Even when the Islanders claimed they were still in playoff contention, it often sounded more like a pipe dream than anything resembling reality.
Well, if they're going to prove themselves right, this is their chance.
They swept a trip of three or more games for the first time since October 2018 and are suddenly playing their best hockey of the season.
A season-high seven-game homestand is approaching, with three of the first four games coming against teams around the Islanders in the standings, and the Senators, who have already won twice this season, on Tuesday night in Ottawa. It begins with a match against the team.
That winning streak hasn't paid off much in the standings so far, but the Isles are still five points behind the Blue Jackets for the final wild-card spot.
What's more, they are still a game below NHL .500, the last time they eclipsed that mark dating back to October 25th. So there's no need to get anyone hooked just yet.
However, the last few games have not been just a series of good luck.
The Islanders' duo of Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock put on an old-school performance, they had a fearsome penalty kill all season, and the Islanders went winless in three straight games for the first time since then, and the Islanders have played defensive hockey all season. There is. 2-4 races of the season.
It's no coincidence that they've won three straight on the road, including against the Golden Knights, who have the best record in the NHL.
There are still injuries, including Simon Holmstrom, Isaiah George, Hudson Fassing and, crucially, Semyon Varlamov, but Matt Barzal is starting to feel like himself again, starting 2-1 against Utah on Saturday. The game we won was probably our best game of the season.
Lou Lamoriello said Holmstrom, George and Varlamov (the status of Alexander Romanov, whose status is unknown after being scratched late on Saturday by a defenseman) should start skating with the team again this week.
There's something here.
And given the relatively easy schedule (none of the next five teams the Islanders will face have secured a playoff berth), they will be at home for the next two weeks and could take advantage of that. It's absolutely necessary.
There could be no better opportunity for the islanders.
If you fail, you may never get another chance. Sure, they've used up more than enough Jokers.
No one has put on their skis and gone down yet, nor should they.
On Saturday night, Barzal was asked if his season is starting to turn a corner.
“Well, you can think of it that way,” he said. “But every day is a new day. We have a very tough race, so we can't get too high or too low. We've got to ride this winning streak and ride this quality play that we bring every night.” It must be done.”
But there's a different kind of confidence in the room.
The Islanders have talked a lot about faith, about not being rewarded for playing well, and what they think they can be.
Most nights, the only saving grace is that the rest of the Eastern Conference teams are struggling too hard to count the Isles out.
Seeing and believing are very different things.
Captain Anders Lee said, “We're trying to climb out of here, so we have to work hard every game.'' “We put some things together, but that's all we can do. I think we're playing the right way right now. We're seeing results because of that and I feel good. Go home and keep doing this. Stay hungry and keep doing it.”
