The New York Islanders are back in a playoff spot with six games to go. How does their schedule fair against their playoff-hopeful rivals?
The New York Islanders came away with a key 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night.
Noah Dobson snapped out of his funk with the game-winning goal in the third period, and Ilya Sorokin bounced back from a tough first period to make 25 saves.
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Most importantly, with the win and the Washington Capitals falling to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Islanders moved back into the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
With the end of the regular season just under two weeks away, there's no clear favorite to take home the final playoff spots.
The Metropolitan Division's top two teams are likely set, with the Atlantic Division's participants set and saved for seeding. With a revolving door of teams coming in and out for the final two spots, how does the Islanders' remaining schedule stack up?
The Contenders:
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Alongside the Islanders, teams gunning for the final Wild Card spot include the Capitals, Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings. Philadelphia and the Islanders are tied with 83 points in the standings entering Friday's games, but the Flyers have the tiebreaker by virtue of regulation wins. Compared to the teams on the outside looking in, New York is one point ahead of Washington and Detroit and two ahead of Pittsburgh.
If the season were to end today, the Flyers take home the last spot in the Metro while the Islanders draw the final Wild Card. However, the Capitals and Red Wings each have games in hand on New York that will be played on Friday, so those spots can change on a dime once again.
Philadelphia will also square off with the Buffalo Sabres, giving the Islanders a game in hand on them heading into their game Saturday night against the Nashville Predators.
Schedule Overlaps:
The Islanders cross paths with only one of the teams in the race, that team being Pittsburgh in their season finale on Apr. 17.
Philadelphia only has one game left with a Wild Card contender as well, their opponent being Washington on Apr. 16, their last game of the season.
However, each of the remaining teams have two games head-to-head with teams not named the Islanders.
The combinations are:
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As a result, the Islanders and the Flyers won't have many chances to necessarily bury a team in the standings, only having one chance each. However, for their respective playoff hopes, they will need each of those games to avoid going to overtime or shootouts.
Strength of Schedule:
The other thing to note is the number of contenders that are left on each teams' radar. For New York, there are three games on the docket that are currently in playoff spots: their next game with the Nashville Predators and two bouts with the New York Rangers.
The remaining schedules for each team, in order, are as follows:
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In doing the math, Pittsburgh has the most games against teams in playoff position, as of Friday, with four.
Washington evens the Islanders' number with three, Detroit has two, and Philadelphia has one. In terms of home ice advantage, Detroit and Washington have four games each to lead the contenders.
When evaluating all the factors, the Islanders and Flyers will each have to worry about taking care of their own business.
Save one of their games in the homestretch, there is no overlap in their schedules with other contenders, so doing only what they control while hoping for minimal three-point games is important.
Strength of schedule also shakes things up, with Philadelphia having the "easiest" schedule while Pittsburgh has the "toughest."
However, as last year's homestretch can attest, anything can happen in the final days of the NHL season, so anyone can play spoiler at any point.
Regardless, the Islanders find themselves in a fascinating position.
Despite all their speed bumps and struggles, they remain in the thick of the playoff hunt, and the final days will be filled with focusing on their games and potential scoreboard watching, providing a dramatic finish to the 2023-24 season