What does it say about the Islanders that amid so many distractions, they are playing their best hockey?
In what might have been the most impressive victory this season, the Islanders beat the first-place Capitals, 3-2, on Tuesday night at Barclays Center. With news their future at their second-year home in Brooklyn is becoming more tenuous, and with head coach Jack Capuano having been fired on Jan. 10, the Islanders are now 7-1-1 in their past nine games and officially are back in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
“We’re digging ourselves out,” interim head coach Doug Weight said following the team’s first game after the All-Star break.