Looking at the New York Islanders at the Christmas Break

The New York Islanders are getting healthy and heating up at the right time. They played a great game on Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs and could prolong the Buffalo Sabres’ misery with another great effort tonight.

Now, I must be honest. I thought the Islanders would be in a better position in the standings. However, an unusually high number of injuries and significant inconsistency have held the Isles back. In particular, the number of blown third-period leads is highly concerning.

The Islanders lead the league this season in blown third-period leads with seven. The Isles are tied with the San Jose Sharks, and lead the next team on the list, the Detroit Red Wings, by two. Had the Isles held on to those leads, the Isles could easily have 10 to 12 additional points in the standings.

But there’s no point in crying over spilled milk. The past is the past, and for better or worse, the Islanders are still within striking distance of a playoff spot. This point is something I’ve been writing all season long.

But that was the narrative when players started going down one by one. The narrative became something like, “The Islanders just need to stay close enough to a playoff sport by the time everyone starts to come back.”

Well, that’s the spot the Islanders are in now. The Islanders are five points back of the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning for the first and second wildcard spots. As the standings currently sit, the Islanders would meet John Tavares and the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round.

That would hardly be an easy first-round matchup but the prospect of sending Tavares packing in the first round is something highly encouraging to some Islanders players. Beyond that, the prospect of making the second round for the first time since 2022 is a highly motivating prospect