Grueling schedule awaits Islanders after bye week and All-Star break
The Metropolitan Division-leading Islanders went into their combined All-Star break and bye week losing a 3-2 shootout at Chicago on Tuesday night, knowing they need to play better than they did against the Blackhawks in their playoff push and expecting a majority of their remaining 33 games over the season's final nine weeks to be the same type of closely contested battles.