For a while, it looked like a black hole in the Islanders' schedule: This long, grueling 13-game road trip at the start of the season that saw them hopping from Florida to Vegas to Minnesota, and included a tour of two choice Canadian provinces.
And though it’s not over yet — the Islanders merely got to practice in East Meadow Tuesday because they don’t play again until Thursday, and it’s just across the river against the Devils — there have been some unexpected advantages to all these frequent flier miles. There are the obvious ones: First, more road games now mean more home games down the stretch, and secondly, they’ve mostly survived so far, going 5-3-2.