The only thing the Islanders can do now is simple: Beat Montreal.

Just beat Montreal. 

Thanks to a disastrous performance Monday night in a 5-2 loss to the Capitals, however, that alone will not get the Islanders to the playoffs.

But it is the only part of the equation within their control, and thus the only thing they can focus on. 

“Can’t do much about tonight now,” Zach Parise said in the dressing room at Washington on Monday. “Hopefully we get a little help and win our game Wednesday and see what happens.” 

Heading into Tuesday night, the Islanders, who were off, had lost control of their own destiny.

In addition to beating the Canadiens on Wednesday, the Islanders (who had 91 points) needed Pittsburgh (90 points) or Florida (92 points) to lose a game.

The Penguins hosted the Blackhawks on Tuesday and will finish their regular season at Columbus on Thursday.

The Panthers will host the Hurricanes on Thursday, and Carolina may still be playing for a Metropolitan Division title. 

If it comes down to a tiebreaker, the Islanders have the advantage over the Penguins, but are one regulation win behind the Panthers.

Monday was a golden chance to make up that gap, because Florida lost in overtime to the Maple Leafs, but the Islanders fumbled the bag within the opening two minutes, giving up two goals in 63 seconds to the Capitals and never getting back into the game. 

The Canadiens have long been out of the playoff chase and are playing only to keep their jobs next year.

But the Islanders have already dropped a point to Montreal this season, with a 4-3 overtime loss at the Bell Centre on Feb. 11.

If the Islanders had gotten that point, they would control of their own destiny. 

And, as they learned to their own potential detriment Monday, just because a team already has been eliminated doesn’t mean the Islanders can let up. 

“Every night’s going to be tough,” Brock Nelson said. “It doesn’t matter who’s in or who’s out. … Five-on-five, everyone’s going to go out there and compete and not give you anything easy.” 

The intensity on Wednesday, particularly early in the game, can’t be lacking in the same way it was Monday.

The Islanders may not be able to get themselves into the postseason with a win, but a loss would almost certainly mean the end. 

“The urgency’s always there for us,” Parise said. “I think that’s thrown around a little loosely. You can never convince me that we weren’t urgent and we weren’t ready to play. They just got a few early. I wouldn’t say that we didn’t have urgency. I don’t think that’s fair.” 

Parise, though, was the only player who came close to defending the urgency level. 

“Apparently not,” coach Lane Lambert said, asked if there was enough intensity Monday. “We ended up in our own zone, and we didn’t get the puck out. We have to deal with it, we have to move onto the next game. It was disappointing for sure.” 

It was far from the first time this season in which a poor start has cost the Islanders, just as it was far from the first time they’ve dropped points to inferior opposition.

But if they land outside the playoff picture by the end of the night Thursday, it will be the one that is remembered. 

“It’s extremely frustrating,” Lambert said. “We knew what we had to do, we just didn’t get it done. We just have to move on and get it done on Wednesday.” 

Right now, that is the only option the Islanders have. Beat Montreal. Just beat Montreal.