3 Takeaways: Islanders Clinch Playoff Berth with 4-2 Win Over Canadiens

Second chances don't come around very often and on Wednesday night, the New York Islanders made the most of theirs beating the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 to clinch a berth in the 2023 NHL Playoffs.
The stakes were clear heading into Wednesday, with the Islanders needing a point against the struggling and injury-riddled Canadiens to go back to the postseason in the last game of the regular one.

Despite the disparity in the standings, the Islanders weren't taking anything for granted. They learned the hard way after getting tripped up by the Washington Capitals on Monday and that lesson was reinforced by watching the last-place Chicago Blackhawks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. Come 7 p.m. Wednesday, the Isles were giving Montreal their "full attention" and played like a team on a mission.
"You name the emotion we felt it on Monday night. We were pissed off we were disappointed in ourselves," Captain Anders Lee said. "We reset Tuesday morning, and then got a break last night, but we still got to come tonight, still had to show up and play a tough hockey game and win it. We were just grateful to have that opportunity."

The Islanders came out with a purpose, forechecking and finishing checks, generating chances on Sam Montembeault and riling up a raucous UBS Arena. They allowed a season-low 19 shots in the win, solidifying the structure that led to a 19-9-4 record from Jan. 27 - a date several players pegged as the turning point - onwards.
"Everyone was ready right from puck drop and fans were engaged," Nelson said. "They were loud the whole time, especially there at the end when the horn went off, so we're excited. We definitely wanted to get some playoff action in this building."
Nelson scored twice in the win, while Hudson Fasching and Lee each netted a goal in the win that was in the Isles favor for most of the night, even if it was far from a blowout because of course an up-and-down season ended with a back-and-forth game.
After Rem Pitlick made it 1-1 at 17:38 of the first period, Fasching drove to the net to pot a rebound 1:19 later to reestablish the lead. After Nelson made it 3-1, the Islanders gave up a shorthanded goal - their seventh shorty of the season - to put a bit of a scare into UBS Arena. Any thought of a comeback was quelled in a dominant third period that saw the Isles hold Montreal to five shots on goal, but only one in the first 16 minutes.
That brought UBS Arena to its feet, with fans chanting "We Want Playoffs!" in the final minutes. A sellout crowd was on the Islanders side in this one, and seemingly the Hockey Gods were too. That was evident when Habs forward Joel Teasdale, who was making his NHL debut, rang a rebound off the post in the first period that deflected out, while Zach Parise's deflection off the crossbar went popped the elevator shaft and landed in the crease for Fasching to stuff in.

"It's exciting," Parise said of returning to the playoffs. "Going from looking pretty dark for 24 hours to all of a sudden coming back and clinching a spot at home, it's awesome."
The last 48 hours were a roller coaster, but the 82 games as a whole were a journey. The Islanders certainly took the long road to clinching a playoff berth, needing all 82 games to punch their ticket to the dance. They're the first team to wrap up their schedule, so they're still waiting to find out if they'll play Boston or Carolina in round one. Scoreboard watching will be for another night, as Wednesday was reserved for soaking in a successful second chance and returning to the playoffs after a one-year absence.
"I think it's pretty gratifying," Head Coach Lane Lambert said of making the playoffs. "It's the first step, but it's a very difficult step. It's a step the required 82 games. It doesn't always require the full 82, but for us it did. There's a lot of things that go on, whether injuries or wherever you have to come through and fight through. Our group, from top to bottom, the staff, everybody did a great job of grinding through it and finding a way to get to where we are right now."

NELSON SCORES TWICE IN WIN:

In their biggest game of the season, the Islanders leading scorer stepped up.
Brock Nelson netted a pair of goals in the win, upping his team-leading total to a career-high 75 points (36G, 39A).
Nelson opened the scoring at 10:26 of the first period, skating in and using Justin Barron as a screen and snapping his 35th of the season past Montembeault. He buried his 36th of the season at the 10:20 mark of the second period, deflecting a Noah Dobson point shot off the ice and past Montembeault.
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Postgame: Lee
Postgame: Dobson

KINGER'S CALLS
Nelson Opens Scoring
Fasching Regains Lead
Nelson Nets His Second
Lee's PPG
Kinger's Clinching Call
Nelson has been a Habs hunter of late, with 13 points (10G, 3A) in his last seven games against le bleu, blanc et rouge.
Scott Mayfield's game was also worth shouting out, as the defenseman - who is no stranger to stepping up in big games - led the Islanders with 11 shot attempts.

POWER PLAY BREAKS THROUGH:

The Islanders power play scored for the first time in nine games on Wednesday night, as Anders Lee deflected a Sebastian Aho shot to make it 4-2 late in the third period.
That snapped an 0-for-18 streak and washed out the taste of Nick Suzuki's shorthanded goal in the second period.
"Mentally that was huge," Nelson said. "Huge time for two obviously, you know, only a few minutes left in the game."
While the Isles power play had struggled since Mathew Barzal was injured on Feb. 18, Lee's goal felt like a monkey off the back and a chance to light a spark heading into the playoffs.
"We're working hard on it," Lee said. "It's been frustrating for us, we're not sitting on our laurels on that of things by any means. To get one and kind of end whatever power play skid we were on, but even if we didn't get one, it wouldn't matter. It's playoff hockey now it all resets."

BAILEY BACK IN

Josh Bailey drew back into the lineup on Wednesday, returning after sitting out the past three games and 10 of the last 12.
Bailey slotted in on a line with Bo Horvat and Anders Lee, taking Simon Holmstrom out of the lineup. The veteran winger skated 11:59 with a pair of blocked shots and one takeaway, though he sprung Horvat heading into the offensive zone with speed with a nice touch pass in the first period.
"I thought Josh played well," Lambert said. "He made some key plays in the third period over in our zone against the boards and made some smart decisions, decisions that maybe people don't necessarily notice in terms of staying out on the ice so we could execute a change and things like that. So I thought it was good."

NEXT GAME:

Date, TBD. Time, TBD. Opponent, either Carolina or Boston, depending on the Hurricanes-Florida Panthers game on Thursday. What is determined is that it'll be in the playoffs.
See you in the postseason
!