The New York Islanders have won three straight games and can't afford a letdown game against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.
The New York Islanders have won three straight games and can't afford a letdown game against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.
The New York Islanders victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday was their most complete game this season.
Ten different Islanders recorded points, including Kyle Palmieri with a first-period hat trick, and Ilya Sorokin stood tall with 22 saves.
However, the Islanders can't rest on their laurels.
They have another important matchup against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, and they can't fall into similar traps following statement wins once again.
Looking at the NHL's standings, the Islanders have beaten six of the NHL's top-10 teams, including the Panthers, Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, and Edmonton Oilers.
While New York has 10 wins against top-10 foes entering play on Tuesday, they are 4-3-2 in games following the previous nine victories.
However, a majority of those losses have been among some of their season lowlights.
For example, after their Dec. 2 victory over the Florida Panthers, New York lost a 4-1 lead to the San Jose Sharks at home, dropping a 5-4 overtime decision.
The same instance occurred in January following New York's second victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs; despite the momentum, the Islanders dropped a last-minute affair to the Nashville Predators next time out.
While those instances occurred prior to Patrick Roy becoming the team's head coach, a few cases of flat games after big victories have occurred.
Following Roy's first game behind the bench, the Islanders couldn't put the Vegas Golden Knights away, dropping a 3-2 contest despite their best efforts while learning his system on the fly.
The same occurred following a 6-2 drubbing of the Tampa Bay Lightning, albeit a team that's sitting outside the league's top-10; despite another very complete effort, New York came out flat against the Calgary Flames the next game, losing 5-2.
The fortunate thing for the Islanders is that they have followed up signature wins with better performances as of late.
The win over the Lightning came after the Islanders finished a gut-check win over the Maple Leafs on the road.
Also, after besting the Stars in overtime earlier in the week, they've rattled off back-to-back regulation wins, a rare occurrence since the turn of the calendar.
While the numbers aren't bad for the Islanders following statement wins, there are some cases of the Islanders either falling flat or being unable to keep the momentum.
With the Trade Deadline approaching and a playoff spot within reach, a stinker following a signature win could spell disaster for the Islanders' chances of postseason hockey.