It’s taken 82 games, but the New York Islanders can clinch a playoff spot with a single point in their game against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night.

It’s not a situation the Isles expected to be in after Monday’s loss to the Washington Capitals.

Still, an upset by the Chicago Blackhawks over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night meant that the Islanders, once again, control their own destiny.

The Islanders are -360 favorites over the Habs on Wednesday, but all the pressure in the world will be on the Isles.

Will they be able to cope and finally put this playoff race to bed?

(7 p.m. ET. ESPN+)

The Islanders were left stunned in their 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday night.

The Caps scored two goals in the first minute of the game and left the first period with a 3-0 lead over the desperate Isles.

You’d think the Isles would have gathered themselves and pushed back from there, but that push never came.

A 5-2 loss meant the Islanders no longer controlled their own destiny and needed help from the out-of-town scoreboard to stay alive.

They got it.

The Penguins’ loss as a -520 favorite to the Blackhawks — one of the biggest betting upsets of the season — on Tuesday night gives the Isles the opportunity to play their way into the tournament. 

But, as we saw in Penguins-Blackhawks, just because a team is in a must-win spot and playing against a lottery-bound underdog doesn’t mean they’re automatically going to win — this is hockey, after all.

After a messy start in Washington, you’d have to imagine the Isles will come out of the gates with a disciplined effort against the Canadiens.

The easiest way for the Islanders to cough up this opportunity would be by making mistakes and allowing the Habs, a team with enough scoring talent to punish anybody in the NHL, to get on the board early.

The Islanders know they’re not a team built to succeed in back-and-forth games, so they’ll look to keep this thing on-script for as long as they possibly can and hope that their talent and goaltending advantage wins out in the end.

The Islanders are not really a team that will overwhelm you offensively despite the fact that they scored 10 goals in their last two wins.

In fact, they’ve scored two goals or less in five of their last eight contests and were shutout twice in that span.

Montreal, meanwhile, is generating the fewest high-danger scoring chances per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 in the league over its past 10 games.

Ilya Sorokin has arguably been the best goaltender all season, and Sam Montembeault has been better than expected for the Canadiens, so there are no real concerns with the goaltending matchup.

However, the Isles have a distinct edge in the blue paint.

With the Islanders expected to come out in a defensive posture and limit mistakes, the Under 5.5 seems worth a play on Wednesday night.

Under 5.5 (-110, BetMGM)