While I do not think it's likely, there are a few factors that make it not as unlikely as you'd think, perhaps. I do say I vary from "no chance at all" to "Well maybe..." on our free fall almost by the day.
Basically we need 2 things to happen. We need to finish 11th in the West. All that takes is for us to finish 6th in the central (which shouldn't hard in this stupid division) and finish behind all the California teams and Calgary in the Pacific. Calgary will probably be the hardest on that list, but that seems doable.
Then, in the East, it just turns into a numbers game. We need 3 teams, not including the wild card winners, to end up with more points then us. That would mean we need to finish worse then 5 of these 6.
New Jersey, Columbus, Florida, Carolina, NYR, NYI.
The first good news is that Florida is only 5 games back of us and have 3 in hand, and are playing great hockey right now. They should be considered the favorite for the 8th East playoff seed with New Jersey. Colombus and Carolina aren't playing amazing right now, but they are within striking distance. That means if one of the New York teams get hot, we have a legitimate shot at this... and I say that after the Rangers have won 3 in a row. Also, a part of the Islanders team has to feel like they need to play desperate. This might be their one chance to do anything before Tavares leaves.
I'm not saying it's a GOOD chance. I am however saying there is a chance.
Also, the more teams we pass, the higher our lottery odds. So that too.