Perhaps it sums up the Islanders’ season in a nutshell.
It was a play that would make SportsCenter’s Not Top 10 list easily in Sunday’s loss to the Devils.
Already down 1-0 at UBS Arena, the Devils were beginning to take the puck out of their end and charge toward neutral ice.
Three Islanders on the ice attempted to try and break up the play but instead seemed to recreate a scene out of a “Three Stooges” skit.
Forward Bo Horvat went crashing into Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson, and the collision managed to tangle up Kyle Palmieri, who was also skating by.
To add insult to injury, the Devils ended up with an odd-man rush that led to a goal by Jack Hughes to put New Jersey ahead 2-0 early into the second period.
It was a disastrous second period for the Isles, who are desperately trying to make the postseason and avoid missing out for the second time in the last three seasons.
The Islanders gave up three goals — including the Hughes score — in the second period and they also saw captain Anders Lee ejected from the game after he laid an ugly hit on Nico Hischier.
Alexander Holtz scored New Jersey’s second goal of the period to make it 3-0 and Timo Meier scored on the power play early in the middle frame for the game’s first goal.
Chris Tierney scored on the empty net to seal the win in the third.
The Islanders are four points back of a playoff spot after Washington beat Winnipeg and the Isles are down to the final 11 games of the season.
Every game matters for the Isles from here on out, and mistakes like on Sunday aren’t going to help their cause.