By Jeff Capellini
WFAN.com
The Islanders are not a team to be trifled with right now.
I can’t believe I just typed that.
Given their terrible start to the season and the months of sleepwalking that followed, it is simply amazing that they sit just three points out of a playoff spot with 34 games remaining.
Astonishing, really.
Over the last three weeks, the Islanders (22-17-9) have been a different team in just about every way as far as their execution on the ice goes. No, general manager Garth Snow still hasn’t made an impact trade, and, yes, he still needs to, but for the time being that talk has been somewhat muted due to the fact that this team has outplayed the vast majority of its recent opponents, and by quite a lot.