Eyes On Isles
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New York Islanders are California Dreaming

By Christopher Lizza

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 07: (l-r) Casey Cizikas #53 and John Tavares #91 of the New York Islanders celebrate Cizikas's empty net goal against the Buffalo Sabres at the Barclays Center on October 7, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Islanders defeated the Sabres 6-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 07: (l-r) Casey Cizikas #53 and John Tavares #91 of the New York Islanders celebrate Cizikas's empty net goal against the Buffalo Sabres at the Barclays Center on October 7, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Islanders defeated the Sabres 6-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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The New York Islanders embark on a four-game road trip over the next week and a half. The Isles go west and the finish up at the Garden. The Islanders are California Dreaming.

The New York Islanders hit the road for the next week and a half. It’s a good time for the team to bond and have one of their long road trips out of the way.

After playing the St.Louis Blues on Columbus Day, the Isles do not have a home game until Saturday the 21st against the Sharks. The Isles need to start to be road warriors.

Head West Young Man

The Isles are heading to the Golden State. They play games at Anaheim (11th), San Jose (14th), and Los Angeles (15th). They finish the trip at MSG on the 19th.

New York Islanders

The Isles play some solid to very-good veteran teams on this trip. This trip also includes some off-days which will give some valuable practice time for Doug Weight.

The Isles offense will have to be clicking as they face some stiff competition in net on this road trip. The Isles will most likely face John Gibson, Martin Jones, Jonathan Quick, and Henrik Lundqvist.

This trip gives the Islander players a time to gel and build team chemistry on and off the ice. Given the number of youngsters on the roster, this early west coast trip is a blessing.

Strong Start

An NHL team can’t clinch a playoff spot with a strong start to the season but they can certainly lose one with a poor one. The blue and orange learned that lesson the hard way last year when they started the season 6-10-4 in their first 20 games.

So far so good for the Isles after a terrible opening night game in Columbus. They bounced back with getting three out of four points at home versus Buffalo and St. Louis. By the way, that was a terrible call on Nick Leddy in overtime against the Blues.

Short Return at Home

After this trip ends the Isles come home just for two games (San Jose & Arizona). Then they hit the road again for the next three out of four. Those road games are at Minnesota, Nashville, and Washington.

Unlike last season the Isles are getting a lot of road games out of the way early. In addition, they are checking off many of their tough road contests.

Next: Greiss Bounces Back versus the Blues

West coast trips are always tough for all sports teams. But for a couple of big reasons, this one comes at a good time for the Isles. Hopefully, this trip is like a dream for the Isles and not a nightmare.

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