Beating Pens crucial to maintaining playoff spot

PITTSBURGH — The Islanders took a big step towards securing a playoff berth in beating the Sabres on Tuesday night. They can take another step on Thursday, when they go for a season sweep of the Penguins.

Currently, the Islanders hold the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with 74 points in 66 games. The Penguins, though, are right behind them with 73 points in 63 games. The Islanders have effectively put a bit of distance between themselves and the rest of the field, with five other teams in the race, all of which hold games in hand. Pittsburgh, though, still has the math in its favor.

Beating the Penguins on Thursday wouldn’t completely erase that, but it would help in a big way.

“Every [game] is an important game,” Islanders coach Lane Lambert said Tuesday. “And certainly to get off on the right foot this week is huge for us.”

Though catching the Rangers for third place in the Metropolitan Division is likely out of the question, getting the first wildcard spot as opposed to the second would be huge for the Islanders if they could pull it off. That is because whatever team ends up in second is all but guaranteed to face the Bruins in the first round. Boston already has passed the 100-point mark and could challenge records for the best regular season of all time.

Facing the Bruins in the first round, especially after they handily beat the Islanders 6-2 the last time they played, would bring to mind Flames coach Daryl Sutter’s quote about playing the Avalanche at the same stage last season: “It’s going to be a waste of eight days.”

Best to avoid that scenario. Of course, making the playoffs is still no guarantee. The Islanders have built a four-point advantage over the Panthers and a sixpoint lead over the Senators and Sabres, but Florida has a game in hand while Ottawa and Buffalo have three apiece. That means the margin for error is still slim, though the Islanders have done well over the last few weeks to get this far.

The good news is that the Islanders have had Pittsburgh’s number this season. They beat the Penguins 5-1 on Long Island in December before scoring two comeback victories in a four-day span in February. The Islanders last went an entire season without losing to the Penguins in 1986-87, though they tied Pittsburgh twice that season.

Now would be a good time to break that streak.