Islanders refuse to lay down on playoff chase as hot streak continues with win over Flyers

Is this going to matter? 

That’s the big question right now for the Islanders, who are doubling down on this season on twin tracks — finding their game on ice while the front office continues to send signals that it is not going to lie down, play dead and sell off parts. 

This was the message on a Friday night when the Islanders won a third straight game to make it six of eight, beating the Flyers, 3-1, at UBS Arena mere hours after the team brought in Tony DeAngelo as its Noah Dobson replacement, Dobson having suffered what looked like a serious right-leg injury Monday night.

Depending where you sit, the move read somewhere between desperation and pragmatism, but what it said loud and clear was that Lou Lamoriello’s position has not changed from earlier this month — he’s not yet thinking about selling. 

The Islanders, at 20-20-7, are back at NHL .500 for the first time since Dec. 12, with a chance to get over the mark for the first time since Nov. 14 when they face the Hurricanes on Saturday.

For the first time all season, they are playing like a team with an identity, sustaining their level from game to game and working through adversity on the fly.