March 10, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; New York Islanders center Matthew Barzal (13) reacts after center Bo Horvat (not pictured) scores the tying goal against the St. Louis Blues during the third period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Image If the New York Islanders were in the Western Conference, they would already be preparing to host a playoff game.
If the Los Angeles Kings were in the Eastern Conference, they would have spent the trade deadline looking to the future instead of preparing for the postseason.
Thanks to their geographic locations, both teams will be in a position to look to strengthen their playoff chances when the Islanders host the Kings in El Monte, New York, on Friday night.
Both have been off since playing in overtime on Tuesday. The Islanders overcame a three-goal deficit to beat St. Louis. They beat the St. Louis Blues 4-3, and the Kings lost 2-1 to the Boston Bruins.
Mathew Barzal’s win helped the Islanders salvage a split of a four-game road trip (2-2-0) and become the first NHL team to win their first 10 overtime decisions.
The 2021 Vegas Golden Knights are 9-0 in overtime during the pandemic-shortened 56-game season.
More importantly, the two points will keep the Islanders in a playoff spot. New York tied for second in the Metropolitan Division with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday with 79 points each, three points ahead of the surging Columbus Blue Jackets.
“This was an important game,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “This win makes a big difference because every team in our division got a point today.”
The Islanders are tied with the wild-card leaders Detroit Red Wings and one point ahead of the Bruins. The Penguins, Blue Jackets, Red Wings and Bruins all play Thursday night.
The Blue Jackets are 14-2-3 since hiring Rick Bones as head coach on Jan. 12, lifting them out of last place in the East and seven points behind the Islanders. New York is 12-8-0 in that same span.
The playoff race with the Kings has definitely gotten less heated.
Los Angeles, with 67 points, tied with the Seattle Kraken on Thursday for the second wild-card spot in the West. The Kraken had a game in hand ahead of their clash with the league-leading Colorado Avalanche.
That total puts the Kings and Kraken tied for 13th place in the East. The Islanders will have the fourth-most points in the West and the most points in the Pacific Division.
The Kings have lost eight of 11 since Feb. 1. During this period, they acquired left winger Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers and center Scott Laughton from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Panarin has eight points in eight games against Los Angeles, while Lawton has three points in as many games.
Los Angeles is 2-2-1 since coach Jim Hiller was fired March 1 and replaced by DJ Smith.
This inconsistency is even more true for the Kings, who have won just three straight games since early December. The Islanders have won seven straight during that span.
The Kings had a chance to win their second straight game Tuesday despite making 16 shots, the third-fewest in a game this season. Drew Doughty scored with six minutes left before Charlie McAvoy scored 39 seconds into the extra session for the Bruins, forcing overtime.
“We showed resilience and heart tonight,” Doughty said. “We played hard. We got a point against a really good team and we can take some positives, but obviously we have to look at the negatives and fix those.”
–Field level media
