New York Islanders clinch final playoff spot with 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens

The New York Islanders clinched the final playoff spot on Wednesday night with a comfortable 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

The Islanders await the outcome of Thursday’s Florida Panthers-Carolina Hurricanes game to determine their opponent in the first round of the playoffs.

New York missed the postseason last year, leading to the firing of head coach Barry Trotz in May.

Brock Nelson scored twice as Hudson Fasching and Anders Lee also found the goal for New York, and Ilya Sorokin made 16 saves as the Islanders finished their regular season. Noah Dobson added two assists.

Rem Pitlick and Nick Suzuki scored for Montreal, and Sam Montembeault finished with 31 saves in the Canadiens’ penultimate game of the regular season.

With the win, the Islanders clinched the final NFL playoff spot after missing out last year

Brock Nelson (29) scored twice as the Islanders finished their regular season

Lee scored a power play goal at 4:01 of the third period to give the Islanders a 4–2 lead. The Islanders captain deflected a shot from Sebastian Aho for his 28th goal of the season.

Suzuki cut the Canadiens’ deficit in half with a crafty short-handed goal at 14:38 of the second period. The Montreal captain defeated the Islanders defender Samuel Bolduc in a footrace, lifting the puck over Sorokin’s glove with one hand. Bolduc did not play a shift after the goal.

Nelson extended the Islanders’ lead to 3–1 with his second goal of the game midway through the second period. New York generated several scoring opportunities during an extended shift in the offensive zone, and Nelson eventually reversed Dobson’s shot at 10:20. Scott Mayfield also assisted on the piece.

The Islanders outscored the Canadiens 19-6 in the middle period.

Goalkeeper Ilya Sorokin made 16 saves to help the Islanders secure victory

Nelson scored his team-leading 35th goal to open the scoring at 10:27 of the first period. The 31-year-old entered the offensive zone with puck possession and fired a wrist shot from the high slot beyond Montembault’s glove. Kyle Palmieri and Adam Pelech provided the assists.

For the first goal of the game, Sorokin made a fine right-pad save from Canadien’s striker Denis Gurianov to keep the game scoreless.

Fasching helped the Islanders regain a one-goal lead with a timely goal at 18:57 of the first. Jean-Gabriel Pageau set up Zach Parise for a deflection that rang off the crossbar and Fasching crashed into the net and buried the rebound to give New York a 2-1 lead.

Pitlick shot a one-timer to tie the game at 1 at 5:38 of the first period. Jake Evans stole the puck from Dobson and found Pitlick alone in the circle.