The New York Islanders have now lost two in a row but are still in a wild-card spot, for now, with 17 games to go.
BUFFALO, NY — The New York Islanders had the opportunity to shake off a 3-0 shutout loss to the Los Angeles Kings and finish their road trip 3-1-0 if they could beat the Buffalo Sabres.
However, their struggles continued, falling 4-0 to the Sabres as they head home 2-2-0 on the trip.
Despite a disappointing end to their trek, the Islanders woke up Friday morning still in the second wild-card spot as the hockey gods bailed them out.
The Detroit Red Wings, who started the night tied with the Islanders in points with one more game played, were facing the Arizona Coyotes.
Their attempt to snap a six-game slide was for not, falling 4-1, as the Coyotes bailed the Islanders out, keeping them in a playoff spot.
It also helps New York that the Philadelphia Flyers lost their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2. This keeps the Islanders four points back of third place in the Metro with two games in hand.
The one result that didn’t go the Islanders' way came in Tampa, as the top wild-card Tampa Bay Lightning came back to beat the New York Rangers 6-3, moving four points up of the Islanders with a game in hand.
The Islanders control their own destiny, so it's up to them if their 2023-24 season ends on Apr. 17 or goes beyond that.
Making the playoffs is anything but a walk in the park with 17 games to go, especially this weekend, where they play not one but two matinee games on back-to-back days.
They'll host the Ottawa Senators, who have won two straight, at 12:30 PM ET on Saturday before a St. Patrick's Day showdown with the cross-town rival New York Rangers on Sunday at Madison Square Garden with puck drop at 1 PM.
After that, it's a battle with the second-place Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, a monumental matchup against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday before another weekend back-to-back, with the dominant Winnipeg Jets at UBS Arena on Mar. 23 before the New Jersey Devils square off on Mar. 24.
It's a game-by-game mindset for Patrick Roy's Islanders, who are just focused on Ottawa after two straight losses.
The hockey gods helped them on Friday, but they aren't a reliable bunch, so if the Islanders want to remain in a playoff spot -- and create some separation -- they will need to play significantly better than what they showed the last two outings.