Their coach wasn’t pleased, but the Islanders’ 5-2 takedown of the Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Kings Thursday night at Barclays Center still felt like a benchmark victory for an Isles team that’s been floating along the past two months.
As they did against the cellar-dwelling Oilers on Sunday, the Islanders jumped out with three first-period goals, again sparked by a long-range slapper from Johnny Boychuk in the game’s opening minutes.
The Kings put up more of a fight than Edmonton, but the Isles did enough to keep Los Angeles at bay and win their third straight to move 11 games over .