Islanders: Winning Ten in A Row Guarantees Nothing

With their tenth win in a row, the Islanders are now the fourth-best team in the league in points. But just because they have ten in a row doesn’t guarantee anything.

With ten wins from ten games, the New York Islanders are the hottest team in the NHL. With those 20 points in the bank, the Isles find themselves in fourth place in the NHL, second place in their division, and with a five-point cushion on the first non-wild card team.

Only two teams have ever missed the playoffs after winning ten in a row. Things are looking good for the Islanders to make the playoffs for the second straight season.

But when you look at what teams were the ones to miss the playoffs, and when those winning streaks took place, nothing is guaranteed for the Islanders just yet.

Lots of Hockey

Like I said, only two teams have ever won ten games in a row and missed the playoffs that season. The 2016-17 Philadelphia Flyers and the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres.

Both teams put up ten-straight wins in the first half of the seasons before eventually missing the playoffs by 13 and 22 points, respectively.

After winning ten straight from November 27 through to December 14, the Flyers only picked up another 19 wins from a possible 50.

For the Sabres, it was even worse. After their ten-game winning streak from November 8 to November 27, they only picked up 16 wins from a possible 57 games. In the final 18 games of their season, the Sabres went a miserable 3-13-2 for eight of a possible 36 points.

The Islanders are in a great position going forward. And there’s no reason to think that their season will totally tank from here on in. But there’s a reason that the only two teams to miss the playoffs after winning ten straight happened in the last three years; parity.

While the Islanders may have ten wins from ten, only four points separate them, the fourth-placed team with 22 points and the 15th ranked team in the Florida Panthers with 18 points.

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This isn’t about doom and gloom “Oh my God this is all too good to be true”. Ten wins in a row is an amazing achievement. I’m ecstatic, jubilant, and straight-up having a good time right now. But it’s why the players and the coaching staff are all saying we’re taking this one game at a time. Nothing in the NHL is guaranteed.