It wasn’t a playoff game.
But it was played like one.
In a game with building intensity and physicality, with the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders waging puck battles all over the ice and open shots hard to find, the Islanders emerged Friday with a 3-0 victory at PNC Arena.
With the Eastern Conference standings so tightly bunched, the game decided which team held a wild-card playoff position and which team was on the outside looking in. The Islanders (29-25-6) moved up and the Canes (27-23-9) fell below the cutline after a second straight loss.