Isles within 1 point of wild-card spot after 8th win in 12 games under Weight

Hear that? It's the New York Islanders. They're coming.

The Brooklynites on Sunday won their eighth game in 12 since Doug Weight took over behind the bench, spanking the Colorado Avalanche by a score of 5-1. The Isles are 8-2-2 since Jack Capuano was fired, and Weight may have this whole coaching thing figured out.

Weight's crew will go to bed Sunday night one point out of a playoff spot, trailing the Maple Leafs for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Toronto's got 61 points and a plus-4 goal differential in 54 games, while New York's got 60 points and is plus-3. And the two teams will play Tuesday in Toronto, a Valentine's Day affair with a lot on the line.

The Islanders' playoff chances shot up eight percent after Sunday's win, according to Sports Club Stats, and their odds to make the postseason now sit at 45.7 percent.

There is some bad news: While the Islanders improved their home record to an impressive 18-8-6 after beating Colorado, the rest of the schedule isn't kind. New York will play 19 of their final 28 games on the road, and so far have only seven wins in 22 games away from home.

More bad news: The Islanders have a nine-game road trip commencing on Feb. 21, taking them to: Detroit, Montreal, Columbus, Dallas, Chicago, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and St. Louis. The journey will be broken up by the club's bye week, which begins on Feb. 26. But that's a brutal trip and will undoubtedly define the Isles' season.