Islanders starting to find right ‘recipe’ down 2022-23 homestretch

This looks a bit more like the New York Islanders that the NHL has grown accustomed to over the past half-decade.

Saturday’s 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings moved them back into the No. 1 Eastern Conference Wild Card spot — helped by a Pittsburgh Penguins loss to the Florida Panthers just hours later — to perhaps further indicate that they are finally hitting a stride that had eluded them for most of the 2022-23 season.

The Islanders are 9-3-3 in their last 15 games following a miserable January in which they lost 11 of 13. A defense that has been shuffled around has allowed just eight goals over the last six games — though plenty of credit also belongs to the goalie tandem of Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov.

“I think we’re doing a lot of good things,” head coach Lane Lambert said. “Every game, as I’ve said before is an individual entity… but I like the way our team is playing and I like our thought process and how we’re playing and we need to continue to do that.”

Ryan Pulock Islanders — New York Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock. (AP Photo/John Munson)

They’ve managed to find this groove despite working with a roster that at times has been held together by a mixture of duct tape and crazy glue due to a slew of injuries.

Right-winger Oliver Wahlstrom is likely done for the season after suffering an upper-body injury in December. Fourth-line mainstay Cal Clutterbuck has begun skating, but his season is still in question after he suffered an upper-body injury as well.

Third-line center Jean-Gabriel Pageau remains on injured reserve and, most significantly, star playmaker Mathew Barzal remains week-to-week after suffering a lower-body injury during the Islanders’ loss on Feb. 20 to the Boston Bruins.

They’ve won four of their last six since then.

“You go back to some pretty important guys who are out and other guys have jumped in and played really well in those roles,” veteran winger Zach Parise said. “But more so, just a commitment to playing really good defense. That’s how we’re going to win games right now. Guys are doing it. They’re blocking shots, we’re being responsible in our own zone. And that’s our recipe right now.”

There’s still plenty to be done to ensure they come out of the kitchen that is the regular season with a playoff berth. The Penguins have played three fewer games and are one point behind them. The Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators are four points behind and also have at least three games in hand.