The New York Islanders are a hot team with an impossible dream, and the next three randomly placed stops on their road trip will do a lot to tell us whether they should keep dreaming or wake up to the (almost) inevitable.
Before a back-and-forth back-to-back in Raleigh and St. Louis on Friday, they take on the Stars in Dallas tonight. Unlike many of their victims during the current 11-3-1 run that has them 11 points back of Washington, these three games are against legit opponents who are either playoff-bound or right in the thick of the race.