Some hesitation in making any kind of declarative statement about the Islanders is forgivable at this point, given how they have run hot and cold.
But maybe, if you are inclined to optimism, you might think that it is sort of, kind of, just a little bit possible that the Islanders are … getting hot.
And more than that, perhaps they are doing so at the exact right time.
The wins have been a little bit ugly and the teams around them in the standings have provided ample help.
But a winning streak that reached four after a 2-0 victory on home ice against the Predators Saturday broke the franchise’s 10-game duck against Nashville to spoil Barry Trotz’s homecoming speaks volumes, even if the overall vibe of this season makes it hard to hear.
Suddenly, the Islanders are two points clear for third place in the division, ahead in the five-team pack of mediocrity that has seen just about everyone fumble a good standings situation at least once by now.
That would be the reason to avoid jinxing anything: with five games left in the regular season, there is still ample time to drop the ball.
At this moment in time, however, the Islanders control their own playoff destiny.
And more than that, they might even manage to avoid playing potential President’s Trophy-winning Bruins or Rangers sides in the first round.
Like the three wins that preceded it, Saturday was a choppy affair.
The Islanders spent a little too much time in their defensive zone. They did not pass the puck crisply. There were a few big-time bailouts from Semyon Varlamov.
But if you squinted, you could see some progress in their game.
There was more support on breakouts.
They played fast, keeping up with a Nashville team that is amongst the best in the league. They worked and battled hard enough to make up for a general lack of precision in their game.
It took until Noah Dobson’s wrist shot at 9:07 of the second period to break a scoreless deadlock, with the defenseman’s 10th goal of the season traversing through Casey Cizikas’ screen for a 1-0 lead.
To hold it, the Islanders had to navigate their way through a pair of consecutive penalty kills starting with Brock Nelson getting called for tripping at the 6:05 mark.
They killed that off, but almost before the game returned to even strength, Simon Holmstrom was called for slashing.
That was when the grind which had constituted the better part of the Islanders’ night combined with Varlamov to produce two minutes of heart-stopping excellence.
Twice, Jean-Gabriel Pageau lost his stick, forcing the Islanders to survive at what was effectively three-and-a-half-on-five.
Three different times, Varlamov turned aside grade-A chances, getting his stick on a backdoor feed to Gustav Nyquist, his blocker on a Ryan O’Reilly wrister and catching a laser from Filip Forsberg with his glove.
Even after the penalty expired with eight minutes to go, this game became an onslaught. Nashville came down the ice.
The Islanders repelled them. Rinse. Repeat.
Earlier in the year, the Islanders folded in similar moments nearly every time one presented itself.
Now, with their season on the line, they stood equal to this one, with Kyle Palmieri sealing the deal with 1:19 to go thanks to an empty-net goal.
Varlamov, who finished with 39 saves, earned every bit of his third shutout this season.
Whether or not you dare to believe in a turnaround after the last winning streak, which reached six games, was preceded by a losing streak that went the same length, is your own prerogative.
No lead — not in a game and certainly not in the standings — feels safe with this Islanders team.
But their standings lead is real now. And they cannot afford to let it go.
