As the Islanders skated off the UBS Arena ice on Friday, handshake lines finished and last vestiges of the crowd clearing out, the reality in front of them was clear as day.

They had lost a winnable Game 6, 2-1 to the Hurricanes on home ice with Paul Stastny ending their season in overtime.

They had lost a winnable series, blowing leads in Game 2 and Game 6 that will haunt them for the entire offseason.

And they might have lost their best chance of an extended playoff run with this core of players.

As the puck dropped on the third period Friday, the Islanders held a 1-0 lead that belied their near complete control of proceedings.

This was not Ilya Sorokin holding up the sky, as he’d done in Game 5.

This was the Islanders getting to their game, holding the puck below the hash marks and winning battles along the walls, doing what they do best.

And then they stopped.