Islanders Bailed Out By Brock Nelson & Avalanche In Shootout Win Over Montreal; Hold Steady In Wild Card Race

Brock Nelson may no longer be a member of the New York Islanders. But on Saturday night, he helped his former team out in a major way. 

Let's set the stage. 

The New York Islanders began the evening two points back of the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. 

If the Islanders could beat the Calgary Flames on Satuday night, there was a chance they could wake up on Sunday morning in a playoff spot, as they held the regulation win tie-breaker over Montreal. 

It just depended on what Montreal did against the Colorado Avalanche. 

Chapter 1

Kyle MacLean scored with 4:51 to go in the third, with UBS Arena erupting. But before anyone could really gather their thoughts, Jonathan Huberdeau, in his 900th game, had a nasty deflection to tie the game 30 seconds later.

The game needed overtime, where Nazem Kadri scored the game-winning dagger at 3:53 of the overtime frame. It was a devastating blow and a gigantic point left on the table. 

The Islanders just had to hope that the Colorado Avalanche could beat the Canadiens in regulation. 

Chapter 2

The Avalanche did not beat the Canadiens in regulation. But it was Nelson who won it for Colorado in the fourth round:

While that goal won't count on the scoresheet, it was a goal that had Long Island in a much better mood then they were a few hours earlier. 

The Islanders now still have the ability to tie Montreal in points on Monday, when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7:30 PM ET. 

Other notable results:

The New York Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 to leapfrog the Islanders by a point. The top wild-card Ottawa Senators beat the Metro third-seed New Jersey Devils 3-2.