Islanders clip Penguins for key win in first of home-and-home matchup

Nobody said it outright in the lead up to the first of a back-to-back, home-and-home matchup with the Penguins on Saturday, but winning this set of games — or at least avoiding a sweep — was as essential a task as the Islanders have faced all season.

For weeks now, the Islanders have hung around on the periphery of the playoff race, too far back to really be a factor, but close enough that a three-game winning streak could in theory vault them above the cutline.

If they’d lost both games to the Penguins, though?

Well, Pittsburgh came into Saturday four points ahead of the Islanders and a point behind Ottawa, which occupied the last playoff spot.

You can do the math on how it would have looked had the Islanders lost a pair of four-point games.

Whether or not they can do more than keep the race at a stasis remains to be seen until Sunday’s match in Pittsburgh.