For those who went into this Islanders transitional season with low or at least cautiously tempered expectations, the last eight games have been startling, confusing and pretty damn fun. I say eight games, because the 6-1 road trip, which started with some “not great but pulled it off” wins and steamrolled into some “that was actually really good” victories, immediately followed a lifeless and troubling home loss to the Wild.
The East appears wide open this year, if the narrow span of points from first to second-last after one quarter is any indication. The Isles return from their late-night party march through Western foes in a playoff spot and two points off the conference lead.
It’s an unexpected spot that has us asking fun questions: Is this improvement real? Is it sustainable? Is this team…{gasp} actually kinda good?
Certainly offseason upgrades — Emil Heineman and Matthew Schaefer each providing better contributions than any expected — and the steadying of Ilya Sorokin’s play have certainly made a difference and are evidentiary pieces that there’s something real here.
On the other hand, “That’s so Islanders” is a self-flagellating quip many of us are prepared to pull out at the first sign of trouble.
Odds are this will be an up-and-down ride as teams in this broad middle alternately get hot or cold. Having survived and even thrived on the western trip, a big opportunity now presents itself with seven straight at home. However it goes, this team is currently fun again. Enjoy.
Last night featured just four scores, but one of them was the Penguins getting shut out by the Wild, and another featured nine Sabres goals against the Blackhawks.
