Islanders 3, Canadiens 3

April 12, 1998 / 12:53 AM EDT / CBS/AP

It will be another early vacation for the New York Islanders, while the Montreal Canadiens wasted another chance to gain ground in the race for home advantage in the playoffs.

The Islanders and Canadiens played to a 3-3 tie Saturday night, one that officially eliminated New York from the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.

"What did us in was one stretch this year where we won one game in 16," said Islanders coach and general manager Mike Milbury. "That killed us.

"We underachieved, including me as a manager, but the bottom line is that we're not going to the party."

The 10th-place Islanders entered the game 10 points behind the eighth-place Ottawa Senators. They needed to win all of their last five games and have Ottawa lose its last five. They also needed help from ninth-place Carolina, but New York's elimination was official before the end of its game as Ottawa tied 4-4 with Buffalo on Saturday.

Robert Reichel's goal at 12:59 of the second period secured the Islanders' tie after New York wasted a 2-0 first-period lead on goals by Mariusz Czerkawski and Claude Lapointe.

Patrice Brisebois scored on a power play late in the opening period and Shayne Corson scored his 19th and 20th of the season to put Montreal in front 7:26 into the second period.

The Canadiens moved into a tie with Washington for sixth place in the Eastern Conference but could have had a share of fifth with a win because the Capitals and Boston Bruins both lost.

"Everything went well for us tonight everybody lost but we just didn't do it," Montreal forward Martin Rucinsky said. "The coaches told us the scores between periods.

"We knew where we stood, but we're happy with the point. It might count at the end."

The Canadiens end their season with games at home against Boston on Wednesday, Thursday in Ottawa, and Saturday at home against Buffalo.

A wide-open game saw numerous scoring chances at both ends 28-24 in Montreal's favor, according to Canadiens coach Alain Vigneault, but New York had the better chances in the five-minute overtime, only to be foiled by goaltender Jocelyn Thibault.

"We played four games in six nights and there's lots of little (injuries)," Vigneault said. "We were coming off a tough loss (a 2-1 defeat Friday night in Buffalo).

"The tank was pretty much empty at the end. But we still have a shot at home-ice advantage. There's three games left."

Brisebois, who blossomed into a steady two-way defenseman this season, left near the end of the third period with a sprained left knee. There was no word on how long he would be out.

The Canadiens were already without Stephane Quintal (ankle) and top center Saku Koivu (broken hand) and have been an unimpressiv2-2-2 in April.

The Canadiens outshot New York 35-32 before a sellout crowd of 21,273 at the Molson Centre.