The New York Islanders (14-18-7) woke up in 28th place in the NHL this morning. If the NHL held the 2025 Draft Lottery today, the Islanders would hold the fifth overall pick and, therefore, have a serious chance of winning that lottery to draft James Hagens.

It will not be easy to rebuild, but it is better for the Islanders to try to right the ship and fail than to not try at all.

David Kampf, Steven Lorentz and John Tavares scored as the Maple Leafs beat the skidding Islanders​ 3-1 on Tuesday.

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Islanders come into the matchup with the Boston Bruins as losers of three games in a row. Boston is 12-6-2 at home and 20-17-4 overall. The Bruins have a 7-9-3 record in games they serve more penalty minutes than their opponents.

The Islanders face the Penguins and looking at both teams, it's clear they need to retool. Who has a better path to do it?

The New York Islanders (14-18-7) arrive in Boston losers of three straight, with just two wins in their last eight games (2-6-0). They take on the Boston Bruins (20-17-4) in TD Garden tonight, with puck drop scheduled for just after 6 p.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anthony Duclair also scored, and Mathew Barzal and Alexander Romanov each had two assists for New York.

New York Islanders (14-17-7 ... TOP PERFORMERS: Anders Lee has 17 goals and 14 assists for the Islanders. Jean-Gabriel Pageau has three goals and three assists over the past 10 games.

The New York Islanders (14-15-7) dug deep and beat the Pittsburgh Penguins (16-16-5) 6-3 on Saturday Night in UBS Arena. Casey Cizikas and Anders Lee scored two goals each, leading New York past the recently hot Penguins.

The New York Islanders stormed into TD Garden and defeated the Bruins 5-4 in overtime. It snapped a three-game skid.

It is an Eastern Conference battle as the Toronto Maple Leafs visit the New York Islanders. It is time to continue our NHL odds series with an Islanders-Maple Leafs prediction and pick. The Maple Leafs come into the game at 23-13-2,