Rare is the nonconference game that pits two teams who have as much at stake as the New York Islanders and Calgary Flames when the teams meet Saturday afternoon in Elmont, N.Y.
The Islanders and Flames were both off Friday after continuing their timely surges Thursday night. New York opened a four-game homestand by edging the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in overtime, while Calgary scored four third-period goals to storm back and beat the host New Jersey Devils 5-3.
With the wins, the Islanders (32-28-8, 72 points) and Flames (32-25-11, 75 points) each inched within two points of the final wild-card spot in their respective conferences.
More importantly, both teams can carve a path to grabbing a share of a playoff berth with a win and some help Saturday.
The Canadiens, who occupy the second Eastern Conference wild card, are slated to host the Colorado Avalanche later Saturday night. The St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks, the teams ahead of the Flames in the race for the final Western Conference wild-card berth, are slated to host the Chicago Blackhawks and visit the New York Rangers, respectively, before Calgary takes the ice.
The Islanders’ win over Montreal was their third straight. They mounted consecutive two-goal third-period comebacks in a pair of 4-2 wins over the Florida Panthers on Sunday and the Pittsburgh Panthers on Tuesday before they squandered a two-goal lead in the final 20 minutes Thursday.
But Bo Horvat scored his second goal with 1:23 left in overtime to earn the key second point for the Islanders, whose three-game winning streak followed a 4-7-1 stretch.
“We would have liked to win that one in regulation, but to get the win in overtime is huge for us,” Horvat said. “(The Canadiens are) a good team over there and they’ve been playing well as of late. It was a big two points for us.”
Horvat shares the team lead in points (47) with captain Anders Lee, who had an assist Thursday.
The Flames’ playoff hopes dimmed when they lost 10 of 14 (4-6-4) in a stretch that concluded Monday, when Calgary opened a four-game Eastern Conference road trip with a 6-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
But the Flames responded with a 2-1 win Tuesday over the Rangers before they mounted a rare third-period comeback to defeat the Devils, who are in third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Connor Zary began the comeback at 6:50 before Danill Miromanov and Jonathan Huberdeau scored the tying and game-winning goals a minute apart in the final five minutes. Nazem Kadri added an empty-netter with 12 seconds left for the Flames, who improved to 3-22-4 this season when trailing after two periods.
“We stayed on the gas as it went along,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said. “I don’t know if it’s building more confidence for us. I think they’re realizing the sense of urgency now.”
–Field Level Media
