Islanders, Canucks eye playoffs in battle of ninth-place teams

Islanders falter against Canucks for third straight loss down the stretch

The 5-2 Islanders loss to the Canucks to close a good-not-great homestand, with Ilya Sorokin getting pulled after allowing four goals on 19 shots, means that the Islanders did not get the mental boost of waking up Thursday to see themselves in a playoff spot.

Sherwood scores 2 as Canucks dump New York Islanders 5-2

Vancouver sits 3 points out of final wildcard spot

Sherwood, Demko lead Vancouver Canucks to 5-2 win over New York Islanders

NEW YORK (AP) — Kiefer Sherwood had two goals and one assist, Thatcher Demko finished with 26 saves and the Vancouver Canucks beat the New York Islanders 5-2 on Wednesday night.

Islanders, Canucks eye playoffs in battle of ninth-place teams

The state of their rosters and the arc of their seasons do not suggest the New York Islanders and Vancouver Canucks should still be in the postseason race less than a month before the Stanley Cup playoffs begins.

Despite clawing their way back into the playoff race, the Islanders can’t afford to ignore the truth

You can hear the arguments now. The Islanders suffered more injuries than anyone anticipated. Mat Barzal played just 30 games. Anthony Duclair rushed back and wasn’t the same after going down early in the season — now he’ll have a full summer to recover.

The Canadian wasn't in action yesterday, but there was still a very important game for the playoff race in the Eastern Association on the calendar poster, so it was probably with great attention that the CH players watched the game between the New York Islanders and the Canucks in Vancouver. The Islanders, who were only one point from the Canadiens and eighth in the standings, finally bowed by the score of 5 to 2, thus losing ground in the race,…