It’s not only the Islanders’ record that’s telling the story of this rocky season, the first 30 games played out against a background of COVID-19 outbreaks and injuries, but how the wins and losses have occurred.
The trends do not paint an encouraging picture for the Islanders’ decidedly uphill battle of getting back into playoff contention. In short, the Islanders have not fared well against quality opponents or within the Metropolitan Division. And it’s those opponents the Islanders will see most the rest of the season.
The last-place Islanders (11-13-6) open a home-and-home series on back-to-back nights against the sixth-place Flyers on Monday at UBS Arena, the first of three games in nine days between the divisional rivals.