New York Islanders with chance to plan in playoff spot against Columbus Blue Jackets

The New York Islanders enter Monday night’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets with a chance to skate away with a share of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Montreal Canadiens currently hold the final playoff spot with 75 points. Meanwhile, the New York Rangers are one point behind with 74. That leaves the Isles with 73.

Both the Canadiens and the Rangers are off on Monday night, paving the way for the Islanders to grab a share of the second wildcard spot with a win. That’s a crucial point to make as the Isles need to win the game, regardless of how they do it, in order to get the two points.

While there’s no such thing as an “easy” game, Monday’s matchup against the Blue Jackets is certainly a winnable game. The Blue Jackets were in a playoff spot roughly three weeks ago but have since faded. They are in the midst of a six-game losing streak and are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games.

As such, the Isles are in a position to capitalize on the struggling Blue Jackets and move into a playoff spot. Of course, that situation could change on Tuesday when the Canadiens play the St. Louis Blues and the Rangers take on the Los Angeles Kings.

Nevertheless, the Islanders could pull off of tremendous feat and still make the postseason after being written off for dead just a couple of weeks ago.

New York Islanders playing with pressure off

What I am about to say here is based on my observations. Thus far, I have not heard any renowned analyst point this out.

But it seems to me that the Islanders are playing with the pressure off their backs. This change came about after the trade deadline. Leading up to the 4 Nations Face-Off break, the Isles had a long seven-game winning streak. That streak put the Isles back into the playoff hunt.

However, following the break, the Isles struggled. At one point, the team hit the Metro Division cellar. I was one who questioned whether it was time to punt on the season. The Isles organization seemingly thought so, too at the deadline.

In the end, we didn’t see the major house cleaning that just about everyone expected. In fact, it seemed that everyone breathed a sigh of relief once the deadline was behind them. Yes, Brock Nelson was traded, but in a way, the trade removed a distraction surrounding the team.

Since the March 7 deadline, the Isles have won four and lost four. They were riding a three-game winning streak after losing three in a row. Nevertheless, the Islanders are playing tough down to the wire. They aren’t giving up and look determined to push for a playoff spot.

With the way things are going, it could be that the stars are lining up for the Islanders to sneak into the playoffs for the second season in a row. While the Islanders likely face the Washington Capitals in the first round, I’d say the Capitals might be just a tad worried that they could become this year’s biggest upset.