The Islanders, playing some of their worst hockey this decade, began a two-game road trip against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday evening. Vegas, with 59 points in 41 games, held the NHL’s best record. If the Islanders lost to the Golden Knights, they would have been tied with Buffalo for the worst record in the Eastern Conference. Because nothing makes sense, the Islanders dominated the Golden Knights.

They never trailed, and Ilya Sorokin posted a 30-save shutout, the second of his season. Brock Nelson scored for the first time since November, Anders Lee scored in his 800th game and the Islanders won 4-0 in Sin City.

For the Islanders, it was the type of win that could turn a season around. The locker room acknowledged this fact. Islanders stalwart forward Brock Nelson said the following postgame.

We mean it when we say that we have the confidence in the group to go out there and win on any given night.

Perhaps what Nelson says is true.

However, this version of a familiar squad has lacked something that made those great Islanders teams so great: consistency. Under Barry Trotz, the Islanders were (almost sickeningly) consistent. Trotz’s strict, defense-first system left little room for variability. The Islanders under Patrick Roy have not maintained this stability. Sure, they hold a 13-2-2 record when leading after two periods, but they hold a dismal 2-5-4 record in games they have been tied after two periods. Comparatively, the 2020-21 team was 13-2-4 in the same situation.

Consistency, in this case, is anything but sickening. The Islanders of Trotz possessed a strong ability to close out games. They brought that closer mentality to the rink night after night, and that enabled them to go on several long winning streaks. In three of the four seasons under Trotz, the Islanders broke off a winning streak of at least five games.

In 2024-25, the Islanders have yet to find any major rhythm. Their longest win streak of the season is two games. They’ve accomplished that three times.  The Islanders have regularly followed up their best games of the season with losses. The Islanders have won exactly six games by more than one goal (excluding empty-net goals) this season. They hold a record of 0-3-2 in their games following these wins.

The worst of these games was perhaps their 7-1 embarrassment at UBS Arena against the Buffalo Sabres. They allowed a touchdown to a Sabres team that had lost their last 13-straight games, immediately after the Islanders thumped the Maple Leafs 6-3 in Toronto. After their strong 5-2 win on Nov. 14 at Vancouver, the Islanders lost their next three games in a row. They held a third-period lead in every one of those games but lost them all. After defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3 on Dec. 28, the Islanders again followed the strong win up with three consecutive defeats.

After defeating the Golden Knights 4-0, the Islanders find themselves in a familiar stop. The Islanders would set a new season-high hot streak with only one more win. They’ll play the Utah Hockey Club in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Jan. 10. At 16-18-7, they hang in the void between the draft lottery and wild card teams. The Islanders may only have a chance to make the playoffs because of a terrible Eastern Conference, but they have a chance just the same. If they want to prove Nelson’s quote right, they have to string wins together.

As the old cliche goes, you’re only as good as your last game!

Featured image courtesy of Stephen R. Sylvanie/Imagn Images

Joey McAuliffe

Joey McAuliffe is a passionate Islander fan pursuing a Masters of Accounting in Buffalo, NY. His favorite player of all time is Jordan Eberle. He has followed the team closely since 2014, but he began regularly attending games during the 2006 season. Outside of hockey, Joey loves music and the Buffalo Bills.