The New York Islanders dropped a 2-1 decision Tuesday evening in Toronto./The Canadian Press

After tallying five goals in a President’s Day victory over the Florida Panthers, the New York Islanders found the opposing goal hard to hit Tuesday night in Toronto.

James Reimer stopped 28 shots, despite battling a bad stomach from start to finish.

Reimer got some help from Phil Kessel, who notched the game-winner with less than five minutes in the contest to break a 1-1 tie.

“He (Reimer) made some big saves,” Islanders forward Matt Moulson told the AP. Moulson, who tallied a hat-trick in Monday’s 5-1 win over Florida, got New York’s only goal of the night, his 27th of the season.

Coming into the game 11 points out of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the Islanders missed a chance to pick up points and further close the gap.

New York plays its second straight game on the road Thursday evening when it travels to rival Philadelphia.

While the playoffs may seem out of reach to most who follow the New York Islanders, don’t tell that to the team itself.

Matt Moulson tallied a hat-trick (second of his career) Monday afternoon, as the Isles skated to a 5-1 victory on President’s Day on Long Island.

Al Montoya, who was coming off of a shutout of the Los Angeles Kings this past Saturday evening, turned aside 20 shots to score the victory in goal. The win moved New York, who once again had more than 13,000 fans in attendance at Nassau Coliseum, within 11 points of eighth-place Carolina for the final seed in the Eastern Conference.

“We’ve been doing a great job all-around,” Moulson said to NHL.com of the team’s play. “The D has been playing great. The goalie has been playing great. We’re sticking to our game plan, getting pucks in and getting in on the forecheck, and that leads to goals.”

Radek Martinek and Josh Bailey also tallied for the Islanders, who are in Toronto Tuesday evening to play the Maple Leafs.

Can a team ever have too many goaltenders?

For the New York Islanders, the 2010-11 season has been a house of horrors particularly in net.

After trading veteran goalie Dwayne Roloson to Tampa Bay as the New Year began, the Islanders were about ready to embark on a circus ride of goaltenders. Guys with experience and guys barely out of diapers when it comes to NHL experience in the pipes pretty much sums it up for the Isles this season.

As of Feb. 21, the Isles stand in next-to-last place in the Eastern Conference with 51 points, 13 points out of the last playoff spot. Is it conceivable that New York could make the playoffs this season? Well, anything is possible, but don’t bet the house or your lifetime savings on it.

That being the case, should the Isles go after and/or move anyone before the Feb. 28 NHL trade deadline?

Islanders fans have heard this way too often in recent years, but the future does look relatively bright on Long Island.

That being the case, would it behoove New York to trade away some of that younger talent to make an effort to gain a veteran or two and make a run at the playoffs? Or, is it better for New York to ride the remainder of this season with these younger players and build for the future?

The goaltender position on Long Island obviously grabs the most attention and rightfully so. There is no clear number one goalie for the Isles at this point.

While some may point to Rick DiPietro as the favorite, he’s spent a portion of the season mending injuries, therefore allowing younger guys (both in experience and overall age) to get some playing time.

Mikko Koskinen, Nathan Lawson and Al Montoya have all had playing time recently with DiPietro on the shelf. It is hard to say if any of them will emerge as the favorite going into next season, but given the fact this team likely will miss the playoffs again this spring, they are basically auditioning for next season. It is also safe to say that they are not only auditioning for Isles GM Garth Snow, but executives around the NHL.

New York Islanders GM Garth Snow has decisions to make over the next week.

New York has clearly shown that it is building at home and not looking to raid other teams of veteran talent in order to try and achieve a quick fix.

In their latest move last week, the Isles and P.A. Parenteau (14 goals, 21 assists in 56 games) agreed on a one-year contract extension for a reported $1.25 million. 

“I’m really excited to stay on Long Island,” Parenteau remarked in a statement. “The Islanders organization has given me the chance to prove that I belong in the NHL and I look forward to being a part of the success that is building in our dressing room for the near future.”

Parenteau is one of a number of players who the Isles appear to be building around.

That group includes top goal scorers Michael Grabner (25 goals), John Tavares, Matt Moulson and Frans Nielsen. With none of these players 28 years of age yet, there is obviously talent put in place for a number of years to come, assuming they avoid injuries or prolonged slumps with the puck.

While Islanders fans may believe their team has a shot to grab the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, reality should set in soon enough.

This team is not ready yet to be a playoff team, but I would not trade a player here and there just to try and get a quick fix.

If I were Snow, I’d keep this nucleus together for the remainder of this season, address the goalie situation in the off-season as priority number one, and then see what other pieces are needed to compete next season for one of the eight playoff spots in the conference.

Looking down the pike, the goal for the Isles is to continue to build for the future and not trade away any potential future stars just to get better quickly.

Sometimes, though, that is easier said than done when you’re dealing with the media and your fan base.

As the Los Angeles Kings were winding down their epic road trip across North America, they likely didn’t have Feb. 19 checked off on the calendar as a shutout loss.

The New York Islanders did just that Saturday night in front of more than 13,000 fans, getting a strong game in goal from seldom used Al Montoya (35 saves), while Matt Moulson tallied a pair of goals against brother-in-law Jonathan Quick on Long Island.

The end result was a 3-0 win for the Isles, and a long plane trip back to Southern California for a Kings squad that had notched 13 of a possible 16 points on the road during their trip. While the Kings still officially have one game left on this jaunt (Wednesday night at Anaheim), the worst of it is behind them, having traveled to Minnesota, Western Canada and a number of East Coast cities.

New York Islanders goalie Al Montoya, center, picked up a 3-0 shutout win over the Los Angeles Kings Saturday evening./Associated Press

New York, meantime, was looking to rebound after its four-game winning streak was snapped Thursday evening at home in a 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins.

The Isles, who fell 5-1 in Los Angeles back in November, also got a goal from Frans Nielsen. The victory was New York’s sixth in its last 10 games it has played in February.

Montoya, part of the revolving door of Islander goaltenders this season, recorded 28 saves in the final two periods for his second career shutout. It was his first start in the NHL since April 9, 2009, while a member of the Phoenix Coyotes.

“I’m just appreciating this chance that I am getting,” Montoya told The Associated Press. “Who knows when the next chance is going to be? I just go out there and leave it all on the ice.”

Meantime, the Kings will be happy to see California once again, having been on the road for what seems like months instead of weeks.

“We had a very good road trip,” Kings coach Terry Murray remarked. “We have one more game and then we get back home. When you see players not making plays, you could say the road trip was a little long.”

The Islanders return to action at home Monday afternoon( 1 p.m. ET) in a special President’s Day matinee against the Florida Panthers.

A pair of streaks ended Thursday evening on Long Island.

For the Boston Bruins, their three-game skid is over following a 6-3 win over the New York Islanders, who were riding a four-game win streak. Tuukka Rask turned away 34 shots and six Bruins tallied goals in the victory.

The Islanders, fresh-off a win Tuesday evening in Ottawa, got a pair of goals from John Tavares (23 goals on the season) and one from Josh Bailey.  

The Boston Bruins took it to the New York Islanders Thursday night 6-3./Associated Press

Nathan Lawson, who picked up the win over the Senators 48 hours earlier, began this night in net for the Islanders and stopped 13 of 18 shots before Al Montoya replaced him, finishing with 15 saves.

Still a longshot to make the playoffs, the Isles (11 points out of the final Eastern Conference spot) have been playing better hockey as of late, beating the likes of the Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins in the last week.

Don’t look now, but the New York Islanders are one of the hottest teams in the National Hockey League.

New York won its fourth straight game Tuesday night, posting a 4-3 shootout victory over the host Ottawa Senators.

Michael Grabner (leads all rookies with 25 goals on the season) continued his hot streak, notching a goal in his sixth straight game for the team from Long Island. Meantime, Rob Schremp and Frans Nielsen tallied strikes in the shootout for a New York squad that will play the Boston Bruins at home Thursday evening.  

The New York Islanders skated to their fourth consecutive win Tuesday, beating Ottawa 4-3 in a shootout./Associated Press

Counting as the sixth goalie New York has used in the pipes this season, Nathan Lawson registered 28 saves, including a pair of key stops in the shootout, to pick up the victory. It was Lawson’s first action in goal in some three weeks.

“He kept us in the game,” Islanders Coach Jack Capuano said of Lawson to NHL.com. “It was well-deserving that he get that win.”

“It was an awesome win for the boys,” Lawson added. “We came back, battled out there and showed our resilience to win in the shootout.”

While they’re still far off the pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race, not too many teams are in a hurry these days to play this Islanders squad.

Can you blame them?

While no one is about to order playoff tickets for the New York Islanders, you’d better expect to get a battle on most nights from the crew from Uniondale if their recent play is any example.

New York tallied five times on 11 shots in the final 24 minutes of a 7-6 overtime win over the host Buffalo Sabres on Sunday.

Michael Grabner, one of the bright spots for the Isles this season, capped a three-goal game by tallying on a breakaway 2:55 into the extra frame, lifting New York to its fourth three-game winning streak of the season.

The victory was one day after the NHL took its own shots at both the Isles and the Pittsburgh Penguins for their fight-filled encounter Friday evening on Long Island.

For New York, the NHL suspended Trevor Gillies (nine games) and Matt Martin (four), and fined the team $100,000 for failing to control its players against the Penguins in a contest that featured 346 penalty minutes, 10 ejections, 15 fighting majors and 20 misconducts.

“We went through a lot in the last 24 hours. You don’t know how the guys are going to respond,” Islanders Coach Jack Capuano told the media afterwards. “I was impressed with the way we battled and showed a lot of resilience until the end.”

Kyle Okposo (four assists) set up the game-winner by hitting Grabner on the fly at the Sabres’ blue-line. Having beaten Buffalo’s Andrej Sekera, Grabner let fly a shot past Ryan Miller and just inside the left post.

The New York Islanders skated to a 7-6 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday./Associated Press

“It’s big for the team. After the last game, we had at home, we had to come out strong,” said Grabner, who has 24 goals to tie San Jose’s Logan Couture for the NHL rookie lead. “It was pretty crazy out there. It was up and down. We never gave up.”

John Tavares, Blake Comeau, Milan Jurcina and Ty Wishart also scored for the Islanders.

Meantime,  New York goalie Mikko Koskinen was chased after allowing four goals on 14 shots.

Al Montoya, acquired in a trade with Phoenix last week, captured the win, stopping 12 shots in his first NHL appearance since April 2009.

Saying the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins have grown not to like each other is like saying a few people in Egypt want freedom. Yes, bigtime understatement.

Less than two weeks after literally slugging it out at Consol Arena in Pittsburgh, the Isles and Pens had at it again Friday evening on Long Island, with the home team prevailing 9-3 for its second straight win of the week.

John Tavares, Matt Moulson and Michael Grabner all tallied their 20th goal of the season against the injury-depleted Penguins.

Coming into the game off of the 3-0 loss to Pittsburgh nine days ago, the Islanders responded with four goals in the first period and four more in the second.

When the teams were not playing actual hockey, they were training for an upcoming session of UFC bouts.

After a round of boxing in the second period to get things going, the two squads went all-out in the final 20 minutes of play.

The Penguins and Islanders renewed their hostilities toward each other Friday night in a 9-3 New York win./Associated Press

Pittsburgh goalie Brent Johnson, who decked and injured Isles goalie Rick DiPietro in the last encounter, was once again involved on this night.

With multiple ejections, both benches had only a handful of available bodies on them for the final 12-plus minutes.

Travis Hamonic, Jesse Joensuu, and P.A. Parenteau, while goalie Mikko Koskinen earned his second straight NHL victory.

“It was a pretty entertaining affair, and we’ll take the two points,” Tavares told NHL.com afterward. ”I’ve never seen anything like that before. It just wouldn’t stop. But it just shows that we’ll do anything for each other.”

Meantime, with injuries giving the Penguins fits these days, it showed on the ice, as Pittsburgh hadn’t allowed nine goals since an 9-0 loss at Tampa Bay in November of 2003.

New York is back in action Sunday afternoon at Buffalo.

The goalie situation right now for the New York Islanders is looking like something out of scene from the ABC hit soap General Hospital.

Somehow, however, the Isles pulled together and left the Bell Centre in Montreal Thursday evening with a 4-3 victory (shootout) over the Canadiens.

The Islanders escaped Montreal with two points Thursday in a 4-3 shootout win over the Habs./Associated Press

Finnish product Mikko Koskinen turned away 37 shots in his second start of the season to capture his first NHL victory. Koskinen was brought center stage after being called up to replace youngster Kevin Poulin, who went down with a season-ending injury before the start of New York’s loss to Toronto two evenings earlier. Poulin is now the third New York goalie this season to fall victim to the injury bug.

With Koskinen doing the job in the shootout, the Islanders got the only score they’d need in the shootout when Kyle Okposo beat Alex Auld for the game-winner in the second round.

“I had a lot of fun, it was awesome,” Koskinen told The Associated Press. “I would like to play every night in front of this kind of crowd (more than 21,000). So much fun.”

“It was real tough on him at home (Tuesday night) with Kevin (Poulin) going down,” Islanders interim coach Jack Capuano commented to the AP. “He had a day and half or two to think about his start tonight, and he just played it simple. He regrouped, he played square to the puck and he didn’t try to do too much. He made some key saves for us.”

Michael Grabner (two goals) and John Tavares also tallied for New York, which still considers itself to have an outside shot at the playoffs.

The Isles, who have gone .500 since the All-Star break, now stand at 18-29-7 heading into Friday night’s home match up with another team beset by injuries, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

While the Penguins do not have any injury issues in net, they’ll play once again without Sidney Crosby among others when they visit Nassau Coliseum.

As if their season could not get much worse, the New York Islanders watched young goalie Kevin Poulin have a freak injury prior to the start of last night’s game with Toronto (5-3 loss).

Poulin injured his left kneecap, meaning he will require surgery and will be lost for the remainder of the season.

So, with other goalies Rick DiPietro and Nathan Lawson both nursing injuries, the Isles went out Wednesday and picked up Al Montoya from the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for a sixth-round pick.

If Montoya doesn’t sound like a household name, consider he is a 2004 first round draft pick of the New York Rangers, going sixth overall.

Playing in the minors for the Coyotes system this season, Montoya had gone 11-8 with an 89.1 save percentage.

While this may just be a band-aid approach until DiPietro and Lawson can get back, wonder if the Islanders are having second thoughts more than once now about dealing veteran Dwayne Roloson to Tampa Bay earlier this season?

New York may test its newest acquisition in the next day or two, as the Isles visit Montreal on Thursday and then host Pittsburgh on Friday.