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.

(Photo: Marc Haserodt/flickr)

The Islanders and Blue Jackets alike have no postseason plans, but there’s always pride to consider as each team closes out its year against the other tomorrow night at Nationwide Arena.

Each of these teams has a similar story- seemed poised to surprise, and yet went nowhere in the end. But the Islanders still have the guy who was meant to be their top player, and the Blue Jackets have not lost a league-high nine games after leading over two periods. They inhabit similar space- the Isles sit at 27th in the NHL, the Jackets dead last- but both have beaten teams higher than them in the standings as of late (the Isles beat Winnipeg Thursday 5-4, and the Jackets eliminated Colorado’s playoff hopes, winning 5-2). Overall, this should be interesting.

Standouts for Columbus include rookie Cam Atkinson, who scored his first career hat trick in the Avs game and has seven points in his last five games (3 G, 4 A). Rick Nash also scored two goals, but per the Jackets’ preview, his status for tomorrow night is uncertain due to a back problem. Meanwhile, Steve Mason will likely be in net after winning last night and missing the last four with an upper-body injury. He’s 1-0-1 with a 0.96 GAA against New York (yowza), but he hasn’t played them since the end of 2009, and he also has been up-and-down this season. In his last six, he’s 3-3-0 with a 3.67 GAA.

Meanwhile, the Islanders have a hole to fill (most likely) with PA Parenteau being injured last night. He’s not on the injury list for the Isles, but with his free-agent status looming on the horizon and New York not vying for a playoff spot, it would be silly for him to be in the lineup after a nasty-looking ankle sprain against Winnipeg. The usual suspects (Matt Moulson, Kyle Okposo) are on hot streaks, and one unlikely customer (Michael Grabner) preserved two points for his team last night with his penalty shot goal and late game-winner. He still hasn’t reached as many points (30) as he had goals last season (34), but it’d be nice to see him rack up another goal or two tomorrow. As for starting goalie… hell, it could be Montoya, it could be John Grahame. Neither seem to be in the Islanders’ future (more on that to come), so it’s a toss-up, really.

I just hope to see the Isles having some fun out there now that it’s all over and done with. After all, I’m used to saying “Next year’s our year.” Maybe by this time next year, I’ll have actually been right.

Let’s go, Isles!