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The New York Islanders are now slightly more than halfway through their 13-game road to start the season, and currently hold a 3-2-2 record.

The Metropolitan Division has been very, very competitive so far this season, with seven of the eight teams holding a points percentage above .500, and the Pittsburgh Penguins sitting at 3-3-2. So while the Islanders have had a solid start and have even picked up eight of a possible 10 points in their last five games, they’re actually closer to the bottom of the division.

That said, their start to the season sets them up for success going forward.

Last season, the Islanders had an excellent 21-4-3 record at home, which ranked third in the NHL. In the 2019-20 season, they had a 20-9-3 home record, which ranked seventh in the NHL. This year, their home games will be coming at UBS Arena instead but the point is, the Islanders are good at home. While winning 75 per cent of their home games again this season could be a difficult task, we can reasonably expect them to perform well at home.

The reality is, if the Islanders can get out of their road trip with above a .500 points percentage, they’ll be in good shape. Remember, their record on the road last season was just 11-13-4.

For the last six games of their road trip, the Islanders will face the Montreal Canadiens, Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers (in that order). They need to pick up a win against the Canadiens, who are struggling. Then while the Devils are off to a good start, that’s likely the Islanders best bet out of the other games to get a win. After that, if they can pick up at least one win in their games against the Jets, Wild, Panthers or Lightning, they could come away with three wins from the group of games.

The Islanders have found their game over the last few contests and if they can pick up a few more road wins before returning home, they'll be in a good spot.



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