Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishThe New York Islanders have been here before — quite recently, in fact. Seventeen days before the end of the 2023-24 regular season, the Islanders sat 10th in the Eastern Conference, three points out of a playoff spot; they would go 8-0-1 over their final nine games to not just jump into the postseason but finish third in the Metro by a surprisingly comfortable three-point margin.Did we mention they’ve been here before? There was also the 2022-23 season, when the Isles went 5-4-1 over their last 10 games and nearly coughed up a playoff spot, saved only by the Pittsburgh Penguins failing to win either of their final two games.Even though some of the names have changed, the Islanders know how to navigate a mad dash for a postseason berth. This time around, though, the situation feels far more dire.The Islanders are missing two of their top players for this attempt at a third straight skin-of-their-teeth playoff entry. Mathew Barzal has been out since early February with a broken kneecap, and the Islanders traded Brock Nelson at the deadline three weeks ago for top prospect Calum Ritchie and a future first-round pick. A nice return, but that sure doesn’t help them now.They’ve gone 4-5-3 since the deadline, and even with that ugly record — they’re 0-3-2 in their last five — the Isles are still only three points out of the playoffs.The main issue now is that there are three teams between them and the Montreal Canadiens, who currently hold the last wild-card spot. The Islanders not only need to have a similar finishing kick to last season, they’re going to need more help than they’ve needed the last two years to get in.But there is a path to getting there. Here’s what it would take:The opponentsFive of the nine remaining Islanders games are against teams currently in a playoff spot, starting with Tuesday’s visit from the Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s right in the middle of the five teams vying for this last spot — the Detroit Red Wings (all nine remaining games against playoff teams) and New York Rangers (six of eight) have tougher schedules and the Columbus Blue Jackets (six of 10) and Canadiens (four of nine) have equivalent or easier ones.If you’re looking for silver linings, there’s this: Two of the Isles’ last five home games are against the Washington Capitals, who have essentially sewn up the top seed in the East with a nine-point lead on the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs. Washington took its foot off the gas on Sunday afternoon against the Sabres; the Caps could do so again, especially in the second of those two meetings on April 15. If that one still matters for the Islanders, an already-clinched Caps team — especially one that’s not hunting to get Alex Ovechkin the all-time goals record — could be resting some key players.
Patrick Roy and the Islanders will need to pull off some wins and hope other results fall their way to make the playoffs. (Dennis Schneidler / Imagn Images)The Islanders’ mixed-bag season is reflected in their 16-14-7 record against current playoff teams. They’ve been competitive of late, no matter who the opponent has been, but usually they also come up short, no matter who the opponent has been. They were a much streakier team a season ago, which turned the right way down the stretch to get them in.The numbersWith Barzal out and Nelson gone, you’d have expected the Islanders’ offense to take a hit, and it did initially on their California swing post-deadline. But they’ve scored three or more goals in seven of the last nine, getting offensive contributions from up and down the roster.Pierre Engvall leads the Isles with four goals in the last nine, including two on Saturday in Raleigh. Bo Horvat and Kyle Palmieri, the two Isles you’d expect to be trying to pick up the slack, have four and three goals, respectively; Simon Holmstrom and undrafted forward Marc Gatcomb also have three. Horvat, Noah Dobson and Tony DeAngelo lead the Isles with eight points in the last nine.So the “it takes everybody” line that many coaches love to use rings particularly true with this bunch. There are no stars in this lineup and even less wattage than there used to be for a franchise that has prided itself for years on the no-passengers mantra.The problem of late has been defense, which hasn’t been particularly good all season; special teams, which have also been bad all season; and goaltending, which is a new and much thornier issue.The rosterIlya Sorokin was pulled against the Canucks last week after allowing four goals on 19 shots. He likely would have been pulled again in Tampa after allowing three first-period goals had the Isles not been starting a road back-to-back set. Sorokin was among the top 20 goalies in the league in goals saved above expected at the trade deadline; since then, he’s in the bottom 20.Perhaps, like last season, he’s wearing down from being overworked. Semyon Varlamov, who saved the Isles in the closing stretch last season, has been out since November. Marcus Hogberg, who didn’t look good giving up six goals on Sunday, missed six weeks with a hand injury, leaving Sorokin to cross the 55-game plateau for a third straight year.But the Islanders have to have Sorokin in peak form to have any shot of making it. There’s only one more back-to-back, in Philadelphia and Newark next weekend, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Sorokin play all nine of the remaining games. In his current form, this team has no shot.Barzal is highly unlikely to return this season, so this is the group. Ritchie would certainly be able to help, but only if his Oshawa Generals team flames out of the OHL playoffs in the first round. Oshawa is tied 1-1 in its series, with Game 3 on Tuesday.The Islanders have had some surprising seasons. DeAngelo, with 16 points in 26 games since Lou Lamoriello signed him in January, has been a decent find; Holmstrom, with 38 points, is making some good headway with his top-six role. But the changes that weren’t made at the deadline — Palmieri stayed even though he hasn’t signed an extension yet, and J-G Pageau and Anders Lee were never really shopped — will still need to be examined in the offseason, whether this team squeaks into the playoffs or stays where it is.This thoroughly mediocre season may be extended if the Islanders find a groove over these last nine games. It won’t be redeemed, though.(Top photo of Ilya Sorokin and Alexander Romanov: Brad Penner / Imagn Images)
