Islanders Gameday News: Clinched.

You may have heard, the New York Islanders are in the NHL playoffs again. That makes hockey fun!

That also means you will have several heart attacks over the next two weeks, and if you're lucky it will be followed by more heart attacks in the weeks that follow. Sorry.

Islanders Reads

• We celebrate, and thank Brad "clutch" Boyes. [LHH]
  
• But first, the Isles are in Pittsburgh tonight to try to improve their standing. Leave your First Islanders Goal picks here.
• Three out of five Islanders agree: Tonight is like a playoff game. [Isles]
  
• They will close the building with their 23rd playoff appearance in the Coliseum's 42 NHL seasons. But there was an intriguing Coliseum history before the Islanders were a thing. [LHH]
• Dan and I were both on the RTU New York Sports Talk podcast last night for a thorough discussion of all the angst and promise that accompanies the Isles as they enter the playoffs. We were in a good, clinchy mood, so we stayed a while. (We check in around 18:30) [BlogTalkRadio]
• Greg Prato, author of that "Dynasty" oral history, discusses the franchise history in a lengthy video feature. [FIOS1]
• Frans Nielsen has long heard stories about the Coliseum in the '80s, and he's happy to have that feeling this year. [THW]
  
• We live in a listicle world, so there must be five reasons why the Islanders clinched a playoff spot. [NHL]
• That said, now that they're clinched, they've still got work to do. [Newsday]
• And these are the seeding and scenarios still possible, with the Capitals, Smurfs, Canadiens and Lightning the potential opponents. [NYI Skinny]
• Also from Hornick, 25 years ago last night Brent Sutter scored an overtime powerplay goal to beat the Rangers in Game 3. [NYI Skinny]
• It was never much to look at, but the Coliseum's real charm is in its aura and place in the community. [Sports on Earth]
• Rick DiPietro also remembers the Coliseum. [IPB]
• Another touching story about the grieving kids Travis Hamonic helps. [NJ.com]
• They call him Scooter, or Solid, Vaughan. [CT Post]
• Glen Cove High School wind ensemble plays the Coliseum. [Patch]
• More years than not in the history of this site, April has mean paying attention to prospects rather than playoffs. Not this year. But here's an interesting feature on Josh Ho-Sang's "attitude" with his new team. [St. Catherines Standard]

Not Necessarily Clinching News

• Keeping the dream alive, the Senators won by shutout at the Garden, while the Bruins lost in Florida (that's what clinched the Isles), putting the Bruins on life support. [NHL]
  
• The Kings went to Alberta and lost both games, so now they're out of the playoffs. As a result, the eight Western teams are set, with Winnipeg being the fifth team from the battle royale Central. [NHL]
  
• Two key Penguins defensemen are concussed, so Taylor Chorney come on down. [Post-Gazette]
• Carey Price is even better this year, which is scary, thanks to equipment and style tweaks and Stephane Waite. [NHL]
  
• The Sabres have created a scholarship fund in memory of Steve Montador. [Sportsnet]
• Who's to blame for Sabre-yote tanking? [Defending Big D]
• Fans at the mercy of MSG react to James Dolan doing an interview (to promote his music, of course). [Grantland]
• The NHL is run by lawyers, so they know quite well how to keep Bettman from testifying in the concussion case. [TSN]
• Touching anecdote about Gretzky and the family of a 9/11 victim. [Rockaway Times]
• The Isles may visit D.C. for the playoffs, but a bunch of NERDS or something are there for the hockey analytics conference. (Seriously though, should be great.) [Japers' Rink]
• The Predators saw Moses come down from the mountain and signed him. [OTF]