Friday morning, April 5th, was host to a rare and widespread earthquake that shook the Northeast US, as well as parts of Canada. The disturbance took place half a mile under the surface in New Jersey, approximately 12 hours after the Islanders closed out the win against Columbus at Nationwide Arena. Surely, this was just an aftershock from the epic, crushing weight of shifting Eastern Conference playoff positions as there is little tectonic plate activity on the east coast (a passive margin as opposed to West Coast’s active margin), save the alleged ancient plate buried deep in the earth millions of years ago (my geology degree is finally worth something?). It has to be that, or New Jersey is taking their revenge on the Rangers for pummeling them on Wednesday night.
As the wild card race continues to fluctuate every day, the New York Islanders have re-entered a playoff position, for the time being. Although there is plenty of time left to blow it, they’ve managed to string together a few wins to keep themselves competitive while the Flyers and Capitals continue to lose games. The Penguins are staying close behind, however, and the Red Wings remain a threat, but the Metropolitan teams are most concerning.
With Tampa Bay safely in the playoffs, the Islanders need to focus on jumping the Flyers and Capitals in points to grab the 3rd Metro spot, as they cannot win any tie-breakers with the 34-27-15 record.
The Islanders look to the Sabres, Hurricanes, and Rangers for help tonight against the Flyers, Capitals, and Red Wings respectively. Sabres and Flyers have each bested each other, and the Caps seem to hang in there just fine with the Hurricanes. Luckily, the Rangers are 2-0 against the Wings, but the games have been close. Their will be a lot of anxiety for the Islanders fanbase tonight! What else is new?
Who should we want to play if we can make playoffs? Making it is an accomplishment in its own right, but who do the Isles stand a chance against in the first round? The short answer is no one, really, but we must cling to the hopes of first round chaos and the chance of learning the enemies tactics in a best-of-seven series. The Hurricanes knocked us out last year, and seem to be the most likely matchup if Philly and Washington keep losing. Revenge would be great, but they look to be in even better form than last year.
Playing the Rangers would be the most high-strung series possible. Losing to anyone else would not hurt nearly as bad, and wouldn’t leave our fanbase open to so much hate and gloating in our own homes as that would. The upcoming tilts with them will be a good indicator, and they may very well stand directly in our way of making playoffs. If we drew them in the first round, I’d predict losing at least two games pretty badly to them. Our hope lies in the possibility of a shaky Shesterkin or if we can remain disciplined enought to keeo them off the power play. I guess we just want them win the President’s Trophy to help them pull off another “early” exit.
The Bruins or Panthers wouldn’t be much less of a struggle, but we have proven we are capable of winning games against them. There is really no telling what will happen in the playoffs, no matter what any jerk-off fan tries to convince you of with absolute certainty. How many people had the Panthers beating the Bruins last year?
Lastly, it is worth noting the play of Bo Horvat lately (and all season, really). He has proven to be one of our premier leaders and scorers, currently with 32 G and 34 A for 66 points in 75 games. Not bad for what this team looked like up until the All-Star break. Also happy birthday to the handsome man today! On all the days we looked helpless and careless, he was the one player still battling. I like to think he has Captain Anders Lee on his toes, as Lee has looked significantly more aggressive in recent games. We also have to shout out JG Pageau, too, for winning 47/60 face-offs in the last 5 games. Even if he’s not scoring, he works his bag off to help this team compete.
The next week is going to be pretty wild for all hockey fans around the league, with nail-biting endings, glorious wins, and crushed dreams. Stay safe from any earthquakes and Let’s go Islanders!
Cover Photo: The Columbus Dispatch
The Morning Skate 