ANAHEIM, Calif. — Before Patrick Roy left the ice during Saturday’s practice, he had a message for his team.
“I don’t want anything more than six in a row,” he told the assembled Islanders.
The Islanders already extended their season-best winning streak to five with a 7-2 win over the Sharks on Thursday.
This will allow him to extend his game against the Ducks on Sunday, which will help him improve his chances of making the playoffs.
“We’re playing connected,” Anders Lee said. “I think our forwards do a great job of playing very simply for the most part and with close support. We made some really great plays the other night, that’s for sure. is.
“But they started with being smart with the puck and playing smart in front of it. Our ‘D’ is closing the gap. They have a solid attack and allow us to switch quickly. It’s kind of a combination of the team feeling connected right now and playing good hockey. As you do so, such consequences will begin to occur. ”
The Islanders’ season will follow a similar path to the 2022-23 season. For the second year in a row, they struggled through January, made big changes at the end of the month, and didn’t really start making the playoffs until late February.
Last year, the Islanders didn’t qualify for the postseason until they beat Montreal in Game 82. Their chances of making the tournament this time around looked much worse until recently, when their current winning streak coincided with the Red Wings, Lightning, and Flyers all starting to struggle.
Meanwhile, the Islanders played their best hockey of the season. And they have a chance to extend their winning streak against an Anaheim team that has a dismal 23-37-3 record this season, and potentially overtake at least one of Detroit or Tampa within the next few games. The road to this seems wide open.
“Well, we can’t wait too long,” Kyle Palmieri said. “We’re kind of running out of time. This time of year is an exciting time with teams competing for position. Every game is a great night.”
Semyon Varlamov will start in net against the Islanders on Sunday after Ilya Sorokin started the past six games.
Sorokin is expected to return to the starting lineup against the Kings on Monday.
