New York Islanders: With playoffs clinched, what happens next? – 3 things

Let’s not forget the rest of the regular season.

The New York Islanders are in the playoffs. But like everything in sports, there is way more substance to that. Ideally, you are reading this before Monday’s game against the Maple Leafs, if not, then hopefully you understand how important the result of that game still is.

Either way, the Islanders still play two more big games out of the three remaining after clinching. They will host the Maple Leafs, which for obvious reasons have become one of, if not their actual biggest rivals. The Islanders have kicked the Leafs out of the building, both their own and the Leafs’, but another huge win against them would send a message that they are far from relenting.

Then, they go to Florida to play the Panthers. While I would normally mark that one down as irrelevant, this is still a massively important game. Mostly, because if nothing else, two points in Florida could mean that their least game in D.C. is for the Metropolitan Division crown.

While a lot of things need to happen in order for game 82 to truly matter for the actual division, that could be one of the biggest games the Islanders have played in the last 20 years or so. Also, no matter what, the Islanders do not have a lot of room for error. They could still win division, or fall as far back as a losing home ice, which I will get into more later.

Ride the high of making the playoffs, but as the cliché goes, the last three games of the regular season are must win. Leafs, Panthers, and Capitals are all teams that could impact where and who the Islanders play in the playoffs.

With the Islanders already in playoff mode, these games are massively, grossly important for momentum, confidence, and seedings.