The Islanders begin a tough southeast back-to-back
The Islanders begin a difficult road back-to-back against two of the top teams in the East with a stop in Tampa Bay, where the Lightning are coming off a demolition of the white flag-waving Utah Hockey Clubs.
Faceoff for today is 2 p.m. EDT, so don’t let it pass you buy or, alternatively, ruin your day.
First Islanders Goal picks go here.
Results affecting the wild card chase last night include Montreal losing in regulation, Columbus winning in a shootout (to hop back into the wild card position) and the Rangers blew a late two-goal lead to fall in Anaheim in OT (tee hee). The latter two are also in action tonight.
That leaves the Isles a point behind Columbus (same GP), the Rangers (but with two games in hand) and the Red Wings (with one game in hand on them).
But that games in hand factoid doesn’t look so advantageous when they’re looking at an afternoon with the Lightning today followed by a late afternoon/early evening start in Raleigh against the Hurricanes on Sunday.
Lightning 15-2-1 at home since Jan. 1, outscoring opponents 69-32 in that span.
But #Isles did win 3-2 in OT in Tampa on Feb. 1. That game was notable for D Adam Boqvist scoring in his Isles’ debut, capping a 7-game winning streak and injuries to Mathew Barzal and Scott Mayfield— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) March 29, 2025
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