The Islanders stand this weekend at 3rd/4th place (Pitt will overtake them with games in hand) in the Metro with 17 points in 14 games. That's a respectable total - even despite a 5-game stretch where the team only managed 4 points.
The Penalty kill is in fact genuinely great, a massive change from last year (they've been lucky with amazing goaltending, but are allowing the least amount of shots against per 60 so far in the entire league). The goaltending has been solid despite Halak being out for the first few games.
Yet, clearly there are some major problems with this team underneath the surface.