Whichever superlative one would like to label the New York Islanders’ current run of form, it probably won’t do it justice.
The best team currently representing New York (and it’s not close) is on a point streak of 15 games, which ties a franchise record set in 1982 when the Islanders were smack-dab in the middle of its dynastic run of four-straight Stanley Cups.
That’s how rare this kind of play is from this organization — which has spent the past three decades in the doldrums of the NHL.
Barry Trotz’s men haven’t lost a game in regulation since a 5-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Oct. 11.
Elsewhere around New York since that date, the Rangers have lost 10 times and the Devils have lost nine times. In the NBA, the Knicks and Nets have combined for 17 losses. In the NFL, the Giants and Jets have also lost a combined seven times.
Even the Yankees — whose season has been over for a month — have lost four times.
The Islanders are 14-0-1 with the lone blemish coming in the form of an overtime loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 7. Even in that game, the Islanders led 3-0 and looked poised to extend their win streak to 11 games.
They’ve answered that loss with another win streak that is up to four games now — which has been extended in the most dramatic of fashion.
Saturday saw the Islanders overturn a 3-0 third-period deficit against the Philadelphia Flyers where they scored three in the final 13 minutes of the period before winning in overtime.
On Tuesday night, they exacted some revenge from the Penguins in Pittsburgh. After going down 4-2 early in the third, Josh Bailey and Ryan Pulock found the back of the net 2:47 apart in the final 4:20 to send the game to overtime.
It set up Brock Nelson — who shook off taking a cannon of a slapshot by Pulock to the head earlier in the game — to record his second goal and third point of the night in the game-winner assisted by Anthony Beauvillier.
It was the first Islanders overtime winner against the Penguins in 29 years when Pat Flatley scored the winner in a 4-3 victory on Dec. 20, 1990, per Islanders statistical extraordinaire Eric Hornick.
Beauvillier also had a goal on Tuesday to keep up his red-hot ways as he now has five goals in his last three games. He hadn’t scored since the third game of the season (Oct. 8) before last Wednesday’s win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
As the Islanders are finally beginning to get the respect deserved by the peculiar world that is the major NHL media, they still haven’t been able to touch the top spot in their division.
The Washington Capitals — who have played four more games than the Islanders — are five points ahead of New York with a 16-3-4 record (36 points).
But while the Capitals tout plenty of star power in the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, and Barden Holtby, the Islanders roster (on paper) will never jump out at you.
As documented countless times since last season, that’s what comes with the structure and defensive foundation built by the head coach, Trotz.
The results have been something even the players can’t fully comprehend.
“There’s a lot of pride in this room. There’s a lot of character. What we’re doing right now is something special,” said veteran forward Derick Brassard. “I’ve never lived that in anywhere in any league. Hopefully, we can keep it going in that direction.”
The Islanders will try to “keep it going” on Thursday night as they play the second leg of their home-and-home against the Penguins at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
But you won’t here Trotz uttering the word “streak” around the Islanders locker room.
“Honestly, our team, we wouldn’t even know if we won 10 in a row, or five in a row, we would just know we haven’t lost in a while,” Trotz said. “It hasn’t been our mentality. The mentality has been just to look at the next game.”
