How the Islanders have climbed back into the playoff hunt

After opponents held his team without a goal for five straight periods, New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy did what most coaches do: shuffled the lines. The changes have paid off in spades, with the Islanders winning five consecutive games and climbing within two points of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The team's recent success may have left Islanders fans rightfully asking, "What took so long?" Roy — who took over Jan. 20 after New York fired Lane Lambert — has a simple answer. 

"I had to get to know them,” he said per NHL.com. "Getting to know them was the most important thing."

The new line of Brock Nelson, Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal has played especially well, registering 94 shot attempts in five games, per moneypuck.com. 

The new second line of Anders Lee, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Kyle Palmieri has also played well during the winning streak, scoring seven goals in the past three games. Palmieri scored a hat trick against the Boston Bruins on Saturday and a goal Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues.  

"As a line we had a ton of chances," Palmieri said following the game against Boston, per NHL.com. "The last two games we've been doing our best to try and generate chances and tonight we were able to do it early on and hopefully we just keep that rolling."

New York has outscored opponents 24-10 during the winning streak, the team's longest of the season.

Roy is a big fan of how the new lines have worked so well together, noting, "The way that they play, they connect together, they work together, they support each other and I really like the way they're playing."

The Islanders will aim to keep the momentum going Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks.