Before the New York Islanders can officially focus on the playoffs, they must find a way to beat one of their tri-state rivals.
The visiting Islanders look to clinch third place in the Metropolitan Division and avoid a season-series sweep by the New Jersey Devils on Monday night in Newark, N.J.
New York (37-27-16, 90 points) sits three points ahead of Washington, which holds the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, and Philadelphia. With two games remaining, the Islanders hold their own postseason fate and are in a good spot to make a fifth playoff appearance in six years.
Their six-game winning streak ended with Saturday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the host New York Rangers. However, New York earned a valuable point despite losing beyond regulation for a league-high 16th time this season.
“Every point matters down the stretch,” Islanders captain Anders Lee told ESPN. “It’s obviously very tight within the division and within the wild card.”
Entering its final regular-season road contest, New York has a chance to match a season-high eight-game point streak from Nov. 30-Dec. 15.
However, the Islanders been outscored 14-8 while going 0-2-1 this season against the Devils (38-38-5, 81 points), who will miss the playoffs after recording a franchise-record 112 points in 2022-23.
New Jersey enters the finale of their disappointing campaign amid a 2-5-1 rut following Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Philadelphia. The Devils have also lost four in a row at home, where they are 17-20-3 this season.
“It’s the last game, and you always want to win,” New Jersey defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler said.
“We just want to finish strong and leave the season with a good note.”
New Jersey’s Timo Meier has been held without a point in four of his last five games, but he has a goal with three assists in two games versus New York this season.
Meanwhile, teammate Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 20 of 21 shots versus Philadelphia and has a 2.51 goals-against average in his six games since coming over from San Jose in early March. The highlight of Kahkonen’s tenure with the Devils came on March 24, when he made 36 saves during a 4-0 road victory over the Islanders.
Teammate Jake Allen, however, has allowed nine goals in his last two starts for New Jersey.
The Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin (2.99 GAA) stopped 41 of 43 shots against the Rangers on Saturday in his first start since April 4. Sorokin, however, has a 4.36 GAA in the three games versus New Jersey this season.
Meanwhile, Semyon Varlamov is 4-0-0 with a 1.74 GAA and .943 save percentage in April, making for a potentially difficult goalie decision for Islanders coach Patrick Roy come playoff time.
The Islanders’ Brock Nelson had two goals against the Rangers, giving him 32 for the season. Nelson, who has posted three consecutive 30-goal seasons, scored twice in New York’s 5-4 overtime home loss to the Devils on Oct. 20, but was blanked in the two meetings since.
–Field Level Media