There’s usually some concern that the first home game back from a trip out to the Pacific time zone is a dud because of the long flight and readjustment back to your own time zone. But the New York Islanders experienced no such dud, and it may have to do with their spaced-out schedule: They traveled back Sunday, practiced Monday to get back up to speed, and then dominated Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The 7-2 win over the Leafs—an extraordinarily satisfying win no matter the circumstances, but especially so as an underdog win in a tight playoff race—put the Islanders at 82 points, three ahead of the Florida Panthers, who have only one game in hand, and four points over the Pittsburgh Penguins, on the outside looking in with two games in hand but well behind the Islanders in the first tiebreaker, regulation wins.