How high can the scorching New York Islanders climb?

The New York Islanders have not lost in regulation in over 45 days and show no signs of slowing down any time soon.

The New York Islanders, as it stands on Monday, are on a better record pace than last year’s Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning, just one season ago, tied an NHL record in 2018-19 for most wins in a single season, as they clocked in at 62 by year’s end.

We are at the first quarter mark of the 2019-20 NHL season, but so far, the Islanders are more than on track to break the NHL record books. The Islanders, at 21 games played this year, have not lost in regulation since Oct. 11, a feat that has stretched out 46 days over the course of the season.

For reference, here are things that have happened in the world since the Islanders last lost in regulation:

• The Washington Nationals won their first World Series.
• The Mandalorian gave the world Baby Yoda and the memes that have followed since.
• Iconic character Mickey Mouse had his 91st birthday.
• Tua Tagovailoa was injured, came back, then was injured again to end his season.
• “OK boomer” went from a small-time catchphrase to a rallying cry trend.

The list could be longer, but the point of the matter is that the Islanders have been really good in the NHL for a really long time. Most of the 2019-20 season, in fact. With how long the NHL season is, and with how many games are played over the course of the year, this run by the Islanders is incredibly uncommon.

Double digit win-streaks in the NHL are rare — the NHL’s record books state that a double-digit win streak by a team has happened 53 times in league history — and are talked about as such. Team point streaks are more common than overall winning streaks, but the Islanders’ 17-game point streak has them 27th in NHL history as of Monday. A point in Monday night’s game against Anaheim, and the Islanders would move up into the top 20.

Before this, the NHL’s longest point streak since 2000 was when the Chicago Blackhawks rattled off a point streak of 24 games in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.

The Islanders still have a long way to go if they want to beat that mark set by the Blackhawks, but there is not a lot stopping them from doing so in the upcoming weeks. New York will play the Ducks on Monday, followed by games against the Kings, Blue Jackets, Red Wings and Canadiens. The Islanders will run into a tough stretch of games between the Golden Knights, Stars and Lightning in the first week of December, but their path forward is relatively clear for the end of the month.

As of Monday, the Islanders have a 16-3-2 record in 21 games. Last season after 21 games, the Lightning had a 14-6-1 record and ended the year with just 16 games lost all season.

A two-win difference is a small one, but what the Islanders are doing is no small feat right now. They’ve been taken to overtime or a shootout eight times during this stretch, a testament to their resilience and also at how tough this 46-day span has been for them. Five of their last regulation victories have been one-goal victories, games that teams with high postseason aspirations need to win to get points when it matters the most.

The Islanders also have the NHL’s fewest goals against with 51 over their first 21 games. They’re not only getting stellar goaltending from their tandem of Thomas Greiss and Semyon Varlamov, but they’re keeping opposing teams to the perimeter, limiting their scoring chances against.

And yet, the Islanders are somehow still trailing the Washington Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals, to be fair, have four games in hand against the Islanders and have gained the extra point in an overtime or shootout loss five times this season, but New York is no doubt the NHL’s best — and hottest — team.

It’d be reasonable to expect the Islanders to stall this pace and fall back to earth, as most teams on hot streaks do, and yet they haven’t this season. The Islanders have had ample opportunities to trip up during this streak amid bad goals and blown leads, yet the team has still come out on top.

The Lightning were a dominant team all throughout the 2018-19 season and not many questioned their reign last year until the Blue Jackets swept them out of the playoffs. It’s hard to doubt the Islanders right now, given how far their style of hockey has gotten them since Barry Trotz took over last year. The sky, it seems, is the limit for the Islanders.