Game 75/New York Islanders: My Take

The quick and dirty analysis of this game tells us that the New York Islanders, who are making one last-ditch effort to fight for their playoff lives (winning two in a row, but 8 points behind the 8th place team in the East), wanted it more.  The Columbus Blue Jackets, eliminated the night earlier, are (hopefully!) playing for next year.  It showed on both counts as the (in my opinion) superior Blue Jackets team lost in overtime to the Isles, 4-3.

What I have a hard time reconciling is the Jackets outburst at the beginnings of the second and third periods.  R.J. Umberger scored 51 seconds into the second period.  Rick Nash scored 33 seconds into the third, with Grant Clitsome scoring just over 30 seconds later.  So they come blasting out of the gate - does that mean Claude Noel's intermission talks in the locker room are having an effect? - and then sit on their heels.  Makes no sense.

(Keep in mind that Mike Commodore scored in the first 30 seconds of Game 74 against Chicago, and Antoine Vermette scored 1:39 into the third period of that game.  Again, quick starts.)

Ah well, the Jackets got the overtime loser point and currently have the 7th seed in the draft.  Dare we wish for the Boys in Union Blue to tank the rest of the way to get a better chance at a top seed without giving up Nikita Filatov in a trade?