick Roy's team suffered their fifth straight loss on Tuesday night, falling 4-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Lucky for New York, it appears that no team fighting for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference truly wants it.
Joking around with ESPN's Arda Orcal on Tuesday that the playoff hopefuls are playing a game of hot potato, but it's more like a game of "Cheese Touch" from Diary of a Wimpy Kid with how many teams are doing their best to avoid playing playoff hockey.
Although the Islanders have dropped out of a playoff spot over their five-game losing streak, they remain just three points back of the second wild-card spot with a game in hand on the Detroit Red Wings.
The Islanders could have been just a point back despite the losses, but the Red Wings -- losers of seven of their last eight games entering Tuesday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets -- scored with 13 seconds to play in regulation before Patrick Kane scored 46 seconds into overtime for a colossal win.
Now, the Islanders and Red Wings meet Thursday night in Detroit for a monumental showdown.
The Washington Capitals, who sit between the Islanders and the Red Wings, are getting elite goaltending from "backup" goalie Charlie Lindgren, just allowing eight goals over his last six starts, which has the team a point back of a wild-card spot with two games in hand of Detroit.
They're back in action against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night, a team that just lost to the third-place Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 on Tuesday night.
With that win, Philadelphia is up three points on the Capitals.
What helped the Islanders a tad was the Buffalo Sabres falling 3-2 to the Vancouver Canucks in regulation. A win would have the Sabres a point back of the Islanders.
The Islanders have 14 games to go, 28 possible points and it truly is a wide-open race.
"There's a lot of hockey left. It's obviously dwindling, but the race is tight," Islanders captain Anders Lee said. "We're in that race. We're right there. It's just tough to have these stretches here at this time, no doubt."
After Detroit, the Islanders play another weekend back-to-back, hosting the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday at 1 PM before the New Jersey Devils come to town on Sunday evening at 5 PM.
But, as always, the focus is on the next game at hand, and with one win against a team the Islanders are chasing, they move a step closer -- depending on what other teams do -- to being back in the playoff picture.