The Islanders have 11 home games left in the regular season, and they'll need to be lights out on UBS Arena ice to make the playoffs.
The New York Islanders are heading home after a successful mini-road trip, taking four out of four possible points.
The wins weren't easy, with a 3-2 come-from-behind overtime win against the Dallas Stars on Monday before blowing the lead twice in the third period en route to a 5-3 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night.
With their second consecutive win, the Islanders woke up Friday morning five points back of the third-place Philadelphia Flyers with one game in hand and six points back of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wild-card spot with three games in hand.
Islanders head coach Patrick Roy is ready to return home to the Islanders faithful.
"Now we're going home. Let's give some nice hockey to our fans," Roy said. "Let's give our fans some wins. I think they deserve it. They've been very patient with us."
Over the final 23 games of the season, the Islanders play 11 at home, including Saturday, meaning 12 more on the road, where they own an 11-12-5 record.
While it will be essential for the Islanders to improve their road record (11-12-5), winning at home becomes tantamount.
The Islanders have lost their last three home games at UBS Arena (MetLife Stadium Series counted as a home game, which we aren't counting), being outscored 11-5, and are 13-8-8 in Elmont this season.
Of the final 11 opponents on UBS Arena ice, five are in a playoff spot, while six are on the outside looking in.
Here's a list of the opponents, the Islanders' record against them this season, and the scores:
OPP:--REC--Game Log
Bruins: 0-1-0: 5-2 L, 5-4 OT
Blues: 0-1-0, 4-0 L
Senators: 2-0-0, 3-2 W, 5-3 W
Hurricanes: 2-0-1. 4-3 OTL, 5-4 OTW, 5-4 W
Jets: 0-1-0, 4-2 L
Devils: 0-1-1, 5-4 OTL, 5-4 L
Blackhawks: 0-0-1, 4-3 OTL
Predators: 0-1-0, 3-1 L
Rangers: 0-0-1, 6-5 OTL
Canadiens: 0-2-0, 5-3 L, 4-3 L
Penguins: 1-2-0. 7-0 L, 3-1 L, 5-4 OTW
The key to the Islanders getting the job done starts with scoring the game's opening goal, which they've done 15 times this season at home, owning a record of 10-5-0.
They have yet to fall in regulation when taking the lead into the second period, going 7-0-2, and are 8-0-4 when carrying the lead into the third.
When opponents have scored first at UBS, the Islanders are 3-8-4.
New York has just one win on home ice when trailing after the first period (1-5-1) and just two wins when trailing after forty minutes (2-7-0).
If the Islanders want to make the playoffs, they will need to play the most complete and disciplined brand of hockey they can play.
Their penalty kill is the worst in the league at 71.4 percent and the worst on home ice, at 72.6 percent.
On the contrary, the power play, which ranks 12th in the NHL at 22.4 percent, has come through 25.6 percent of the time on home ice, so the Islanders need to continue to move their feet and draw penalties, and when given the man advantage, make it count.
Since Roy has taken over, the Islanders are 2-3-2 on home ice, having been outscored 21-18.
As always, it's a one-game-at-a-time mindset in the Islanders' locker room, with Boston being the only game that matters.
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