To maintain the momentum after road wins over the Stars and Red Wings, the Islanders will need to do something they haven’t done in over two years.
That would be better than the Bruins, who have won each of their last six games against the Islanders since Feb. 17, 2022, and come to UBS Arena in the midst of a battle for their second consecutive Presidents Trophy.
Consecutive road wins for the first time since November 30th-December. 2 was a great springboard for the Islanders to begin their climb back into the playoff race.
However, before the team heads to California, it is now mandatory for the team to earn at least three of four points at home against Boston and St. Louis.
This is the Islanders’ last real chance to show that General Lou Lamoriello should be added before the trade deadline — they play San Jose on the eve of the deadline, but if they lose those two games. That doesn’t make much sense.
And it’s a prelude to the season’s longest road trip, a 10-day four-city road trip.
Beating the Bruins would certainly be a statement.
“They’re one of the best teams in the league,” Matt Martin told reporters after Friday’s short practice. “Always play the right way. Dangerous power play, very dangerous top line. We have to be smart in managing the puck and managing the game, but we also have to get after them. We will try to put pressure on them and create offense.
“Naturally, no one wants to play for their own purposes. We want to play as much as possible in the opponent’s half and create chances.”
With a win on Saturday, the Isles will have won three in a row for the first time since winning four straight in mid-December.
This streak was eventually ended by the Bruins. Mason Rollei’s goal at 16:51 of the third period gave the Islanders their third lead of the night, but they ultimately lost in a shootout.
“They’re one of the better teams in the league for a reason,” Anders Lee said of Boston. “They play a great team game, are very structured and have top skill.”
The Islanders have gone 11-13-7 in the 10 weeks since that loss, and their chances of making the playoffs have steadily dwindled.
But they finally feel like they’re regaining the form that easily earned them a playoff spot in the first 10 weeks of the season, and their newly revamped front line is starting to click.
“Offensively, I thought we were jumping on the puck quick. Defensively, breaking out, we were playing north to south and we did very well,” coach Patrick Roy said. He spoke Thursday after a 5-3 win over Detroit. “We had a good rush, the line was [Casey] Chizukas and [Pierre] with Engvall [Simon] Holmstrom had a solid night and was really great. In the third I thought of the following line [Bo] Horvat and [Mat] With Barzal [Brock] Nelson, like the other three lines, began to connect more.
“Even in the line, [Kyle] mclane was really good [Jean-Gabriel] Pageau’s line was really solid and the defense had a great night. ”
Roy said Friday that in his first three years coaching the Avalanche in the NHL, he can’t remember a game where nobody finished with less than 10 minutes of ice time, as was the case Thursday.
Yes, the Islanders are clicking.
But they have had a series of false starts in recent months and could do so again if they don’t pick up a point at home.
It would be fitting if their return to the race was punctuated with just two points against the team that caused them to be eliminated.
