The New York Islanders’ never-believable playoff push was officially put to rest with a shootout loss in Philadelphia, with the Isles delivering the kind of “played well in parts but not well enough” performance that typified so much of the 2024-25 season.
To give things a final bit of manufactured tension, they did equalize late with a sixth attacker and force overtime, as anything short of two points would self-eliminate them.
And indeed, that’s what happened. Team scoring leaders Anders Lee and Bo Horvat each inched closer to 30 goals, and they may have lost Pierre Engvall to injury, but everything is pretty much academic at this point.