In Uniondale, Rickard Rakell, Kyle Palmieri and Andrew Cogliano scored for the Anaheim Ducks in a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Ducks clinched a playoff spot.
“We clinched?” Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said with a smile. “I hadn’t mentioned it to the players at all. We just want to keep going and progressing. If we do that, all the other stuff just falls into place.”
Following a brutal loss in Manhattan earlier in the week, the Ducks have responded with solid play including an OT win over the Boston Bruins and Saturday’s regulation downing of the Isles.
“We were pretty well aware that we were going to be in the playoffs at some point. It’s just a matter of where we finish,” Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf said. “Our goal doesn’t change; we just want to keep going and doing the same things.”
By no means do the Ducks intend to coast through to the end of the regular season despite taking a playoff spot this early.
“For six months, it’s a really good accomplishment,” Boudreau said. “But as soon as April [11, the end of the regular season] comes around, no one thinks about the regular season anymore. For six months, it’s a real battle to get into the playoffs in the NHL these days. There are a lot of good teams, and it takes consistency over a long time.”
The Isles have now lost seven straight at home (0-6-1) with the Detroit Red Wings heading to the Island Sunday.
“It’s that time of year when you have to fight for every inch of ice, and clearly the mistakes we’re making are costing us,” Islanders captain John Tavares said. “We’re not capitalizing on our chances.”
The Ducks improved to 2-2-0 on the current five-game roadie.
“The way we’re playing in the last two games is way more the right way,” Boudreau said. “We made a mistake to make it 3-2, but other than that, I thought this might have been our best road game in a long time.”
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