Milan Jurcina was one of the three goalscorers in the Isles' last game of the season, a loss to Columbus. (Photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

82 games is all she wrote for the New York Islanders and the Columbus Blue Jackets… but at least the latter team showed up for the final puck drop.

Milan Jurcina, Kyle Okposo and Michael Grabner were the only Isles to get past Steve Mason, while Al Montoya was lit up by the Blue Jackets’ offense and defense alike, in a 7-3 drubbing at Nationwide Arena. Cam Atkinson scored two goals (one on the power play), while Rick Nash, Vinny Prospal, RJ Umberger, Jack Johnson, and former Isle James Wisniewski also tallied goals for Columbus. Shawn Hunwick would replace Mason for the last few minutes of the third, but it wouldn’t matter; the Islanders were not on their game offensively at all.

This game also saw three fights break out- two of them between Matt Martin and Derek Dorsett, one between Micheal Haley and Jared Boll. Other than that, there wasn’t a whole lot of nastiness or penalties for that matter- but both Wisniewski and Atkinson made good on their man-advantage chances, while the Islanders went 0-2 on the PP.

Can I say much more about this game? No, except for the fact that it’s definitely discouraging to see the Isles drop their season closer, especially after the emotional high of the win against Winnipeg two days ago. It’s as if no one thought this game was that important- and even though it wasn’t, not really, what happened to wanting to win anyway? Just because this will be the last bit of pro hockey you’re going to be playing for a few months doesn’t mean it doesn’t count somehow. I just found it very underwhelming and not at all a good way to end a year of hockey.

At any rate, the Isles’ season is over, and when it reconvenes for training camp, it will likely be missing a few faces from this year’s camp. That can be a good or a bad thing, depending on the player; I’ll explain why as the draft gets a bit closer. In the meantime, I’ll have to find an Eastern Conference playoff team to root for (the Blackhawks are my choice for the West, of course); if anyone has any suggestions (NO ONE IN THE ATLANTIC, PLEASE), I’ll be grateful.

Until next time, Isles.