The Islanders look to get back into third place of the Metropolitan Division with a win against the Lightning in Tampa tonight. New York trails the Pittsburgh Penguins by a point with a game in hand. The New Jersey Devils did the Isles a solid last night, shutting out the Penguins.
The Isles did enough Wednesday against the Senators. It was the first time they scored three goals since their comeback win against the Panthers on March 14th. John Tavares got the Isles on board with his first goal in six games. Brock Nelson scored his 24th goal of the season, 21 seconds after Matt Martin deflected a Travis Hamonic shot. Nelson now has three goals in his last nine games.
The Isles lead the Flyers and Red Wings by just two points. Detroit is on the outside looking in for the last wild card spot. This is an important stretch for the Isles. Following tonight their next three games are against non playoff teams (Carolina X2 and Columbus). It's imperative that they get at least six of the next eight points presented to them. April is a very tough month for New York. Out of their six final games, only one is against a non playoff team (Buffalo). Remember the Sabres came into Barclays and scored two third-period goals to defeat them back on November 1st.
New York also has two back-to-backs in their six April games. Jack Capuano now feels comfortable putting Jean-Francois Berube out there during this critical stretch. Berube played well Wednesday against the Senators. He's held his own in his three starts since the all-star break and was the main reason the team left Pittsburgh with a point on March 15th. Cappy, like what he did with Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss, will play the hot hand.
Speaking of Halak, Isles Twitter blew up yesterday when Newsday's Arthur Staple replied to a tweet saying that he doesn't think Halak will play another game for the Isles. It was unclear if he meant this season or ever again. Halak is scheduled to return during the playoffs. If the Isles advance to the second round for the first time since my senior prom, it will be hard for him to unseat either Greiss or Berube. Staples' tweet is a topic for the offseason.
Greiss will start tonight and Berube tomorrow in Carolina. Ryan Pulock remains in the lineup. The Isles came back from a two-goal deficit in the third period to defeat the Lightning 3-2 on November 28th. Greiss made 28 saves and kept the team in the game.