The last time the New York Islanders won at least three games in a row, it helped them make the playoffs.
While a playoff spot isn’t guaranteed for the Islanders yet, a third straight win — especially against the hottest team in the NHL — would continue to improve their outlook, which seemed bleak just a few days ago.
The Islanders will try to build on a strong weekend when they host the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night in Elmont, N.Y., in a game between teams from different conferences.
Both teams had the day off on Monday after picking up wins this past weekend. The Islanders won their second game in 24 hours by defeating the Ottawa Senators 4-2 on Sunday, while the Kings extended their winning streak to five games with a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
The Islanders won despite taking a season-low 13 shots. But New York, which has one of the worst power plays in the NHL, scored twice on the power play, and goalie Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves.
“I think we were good in the right moments,” said Islanders left winger Anders Lee, who scored the first power-play goal. “We had to grind it out. It was an ugly one (Sunday) for us. It had to be ugly.”
The two-game winning streak is only the second of the season for the Islanders, who beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Saturday. New York hadn’t won back-to-back games since they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins and Senators on Nov. 5 and 7.
These back-to-back wins came after New York had lost 10 of 13 games (3-5-5), which put them in last place in the Metropolitan Division.
Heading into Monday, the Islanders were tied for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with the New York Rangers, though the Rangers had three games in hand.
“This weekend was a good step for us,” said Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock.
The Islanders haven’t won more than two straight games since April 1-11, when they won six in a row to rise to third place in the Metropolitan Division. They clinched a playoff spot just four days later.
On the other hand, the Kings have found consistency this season, with their five-game winning streak lifting them to second place in the Pacific Division. This is the longest active winning streak in the NHL and their first such streak since they won five straight from Nov. 16-25, 2023.
Los Angeles has only had two losing streaks this season and is 7-2-0 since losing back-to-back games to the Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 11 and 13.
The Kings have been strong during their current run, beating the top three teams in the Central Division: the Wild, Winnipeg Jets, and Dallas Stars. Los Angeles outscored those teams 11-4 overall — including 7-1 in the last five periods since the Stars took a 2-0 lead in the first period last Wednesday.
“We like the challenge of playing against top teams,” said Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper, who returned to action Saturday after missing eight games due to a lower-body injury. He made 22 saves in the win over the Wild. “You know you have to be at your best. You need everybody, so those are fun as a group and good measuring sticks.”
Adrian Kempe scored his team-leading 13th goal in the win against the Wild.
