New York Islanders plays host to Atlanta Thrashers in their fourth and final meeting of the regular season
The second game on Thursday will be played at the Nassau Coliseum as New York Islanders plays host to Atlanta Thrashers.
This will be the fourth and final meeting between the two teams during the course of the season.
Out of the three games that have already taken place, Thrashers won the first two games, 2-1 and 5-4, respectively.
However, the most recent game between the two teams was won by Islanders, 4-1, with Kyle Okposo scoring the game winning goal.
Thrashers is nine points behind the final playoff position and if it is looking to make its way into the playoff’s cut then it needs to step up its game.
Islanders, on the other hand, is out of the playoff’s picture and will be looking to do something for the next season.
Though Thrashers has 10 games left with a nine point gap, it may seem possible but it is highly unlikely to cover the shortfall.
The simple reason for this is the fact that the teams above Atlanta are not dropping points and are in good shape.
Thrashers is at the 11th spot in the Eastern Conference and with the performances that it is coming up with, it looks it might drop down even further.
Thrashers’ slump dates back to the 11th of February since the time it won its last game in regulation time.
Though Thrashers has a game in hand, compared to the teams above them, its failure to come up with success implies that it won’t be able to use this to its favour.
However, there are some decent performers in the team but fail to get together.
Evander Kane is one of these players in the team who has four points in four games.
Thrashers failed at crunch times as it lost the game against Buffalo Sabres this past Saturday, 8-2.
Sabres occupy the eighth spot in the league and a win for Thrashers would help it a great deal.
Thrashers has played 72 games during the season out of which it has won 30 games in regulation time and 12 games in overtime to score a total of 72 points.
On the other hand, Islanders has played 74 games during the season out of which it has won 29 games in regulation time and 12 games in overtime to score a total of 70 points.
Islanders has been able to come up with some very strong performances in the second half of the season. It is at the 13th position in the Eastern Conference and 11 points behind the final playoff spot.
However, with eight games remaining it looks highly unlikely that Islanders would be able to make a comeback that would put them in the playoff’s cut.
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