The worn-down and searching-for-meaning 2021-22 New York Islanders will mercifully put this season to bed this week with three games in four nights to close the schedule.
It’s three more games (and 13 out of 16 this month) against playoff-bound competition, which has usually meant bad things for the Isles this season — and is decent shorthand for why they are on the outside of the playoff picture after long runs the past two seasons. Twelve of those 13 are teams that have passed 100 standings points.
Their opponents tonight and Thursday, the Washington Capitals, still have an outside shot at changing their seeding, though three points behind the Bruins with three games to go makes that a stretch.