After a five-game skid early in the season, the New York Islanders were in last place in the MassMutual East Division. However, an eight-game point streak propelled them up the standings.

From sitting way outside the playoffs over a week ago, the Islanders have climbed into a three-way tie for second in the division (they’re in fourth because of games played) and are three points out of first place. They have eight wins, five losses and three overtime/shootout loses. Before they lost to Pittsburgh on Thursday, the Islanders won five of their prior six games and were on an eight-game point streak.

Although the five-game losing streak was a likely moral blow to the team, they managed to get two points from two overtime losses against the Flyers. Every point counts, but those points turned out to be massive. They bridged the gap between a long losing streak and an even longer eight-game point streak. Those points will certainly pay big dividends down the line, especially in a shortened season.

There are many reasons why the Islanders are finding success. The goaltending has been strong early on this season. Semyon Varlamov has a goals against average below two (he’s also eighth best overall in the NHL) and Ilya Sorokin recorded his first NHL shutout against the Sabres on Tuesday. Mat Barzal is leading the way in scoring with 15 points in 16 games, on pace for his second best season in the NHL.

But recently, Jean-Gabriel Pageau has been a difference-maker for the team. Pageau has five goals in his last five games and six goals total on the season. His ability to find the back of the net is coming up big for the Islanders. The Islanders acquired Pageau to provide center depth for the team. They also acquired him for his goal-scoring ability. Pageau has 95 goals in 451 games in the NHL.

Last season, the Islanders were able to squeeze their way into the playoffs in large-part due to their dominant run early in the season. They won ten games in a row, and collected points in 17 straight games.

Now the Islanders appear to be heading down a trajectory similar to last season. If the Islanders can continue their success now, it will make things that much easier later on when teams are making a late, hard push for the playoffs.

Ethan Halle

Ethan is an Economics Major at the University of Florida looking to pursue a double major in Sports Management with a minor in political science.