President and general manager Lou Lamoriello expressed confidence in his team on Thursday as the Islanders resumed practice in East Meadow after their combined All-Star break and bye week but cautioned that was not a guarantee of reaching the playoffs.
“We’re a good hockey team right now,” Lamoriello said. “I don’t want to deny that because we’ve had to earn where we’re at and they deserve the credit. But we have to sustain it. Those are the things you find out at this time of the year. It gets tougher and tougher and tougher.”
The Metropolitan Division-leading Islanders, off since a 3-2 shootout loss at Chicago on Jan.