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DETROIT — They say time travel is impossible, but maybe all those scientists just never followed around the Islanders for 82 games.
I say this because a year ago, almost to the day, I was flying back from Calgary after watching the Islanders blow two late leads and go 1-1-2 over four games in Western Canada to finish the trip at NHL-.500.
Which is a lot like right now, when I am flying back from Calgary (stopping in Detroit) after watching the Islanders blow two late leads and go 1-1-2 over four games in Western Canada to finish this part of the trip at NHL-.500.
The 2023-24 Islanders got into the playoffs despite just 39 wins, mostly because they had more overtime losses than anyone else and the Eastern Conference was mediocre enough that 94 points could get them in. They ranked 32nd on the penalty kill (71.49 percent) and 19th on the power play (20.35 percent) league-wide, consistently threw away winnable games and rarely put together a 60-minute effort.