The upcoming trip

I've noted that the Isles will begin a club-record-tying seven consecutive games away from the Coliseum when they visit Washington (quite likely without Ovechkin) tomorrow.

In addition to being a long trip, this trip arguably features more winnable games than any trip in Islander history.  A quick look at the standings confirms why.

The Islanders are one of 19 teams in the NHL with at least 17 points (entering play Tuesday, they are one of four teams with exactly 17).

Washington, the Islanders' first opponent, has 24 points -- tied with Pittsburgh for the Conference lead, and only two points behind San Jose and Colorado, yet the Islanders have already earned three points in two games vs. the Caps.

The other six games are all against teams currently behind the Islanders in the overall standings:

Carolina (Friday) - 30th/ 7 points
Florida (Saturday) - tied 28th/ 11 points
Boston (Monday) -tied 20th/ 16 points
Minnesota (next Friday)- 27th/ 12 points
St. Louis (next Saturday)-  tied 25th/ 14 points
Toronto (next Monday) -tied 28th/ 11 points

Is it too much to ask for the Isles to come back with at least seven points in the seven games?  We'll see.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick