It took until the 82nd game, but the New York Islanders have punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in 2 years, their first round matchup will be dependent on the outcome of Canes/Panthers later today.
Injury Updates:
Mathew Barzal has resumed skating and he’s likely to skate with the team any day now. The question is if he’ll be back for game 1
Alex Romanov also has resumed skating and is expected to be back for game 1
If both Barzal and Romanov return to the lineup, this is likely how the Islanders look heading into the playoffs:
Lee-Horvat-Barzal
Engvall-Nelson-Palmeri
Parise-Pagaeu-Fasching
Martin-Cizikas-Clutter
Pelech-Pulock
Romanov-Mayfield
Aho-Dobson
Sorokin
Varlomov
The Islanders played 22 games without Barzal, and they still managed to make the playoffs. If they add Barzal and Romanov back into this lineup, they aren’t the same team that clinched a playoff spot. Sorokin riding a hot hand can eliminate teams better than the Isles. We saw it twice in 2021.
BS Reports 
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