The Islanders have emptied their suitcases, reacquainted themselves with family and hopefully got a good nap in as they returned from an epic but so-so seven-game road trip out west. They’ve got seven games left before the Olympic break, all fairly local (trips to D.C. and Philly are as far as they go), and the East remains as congested as ever.
While they were away, the Sabres kept winning and now Pittsburgh, Boston and Buffalo are all ahead of them by a hair. Meetings with those Sabres, the Flyers, Capitals and a home-and-home with the Rangers are on the docket.
One thing that continues to be a puzzle: getting the most out of the Islanders’ two Russian wingers. Max Shabanov returned to the lineup after a one-game scratch — ostensibly to allow Max Tsyplakov some more reps — and with Marc Gatcomb coming out, but the entire team looked sleepy in that final game in Seattle.
How will that situation settle in these next seven games? (Or, as so often happens, will an injury make a temporary decision for them…)
Last night’s scores included some wild ones, with a Steven Stamkos hat trick, Boston scoring 3 in 54 seconds on Vegas, and Pittsburgh scoring 3 in 37 on Edmonton.