The Islanders put themselves in a rough spot after their three-game Canada swing featured a win against an also-ran mixed with regulation losses to two teams that could very easily keep them out of the playoffs.
They enter tonight one point out of the wild card and two points behind tonight’s opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have surged up the standings like some kind of Buffalo since firing Dean Evason and replacing him with longtime good guy Rick Bowness.
Like the Sabres, the Blue Jackets are for real, and the non-mirage emergence of both over the last few months has added two major competitors for the few Eastern playoff spots that are up for grabs.
Last night’s NHL scores were all bad, bad things. I guess at least the Bruins and Red Wings kept it to a two-point game with Detroit getting the regulation loss.