from Ethan Sears of the New York Post,
One-hundred-and-twenty minutes are left in this Islanders season, which has been most characterized by teetering, and their playoff aspirations are still hanging on the ever-so-tight thread of their own play.
Teeter those aspirations did on Saturday, when the Islanders temporarily dipped below the cutline after the Penguins beat the Red Wings in the afternoon.
They jumped back into a playoff spot with their 4-0 victory Saturday night over the Flyers, the result of which was without doubt by the second intermission.
That left the third period for scoreboard watching, which did yield some drama when Matthew Tkachuk scored a late winner to haul the Panthers past the Capitals.
That brought a particularly inconvenient Florida winning streak to six games and kept the Panthers ahead of the Islanders for the first wild-card spot.
“That sucks,” Noah Dobson said after he was informed of Florida’s victory in the Islanders’ locker room. “But no, we know what situation we’re in. At the end of the day, you want to have control in your own hands, and we [have] that. … If we keep winning, we’re gonna be in a good spot.”
Those two late March losses to CBJ (in OT) and to BUF are biting them in the A$$ now.....even if they closed out CBJ, things would be different. That said - WIN and you are IN. Gotta make sure Sidney and Geno and Kris are on the outside looking in at playoff time - with their guy Bettman!
If Pens miss the playoffs, I think we know who is getting Bedard:) Although I still think its going to be Chicago.
If Pit is just out of the playoffs - can they rise enough to get him? I hope not!
No. A team can only move up 10 spots making the 11 spot the last team that has a chance at Bedard. Currently the 11th team is St. Louis. Only Buffalo and Ottawa currently sit above the cut line but could drop below it. Winnipeg, Florida, Calgary, Nashville, Pittsburgh, NYI COULD miss the playoffs but cannot draft #1.
No they cant get to #11, the lowest spot eligible for #1 pick, albeit 3%. they could trade.
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