The Islanders' tall order just grew a few more feet after they received no help from the hockey gods on Tuesday night.
The Islanders' tall order just grew a few more feet after they received no help from the hockey gods on Tuesday night.
The New York Islanders have 11 games remaining to get themselves back into a playoff spot.
With a few days before Patrick Roy's squad returns to action on Thursday night against the Florida Panthers, all there was to do was prepare for their game and watch the scoreboard.
“Everyone's scoreboard-watching at this point." Islanders forward Mathew Barzal told The Hockey News on Tuesday. "I think everyone on every team is, so we know where we are and where we're at. At this point, we can only worry about ourselves. We can only worry about the next game, and that's really where our focus is."
The Islanders woke up on Tuesday morning four points out of a playoff spot.
Now they're six after nightmarish results.
The second wild-card Washington Capitals, who held a four-point lead over the Islanders and a slim one-point lead over the Red Wings, played Steve Yzerman's squad.
The worst result for the Islanders was to see the game go into overtime, and the hockey gods delivered just that.
Red Wings forward Patrick Kane tied the score at 3-3 with 5:20 to play in regulation before Dylan Strome won it for the Capitals 1:55 into overtime:
The Capitals have won their last three games and seven of their last 10 as they've come out of nowhere., in large part, to goaltender Charlie Lindgren.
Their next game is in Toronto on Thursday night.
The Philadelphia Flyers, who hold down the third seed in the Metropolitan Division, also earned a point to move seven points up on the Islanders after a wild 6-5 overtime loss to the New York Rangers:
The Islanders have two games in hand on Philadelphia, who they play on Apr. 1
Ultimately, if the Islanders are going to make the playoffs and defy most odds, it starts with them winning hockey games.
After facing the Panthers on Thursday night, the Islanders head to Tampa for a Saturday night showdown against the Lightning.
Both puck drops are at 7 PM ET.