For a period of two weeks the New York Islanders were on top of the world. They were playing incredibly well -- despite being down Mark Streit, Kyle Okposo and Rob Schremp -- and were actually leading the entire Eastern Conference in points.
Currently, however, the Islanders are falling back down to earth. They have lost their last four consecutive games, and find themselves facing off again another streaking team in the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes have lost three of their last four, and are 1-2 at home this season.
"You know, we come out of the gates flying and now have kind of hit this wall and it's something we can't let slide and just say it's going to fix itself," said New York winger Trent Hunter. "We're the only guys who can fix it, the guys in the room and we've got to start playing through each other and playing with a little more fire and come out of the gates flying."
The Islanders had won three straight before this current slide and also come into tonight on a three-game road losing streak. This evening's tilt marks the second stop on a road trip that is set to end tomorrow night in Ottawa.
(The Sports Network contributed to this report.)