At this point, I think we can call it a rough stretch.
The New York Islanders have now dropped three of their last four—all in regulation, so no loser points to help in the standings—and by points percentage have fallen out of a Metro playoff spot and into the first wild card. They’re only a point behind second-place Carolina and equal to third-place Pittsburgh, but both teams have played fewer games. They have a small but not insignificant three-point cushion over the rival New York Rangers, nipping at Metro and wild card heels.
What makes this stretch so frustrating, as Dom hinted at yesterday in the recap, is that these four games were all winnable, and the next six contests are a bit more difficult.