PITTSBURGH — Islanders keep flirting with the playoff races, and even when they say they should be, they're stuck to the edges to the point where they can't say they're out.
However, when it's time to commit, this on-again, off-again relationship always seems to return to mediocre.
Or at least that's what it did.
Maybe, perhaps, the islanders seized the chance to make this a reality Tuesday night.
The third-term rally in the second straight, this will put the Canadians three points behind the Canadians for the final playoff spot in the Eastern match in a home match against the Hub to take a 4-2 victory over the Penguins at the PPG Paint Arena.
The islanders also jumped on the Bruins, Red Wings and blue jackets in the rankings, but got two points for the Rangers in two games.
Over the course of a week, they shifted the overall atmosphere of the season.
“Like the last game, you have to be resilient, and that's who this group is,” coach Patrick Roy said. “They are very resilient, they want to take care of them and win.
When Alexander Romanoff appeared in the press box, the club's best defensive man got sick on Monday night, but this wasn't an easy lift.
Just like Sunday, the Islanders appeared to have an advantage at times early in Tuesday's game, but if it fell 2-0 after two periods, it appears that it could destiny them.
Just like on Sunday, they put it all together on time.
There was no confusion in this third season. Kyle Palmieri rushed in and put past Tristan Jarry in just 17 seconds to make Pittsburgh's lead 2-1.
Just five minutes later, Sunday's hero Noah Dobson was creasing to make diving plays and things on Beauvat's rebound to tie the game together.
On Tuesday, the hero will be Pierre Enval. The islanders face some pressure after tying the game – just a factor in Illya Sorokin's net, including a 2-on-one chance for Connor de Waal, but Engle chased the ice after Dobson's tip and slid past Jarry before the goalkeeper knew what had happened.
And, like on Sunday, Simon Holmstrom's empty netter sealed it.
“Confidence is scary at this time of year if you can find it,” Dobson said. “No matter how the game progresses, regardless of where the game can go back and win, you have that belief. It's huge. It's two in a row.
Earlier this season, the islanders frequently had their leads scrapped in the third term.
That they were playing the opposite role now was not lost in Roy.
“It's great to have some teams do what some teams did to us early on,” he said.
There are still problems with the solution with the islanders. It's a top six that's been overwhelming at best since the trade deadline with a power play on 18-0 skids.
But how they locked up the game after the first six weeks of the season and how the penalty kills looked back – including the third and late serious kill, it was for a complete 3-for-3 – Roy's hat feather.
So is the resilience that the islanders continue to display when the season appears to be a race that never goes anywhere for a long time.
“He's never too high or too low, especially during this year, whether we're overtaking or down,” Dobson said. “To have that calm influence is tiring for players. We can see it.”
The Islanders were seven consecutive striped clubs dating back to mid-January.
When the overwhelming Eastern wildcard race is screaming for someone to get hot, there's no longer time to move things up again than it is now.
If that person becomes an islander, this could be the third straight season with an unlikely rally into the postseason.
