In Newark, the New Jersey Devils ended their season on a low note in a season fuull of low notes. 
On Monday night, the New York Islanders punched their ticket to the playoffs by clinching third in the Metropolitan Division with a 4-1 win.
“Everybody wanted it, and that’s how it is,” New York coach Patrick Roy said. “The guys were very focused and dialed in and we had a strong game. We didn’t give them much, and when we gave something [Varlamov] was really good for us. Our power play got one, and our penalty kill was really good (3-for-3).”
Semyon Varlamov made 23 saves in the win.
The Islanders moved to 38-27-16.
“The whole goal is to be playing your best hockey at the right time, and we’re putting things together here to continue to build off a foundation that’s putting ourselves in position every night to win,” New York’s Anders Lee said. “I think now you’re seeing that night in and night out, that full 60-minute type hockey game. Whether it’s the power play one night or the penalty kill one night, Varlamov or (Ilya) Sorokin, everyone’s chipping in.”
Jean-Gabriel Pageau staked the Isles to a 1-0 lead at 12:22 of the opening stanza. He scored off a shot form the left circle on an odd man rush.
It was the 57th time this season that New Jersey yielded the first goal of a game.
“Talent doesn’t always bring you to the playoffs,” Devils forward Jesper Bratt said. “I think we’re missing out sometimes … playing a little immature, playing a little too fancy. We can’t really count on it in the hard games area and we need to come out ready every game to play instead of having to trail from behind two-thirds of the games.”
Kyle Palmieri hit off the power play at 16:52 of the first period, scoring off a deflection of a shot form the point.
New Jersey dropped to 38-39-5.
“I hope that everybody remembers how it feels right now,” New Jersey’s Nico Hischier said. “I think it [stinks]. It’s just a little emptiness in there, but you can take things out of this year. Everything is easier when you’re winning, but if not, that’s where you can build character. For our group, we still have a lot of to learn. We got hit a couple of times in the face this year, went through some adversity, but I think if we take things the right way, we can bounce back with a strong effort next year.”
Timo Meier trimmed the deficit to 2-1 at 3:25 of the middle frame, second, scoring off a rebound down low.
Brock Nelson replied to that goal with a marker at 11:48, scoring off an errant puck in the slot.
“There’s a lot of things I love about our game,” Roy said. “I love how we move the puck offensively, I love how we defend defensively. I mean, I love the way we forecheck and the way we played together. Our guys are fun to watch, and I’m sure our fans are pretty proud of our guys right now.”
The Islanders sealed the win with a goal by rookie Kyle MacLean at 6:17 of the third period, for the 4-1 final count on the scoreboard.
“It was pretty cool to score in this building,” the 24-year-old rookie forward said. “I watched a lot of games here growing up and spent a lot of time here, so it was cool scoring that goal.”
Jake Allen made 15 saves in the loss, another reason for him to sue his club for non-support.
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