March 13, 2026; El Monte, New York, USA; New York Islanders center Bo Horvat (14) attempts the second shot against the Los Angeles Kings during the second quarter at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Image The New York Islanders finally realized on Friday night that they can’t always come back and win after falling behind by multiple goals.
But the Islanders won’t have to wait long to try a new approach Saturday night when they host the Calgary Flames in the final game of the season in El Monte, New York.
The Islanders opened back-to-back home sets against Pacific Division foes Friday night, but lost 3-2 to the Los Angeles Kings. The Flames last played on Thursday as they continued their Eastern Conference road run with a 5-4 win over the New Jersey Devils.
The Islanders fell behind 3-0 in the first period on Friday before Emil Heinemann scored a pair of redirects in the final two periods to spark another comeback bid.
New York collected nine of its final 13 shots of the game after Heinemann got his second goal 3:38 into the third but failed to force overtime. Rookie Matthew Schaefer’s shot with two seconds left was blocked by Kings defender Joel Edmundson.
The loss dropped the Islanders to 5-3-0 since returning from the Olympic break. New York overcame a multiple-goal deficit in four wins.
The failed comeback attempt served as a reminder of the small margin for error for the Islanders, who missed a chance to move past the idle Pittsburgh Penguins into second place in the Metropolitan Division.
With 79 points each, the Islanders and Penguins are two points ahead of the fourth-place Columbus Blue Jackets in the race for the final two guaranteed playoff spots in the Metropolitan. They are also tied with the Detroit Red Wings atop the Eastern Conference Wild Cards, one point ahead of the Boston Bruins.
“It’s exhausting having to come back all the time,” said Islanders center Bo Horvat, who had assists on both of Heineman’s goals. “We have to find a way to get a lead and maintain a lead. It’s tough physically and mentally to go down that far here. You have to keep coming back in games like that.”
Even in the less competitive Western Conference, where the Kings (69 points) advanced to the second wild card with Friday’s win, the Flames will likely be running out of time to get back into playoff contention.
Calgary has been on a comeback streak since the start of the season, recording 11 losses in the first 13 games (2-9-2).
The Flames, 59th in the NHL in points and 31st behind the Vancouver Canucks, will enter Saturday’s game 10 points behind the Kings.
Thursday’s wire-to-wire win gave the Flames a chance to extend their third straight win since Jan. 1, a period of 8-14-3, on Saturday.
“We want to play the right way and play the Flames style every game,” said Calgary center Mikael Backlund, who scored the game-winner early in the third period on Thursday to earn his 600th career point. “It’s about competing hard the right way. That’s our main focus every night.”
-Field level media
