Here is how strange and unpredictable the playoff race has been for the Islanders:
Less than a week ago, the Islanders entered the third period of a must-win game needing a comeback that didn’t look likely. Now, after their 2-1 win over the Jets on Wednesday night, with Ilya Sorokin outdueling Connor Hellebuyck in a battle of Vezina Trophy-contending goaltenders, they have won three of four and occupy the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a three-point cushion. The biggest news for the Islanders between then and now was an injury to perhaps their best offensive player.
Try to figure that one out. Or just sit back and enjoy it.
On paper, it didn’t look like the best spot for the Islanders, but Mathew Barzal out of the lineup with a lower-body injury, few games do. But for the second straight game without Barzal, they found a way.
Entering the third period tied 1-1, the Islanders were on their heels and looked to be even more so after a catastrophic power play in which they failed to complete a zone entry. But Simon Holmstrom — who was demoted from the top line on Monday before finding himself back there midgame Wednesday — jumped on a feed from Bo Horvat and fired a wrister past Hellebuyck at the 9:57 mark to give the Islanders a 2-1 lead.
From there, it was a matter of bearing down and defending, something that even a depleted Islanders squad can do with the best of them.
During a first period in which Sorokin bailed out the Islanders a number of times, they managed to capitalize when the Jets made an unforced error. Mason Appleton turned the puck over, leading to a two-on-one breakaway in which Sebastian Aho pounced on Brock Nelson’s rebound to open a 1-0 lead for the Islanders.
It didn’t last, however. Nikolaj Ehlers capitalized, after Casey Cizikas was called for tripping early in the second period, uncorking a wrist shot that beat Sorokin clean from the left circle at the 4:30 mark.
Sorokin, not at his all-world sharpest, was still typically stalwart in net, letting the Islanders stay in it through long stretches of play embedded in their own defensive zone. That is the kind of advantage he can and must bring every night with Barzal out.
And it is the kind of advantage the Islanders got Wednesday.
Games in hand remain the biggest enemy for the Islanders, but with each win they pick up, the math gets incrementally better. After their 61st game of the season on Wednesday, the Islanders have played more than every other team in the wild-card race, but they have a three-point lead on the Panthers, who are right behind them in the standings.
The next three games before the trade deadline next Friday — with the Kings visiting on Friday and the Islanders playing at Winnipeg on Sunday and Minnesota on Tuesday — could go a long way toward determining how viable a playoff push will be.
And the Islanders are off to the right start.