Islanders’ Playoff Hopes Boosted By Scoreboard—now It’s On Them Vs. Flyers

The New York Islanders continue to be saved by the out-of-town scoreboard as they continue their push toward the playoffs. 

After dropping both games of their back-to-backs, the Islanders had to put their faith in the hockey gods on Thursday night before they got the chance to redeem themselves on Friday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Islanders began Thursday's slate holding down the third seed in the Metropolitan Division, with a slim one-point lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

They woke up on Friday morning still sitting in third in the Metropolitan Division.

The Blue Jackets got steamrolled 5-1 by the Carolina Hurricanes. 

The Flyers, who have to play the Islanders on the second leg of their back-to-back, fell 4-2 to the Detroit Red Wings. 

The Pittsburgh Penguins, who sat just three points ahead of the Islanders, fell 6-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

The Boston Bruins, holding down the top wild-card spot, lost 2-1 to the Florida Panthers. 

And finally, the Washington Capitals, who had snuck their way back into the playoff conversation, fell 7-3 to the New Jersey Devils. 

The Situation after tonight’s scores #Isles : pic.twitter.com/By3ImJthSZ

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) April 3, 2026

Now, we must mention that the Senators, the Red Wings, and the Flyers have all played fewer games than the Islanders. But, we must also mention that games in hand mean nothing unless that team wins them.

If the Islanders are able to beat the Flyers on Friday night -- no other Eastern Conference team is in action-- that will give Long Island 91 points with five games to go, increasing their lead for third place by three over Columbus. 

Sam Ersson started for the Flyers, so we'll see if Dan Vladar gets the nod against Ilya Sorokin. 

Focusing on the wild-card is still something that has to happen. However, it has always seemed like an "easier" route for the Islanders to finish in the top three of their division than to finish in one of the two wild-card spots. 

It's imperative that the Islanders start to help themselves, regardless of how things have gone from their playoff-hopeful competitors. 

After playing the Flyers on Friday, the Islanders have to play the Hurricanes in Raleigh on Saturday night. Then they have four off days before four games in six nights to conclude their season.