Surging Islanders storm past Avalanche as win streak hits five

If there was any chance of saving their season and avoiding being sellers at the trade deadline, the Islanders had to use this seven-game homestand to make some kind of statement.And as the two weeks at home wrapped up against the Avalanche on Tuesday night, the Islanders added some punctuation to the narrative they’ve used this opportunity to craft: They’re not going anywhere.The 5-2 win over the Avalanche, with the club’s blue line looking a lot different than two weeks ago with the additions of Scott Perunovich and Tony DeAngelo, made it five wins in a row for the Islanders and eight of 10.After dropping the first two games of the homestand in disastrous fashion, the Islanders are heading on the road having found their game and delivered in a way that was missing all season.There is still a long, long way to go, and a lot of teams to jump if the Islanders are going to make it a third straight season in which a second-half rally pushes them over the playoff cutline.

But the Islanders can move one spot up the standings on Thursday in Philadelphia, and making the playoffs has gone from looking like a pipe dream to a legitimate possibility.They have found the physicality and defensive edge that was missing from their game all season.The penalty kill is no longer a running joke.

Tenacity and resilience have returned.This one, though, was about the goalie putting up a superhuman second period and the rest of the team responding in kind with a resurgent third.A blue line without three of its six opening-night players looked a little overmatched for long stretches of this one, particularly the middle frame.DeAngelo and Perunovich both had offensive flashes, but both are still adjusting to their new teammates.Isaiah George, a rookie, has been a lineup regular since November, but is still subject to nights where the game looks a little too fast and a little too much.That all coalesced on Tuesday into stretches where the Islanders spent a whole lot of time in their...