Points on the line as regular season winds down for Islanders

The Charlottetown Islanders have a chance to earn home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

“We’re in the hunt,” head coach Jim Hulton said Tuesday. “Now is the time of the year when you can’t help but scoreboard watch.”

Charlottetown (35-20-4-3) and Cape Breton (36-21-1-4) enter today’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action tied for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 77 points while Moncton (34-20-4-4) is one point back. All three teams have six games remaining.

The Islanders host the Val-d’Or Foreurs (22-35-4-1) tonight at 7 p.m. in a makeup game while the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles are in Moncton. The Islanders travel to Sydney, N.S., for back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday with the Screaming Eagles.

The Foreurs are sixth in the Western Conference and coming off defeating the Eastern Conference-leading Halifax Mooseheads 3-2 on Sunday.

“Everyone is fighting for something,” Hulton said.

“Nobody wants to finish seventh or eighth on the other side,” he added, noting the resulting first-round matchups with powerhouse Rouyn-Noranda and Drummondville. “There’s a lot at stake for them as well.”

The Islanders are coming off taking four out of a possible six points on the road during the weekend in Quebec. It included rookie Lukas Cormier scoring the equalized and winner Sunday in a 3-2 overtime victory over the Gatineau Olympiques.

“The two points were enormous,” Hulton said, noting how proud he was of the team bouncing back after Gatineau scored with two minutes to play in regulation. “It’s a good sign down the stretch to have that resilience built in.”

Kevin Gursoy and Drew Johnston returned from injuries during the weekend. Liam Peyton missed the weekend with the flu. He stayed at his Ottawa home as the team tried to minimize the possibility of the illness spreading on the bus ride home. Peyton was expected to fly back to the Island on Tuesday.

Will Sirman is expected to be out of the lineup this week while Thomas Casey might be out until the playoffs. Both are dealing with upper-body injuries.

Moncton major midget Flyers forward Patrick LeBlanc has played the maximum number of games as an affiliate. Forward Sullivan Sparkes of the Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capitals will play for the Isles tonight.

Hulton said he was pleased with Johnston’s play in his return from a thumb injury.

“Sometimes those injuries are hidden rest,” he said. “He just looked like he had a little bit extra zip and energy and he got rewarded with a goal in Shawinigan.”

During the stretch drive and into the playoffs, offensive contributions up and down the lineup will be key for the Isles to have success.