If this final game before the trade deadline doubled as the final game in Islander colors for Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri, then at least it was a good one.
And if it was the symbolic final game of this era of Islanders hockey, then at least the score was fitting: 3-2 over the Jets, with the Islanders holding onto a late lead, straight out of the Barry Trotz playbook, with Nelson and Palmieri both contributing goals.
It’s hard to believe that will be enough for management to move away from selling between now and Friday with the Islanders still well behind in the playoff race, but the hopes of another long shot postseason trip are not entirely dead yet.
With the Red Wings and Blue Jackets both losing, the Islanders sit just three points below the cutline, though the Rangers, Senators, Canadiens and Bruins are all in between.Â
Giving up on their two top-six players on expiring contracts and giving up on the season, it should be noted, do not necessarily need to be one and the same �that all depends on the return and what (if any) other moves GM Lou Lamoriello makes.
Players and coach Patrick Roy claim they don’t know which direction things will go, and with the secrecy under which Lamoriello operates, it’s actually believable.
The air of finality around the dressing room after this one, with Nelson holding back emotion during his session with reporters, was, however, unmistakable.Â
“Not really,�he said, asked whether he knows what will happen. “I know everything will sort itself out. I mean that. It’s a lot �a lot that goes into it, a lot of different things.
“First and foremost, I’ve had conversations with Lou. I’ve been honest. I really, truly, have just been worried about here and playing. Doing everything we can to win.�nbsp;
It’s believed that the Islanders have tried to extend Nelson, but if there’s a signed contract sitting in a drawer somewhere, then No. 29 could have beaten out Adrien Brody for Best Actor.
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Maybe that will change in the next three days, and maybe getting within three points of a playoff spot is enough for Lamoriello to roll the dice even if it doesn’t.
That, however, was decidedly not the vibe â€?even if the usual cliches about believing in the group still made an appearance.Â
“We’ve been together a long time, so we understand one another pretty well and have had a great friendship,�captain Anders Lee said. “Been a pleasure being his teammate and I hope it continues that way. But just having support for him. All these guys, everybody that goes through it every year, it’s the same thing.�nbsp;
Nelson and Palmieri had their moments early on. Nelson fed Palmieri for a power-play goal 16:49 into the first, putting the Isles up 1-0.
Then 1:33 into the second, Nelson got on the board by finishing a cross-crease feed from Max Tsyplakov.Â
That did not portend an easy win, with Winnipeg cutting the lead to 2-1, then to 3-2 after Ryan Pulock’s blast from the right point had canceled out Josh Morrissey’s power play goal.
The Islanders, though, did not spiral after Nikolaj Ehlers�goal on the man advantage put the Jets back within one at 12:51 of the third. Instead, they reached into their bag and played the kind of end to the game that defined the core at its best, locking down the lead and giving up all of six shots over the final 20 minutes.
After a disastrous showing at the Garden on Monday, proving that there was still some pride and intensity left in the group was just as important as anything else.
That, at least, the Islanders did.Â
On the ice from Long Island
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Whether it was enough to keep Nelson and Palmieri Islanders on Saturday morning, well, that’s another question.
“I have no idea what’s gonna happen at this moment,�coach Patrick Roy said. “It’s been a little roller coaster, so we win some, we lose some. There’s days you want to buy, there’s days you want to sell. But it’s up to Lou to decide.�/p>
