Islanders goaltender Thomas Greiss skates away from the net as Carolina Hurricanes players celebrate their overtime goal at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on Saturday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
However the rest of this regular season winds up for the Islanders, this much is clear: Missing the playoffs would be a disaster for the organization.
On several levels.
First is just the obvious of the wasted opportunity. The Islanders built a huge cushion with a 16-3-2 start thanks to a franchise-record 15-0-2 run. Even after a so-so December, the Islanders were on a pace for 114 points.