DETROIT — The season is 20 games old, right in the sweet spot where it is still early enough that you need to operate with a degree of caution, but not so early that you can wave away what is happening by calling it a small sample size.
So yes, there is plenty of time for things to change, and you can bet they will. Right now, though, you need to take seriously what is in front of you. And what is in front of everybody is the Islanders’ 11-4-2 record following a three-game losing streak to start the season.
That was tied with the Colorado Avalanche for the highest point total in the NHL from Oct. 16 through Tuesday.
That is despite a schedule which includes a grueling seven-game, four-time-zone road trip that the Islanders finish on Thursday night in Detroit. If they beat the Red Wings, they will come home 6-1-0 on the trip, and according to team statistician Eric Hornick, the five wins they already have on a single road trip is just the fifth time in franchise history the Islanders have achieved as much.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
