New York Islanders: Three thoughts as the regular season nears its end

The New York Islanders have just a handful of games left this season, and while a playoff berth seems imminent, there are plenty of thoughts running through my head as the season winds down. Here are some.

The New York Islanders are having a dream season. They are right in the thick of the division race and their magic number to clinch a playoff berth keeps shrinking. As I write this, they are coming off a dream weekend in which they beat borderline playoff teams both on the road and at home.

The Islanders, this season, have a chance to hit the 100 point mark and still technically could win 50 games although they would have to win out to do that. Either way, they have been a great team over the larger sample of the season. A few hiccups during March has me a little worried, but they are coming back around.

Through 76 games, the Islanders have 44 wins (most since 2015-2016) and the lowest goals against average in the entire league. Those are some nice little quirks to hold their heads hight about. But, there are bigger goals ahead.

The Islanders do have a road heavy schedule to end the season (just two home games left) but they have proven that they can win both at home and on the road (23 and 21 wins respectively on the season.)

As we know, it has been goaltending that is the name of the game. That could do wonder in the playoffs, or an over reliance on great goaltending could come back to haunt them. Their power play is terrible, but their kill is not.

We already know what we have in the Islanders, but every one starts 0-0 in the playoffs and things can change in an instant. During these last six games, we need to see the Isles flip a switch and get into playoff mode. The rest will take care of itself.

So, while I just provided a lot of stats and some observations, here are my major thoughts going into the homestretch of the regular season.