You are what your record says you are, so the New York Islanders are a mediocre team at this moment in time. But the record doesn't tell the whole story of how the Islanders' season has gone.

The New York Islanders are 6-6-5 through the first 17 games this season, which puts them at the NHL-.500 mark. 

You are what your record says you are, so the Islanders are a mediocre team at this moment in time. 

But the record doesn't tell the whole story of how the Islanders' season has gone. 

Lane Lambert's squad hasn't been dominated in every game this season. It's actually been quite the opposite. 

For starters, the starts of games have been vastly improved from a year ago, in which they slept-walked through the opening 20 too often, allowing the first goal in 29 of 82 games in 2022-23, leading after the first just 25 times.

So far in 2023-24, the Islanders have potted the opening tally 11 times in 17 games and have entered the middle frame trailing just twice, up six times, and tied the other nine, outscoring opponents 18-10. 

Even in the second period, in which the Islanders were outscored 17-14, the Islanders entered the third period trailing just four times, holding the lead eight times. 

They've entered the third period tied five times.

One of the four times they've entered the third period trailing is when they allowed two goals in 13 seconds to the Colorado Avalanche at UBS Arena on Oct. 24, watching their slim 2-1 lead turn into a 3-2 deficit before the end of the second period. 

Blowing leads has just become their specialty.

Through 17 games, the Islanders have blown a lead in 10 of them, six of which were multi-goal leads. They've won just two of those games in regulation, winning their third in a shootout Saturday night against the Calgary Flames to snap an eight-game skid. 

It's the NHL. Not every lead is going to be held onto. But this is a New York team that knew how to lock down leads at the highest rates under former head coach Barry Trotz.

Although the blown leads have left a sour taste in the mouths of the Islanders and their fan base, they haven't lost a game in regulation where they've led after two periods, with a record of 5-0-3, leaving three points on the table.

How important will those three points be come season's end?

We saw last season when it took all 82 games for the Islanders to punch their ticket to the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

Another three points this season would have the Islanders sitting with 20 points through 17 games, which would have them in a tie for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

The Islanders are currently in seventh place of eight but still only sit a couple of points out of what would likely be a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. 

Good teams find ways to win games. Bad teams find a way to lose games. 

Out of the six wins for the Islanders this season, none were against teams that made the postseason last year.

Right now, the Islanders have been a bad team, results-wise, but when going through the breakdown, they've played pretty even with some of the better teams in the NHL.

The Islanders went back and forth with the New Jersey Devils in a 5-4 overtime loss. 

They hung around and actually had been outplaying the Colorado Avalanche before a few empty-netters in a 7-4 loss. They led the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 before losing 4-3 in overtime.

They were knotted up going to the third against the Minnesota Wild before allowing two goals in 42 seconds. They stayed with the Boston Bruins on T.D. Garden ice, with the score tied in the third period, ultimately falling 5-2 with an empty-netter. 

Albeit a weak start for Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, New York hung around before losing in the third period. They held a multi-goal against the Vancouver Canucks, who have been one of the better teams in the NHL this season.  

They've been right there in games. 

At the end of the day, it's fair to say that the Islanders have lost themselves more games than the opponents have won in terms of how games played out.

Their lack of discipline in third periods and, ultimately, the lack of getting the job done shorthanded has been the Islanders' most glaring issue, with a penalty kill that sits 31st in the NHL at 69.8 percent.

2023 Vezina finalist Ilya Sorokin has been a part of the problem this season, owning a 3.94 GAA with an .893 SV% when the Islanders have led in games, with a GSAA of -1.92.

The best way to describe Sorokin's play this season is that he's made game-saving plays, just not at game-saving moments.

Sorokin's been elite in a handful of games this season, but whether it's a weaker goal going in later in games or a failure to make that big save on the penalty kill, he has failed to come up with that save the Islanders have needed, whether it's been his fault or his teammates. 

The Islanders, as a collective unit, have just failed to bear down, and that's why they've had a hard time closing games out.

But if anyone says that the Islanders aren't "right there," they haven't been watching too closely. 

Being so close in a ton of these games and seeing the end results has the frustration levels sky-high.