The Metropolitan Division race has already started to narrow, and the final playoff spot may end up being a straight fight between the Islanders and the Rangers.
For the Islanders, the calendar is still in its earliest stretch. They’ve already played a little more than 10% of their season - just over 9.5% before Tuesday night’s first period against the Anaheim Ducks wraps up that mark. Through eight games, they’re 4-3-1 for nine points, which leaves them one point behind both the Washington Capitals in third place in the Metropolitan Division and the Buffalo Sabres for the last wild-card position.
Washington has also played eight games. Buffalo has played nine. By points percentage, if everything stopped today, the Islanders would be in the playoffs for the first time in three years.
The Columbus Blue Jackets haven’t given anyone much reason to believe they’re ready to join the conversation. Their inconsistency has only grown, and they look even further from a playoff spot than they did last season.
That leaves three teams in the mix: the Islanders, Devils, and Rangers.
For the Islanders, the biggest separator is obvious: goaltending. Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov give them a clear edge, with Sorokin carrying the emphasis.
The Devils are working with Jake Allen and Nico Daws. The Rangers, meanwhile, lost Igor Shesterkin for the year because of a lower-body injury and are currently relying on rookie Dylan Garand and journeyman Spencer Martin, with Joonas Korpisalo expected back from injury in mid-November.
That makes the Devils’ path especially hard to trust unless they pull off a major in-season trade for a goalie.
So the real battle may come down to the Islanders and Rangers, with New York holding a four-point lead at the moment. It doesn’t feel like a huge cushion. If the Islanders had beaten the Rangers at Madison Square Garden in the second week of the season, they’d be tied with them for second in the division right now.
That’s how tight this is already, with Washington in the middle but projected to finish second behind the Carolina Hurricanes.
The next six months could turn the Islanders-Rangers rivalry into the defining story of the Metropolitan race.
In Other News...
Islanders Win Came With A Lineup Problem Fans Will Feel Fast
The Islanders left Toronto with a 4-1 win in their second road game of the season, but the mood around the result was tempered by the kind of lineup fallout that can linger long after the final horn. Cal Ritchie and Matias Maccelli both went down during the game and did not finish, adding to a stretch in which the roster has already started to look thin in a hurry.
Alexander Romanovs latest setback only sharpens the concern. The defenseman was moved to injured reserve after suffering an ACL tear, leaving the Islanders to patch things together on the fly, and the next move came in the form of an emergency recall from the AHL to help cover the short-handed group. Even with the win in hand, this is the sort of early-season roster squeeze that can change how a team approaches the next few games. [Read more 🡒]
Logan Stanley Has Become Crucial To An Islanders Race Nobody Expected
Logan Stanley has quietly become one of the more important pieces of the Islanders blue line as the season has worn on, giving the club the kind of steady, low-drama defense it has badly needed. His fit in Peter DeBoers system has stood out because he has brought stability and reliable defensive play while taking on significant ice time, a useful development for a team that has leaned on every capable body it can find back there.
Alexander Romanovs season-ending injury is what pushed Stanley into a much larger role, and the Islanders have benefited from how quickly he settled into it. He has often been the steady presence alongside Matthew Schaefer, and for a player signed for $1.5 million this season, that kind of workload and trust has mattered a lot in a race few around the team expected to be this relevant. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Prospect Pipeline Is Building Early Momentum In Key Spots
The Islanders prospect group kept giving the organization reasons to pay attention over the weekend, with several young players stacking productive games in key junior and college spots. Tomas Poletn was one of the louder notes, putting up three points across two games for the Kelowna Rockets, while Vladimir Draveck stayed hot for the Guelph Storm with points in four straight and 10 during that span.
Burke Hood also continued to sharpen his game in net, allowing just one goal in each of his last two outings and finishing with a .975 save percentage. Bobby Cowan has been just as steady for Western Michigan University, riding a three-game goal streak and a four-game point streak as the Islanders pipeline starts to show some early momentum in multiple places. [Read more 🡒]