The New York Islanders have taken a long, winding road to get to this point, but they’re now on the cusp of clinching a playoff berth.
The Islanders will head to Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon riding a seven-game winning streak and should other results go their way later in the day, they could wake up on Sunday morning with an “x” next to their name in the standings.
That was not something that seemed likely even two weeks ago.
But the job isn’t done yet and the Islanders will have their hands full with a Rangers team that will look to get right after dropping two in a row, the first of which came against their crosstown rival in a heated match on Long Island on Tuesday.
Everyone will be on notice for Saturday’s rematch after the Blueshirts made a big fuss about a couple of hits in the third period on Tuesday and that could lead to some fireworks, especially early on in the contest.
I would not be shocked if the officials get involved right from the jump on Saturday to make sure that this game doesn’t go off the rails.
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That should lead to some power plays or, at the very least, some 4-on-4 time and open things up on the ice right out of the gates.
Eventually, you’d expect a high-stakes game like this one to settle down but the first period should be box office, and that should mean plenty of scoring chances for both sides.
The play: First period, Over 1.5 Goals