New York Islanders: Looking for Answers out West

The New York Islanders are set to begin their first west coast trip of the year. They need a spark in order to turn the season around.

The New York Islanders enter Tuesday as the worst team in the NHL. They have the fewest wins and are tied with the Coyotes for the fewest points. They need to find their game out west in order to turn the season around.

The Islanders are coming off of back-to-back 100 point seasons for the first time since the ’81-’82 seasons. The last two seasons they’ve been able to use the west coast trip to springboard themselves into a solidified playoff position.

This season they need to use the west coast trip to bring themselves back into playoff relevancy. At 5-8-4 to say the Isles are struggling would be putting it kindly.

West Coast optimism

Last year the Isles went 2-1-0 on their November west coast trip. The real key though was how they responded after those three games. They followed it up going 9-2-2 and were able to find themselves safely in the playoff conversation.

The Islanders have only played two games in the past 8 days, so they should come in as a well-rested team. They’ve also been able to get points in their last six games against teams that are not the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Hopefully, we can see the trend of the past two years continue and watch the Isles find their game on the west coast. As maddening they have been this season, they have been in a position to win most of the games they have played.

Watching this team it appears this year they know how to lose games. I’m looking for this trip to show them how to win. Last year they were a combined 5-1-0 against the Ducks, Kings, and Sharks.

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I’m expecting the next three games to be hard-fought. As long as the Islanders can find a way to win it could be just what they need. Once they find that winning confidence I’d look for them to go on a tear.