An optimist could say the New York Islanders are challenging for the best record in the Eastern Conference, while a pessimist can point toward a disturbing trend of blown big leads in recent weeks. Whatever the viewpoint, the Islanders will face another challenge with their longest road trip in over five years starting Wednesday night against the Winnipeg Jets. You can catch all of the action LIVE on TSN3 at 3:30ct or listen LIVE on TSN Radio 1290 with coverage beginning at 3pm ct. After missing the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years, the Islanders are experiencing a resurgence in their final season on Long Island before moving to Brooklyn. They are tied with Pittsburgh atop the Metropolitan Division - the first time theyve had a share of first place this late in the season since Feb. 20, 1990. New Yorks 49 points through 36 games is tied for the fourth most in franchise history, trailing 1978-79 (57), 80-81 (52) and 83-84 (50). While the Islanders (24-11-1) are proving to be a legitimate contender, the team has blown three-goal leads in back-to-back games, and remarkably, four times this month alone. They lost on the first three occasions before recovering to beat Washington 4-3 on Johnny Boychuks power-play goal in overtime Monday. We had a three-goal lead the last game and a three-goal lead today, and you cant be blowing those kind of leads, Boychuk said. But we found a way to get a win when they did have that comeback, and its another two points. Anders Lee, Lubomir Visnovsky and Calvin de Haan also scored for the Islanders, who ended an 0-for-13 drought on the power play by converting twice in seven opportunities. Maybe this is a game we dont win last year, coach Jack Capuano said. But we kept with it and found a way. Our goaltender played really well to give us a chance to win. That goaltender was Jaroslav Halak, who made 23 saves after missing two games with a lower-body injury. Halak is 16-2-0 with a 1.84 goals-against average in his last 18 starts, while New Yorks other goalies - Chad Johnson and Kevin Poulin - have lost five of six starts with a 3.91 GAA since mid-November. Only Tampa Bay has more home wins than the Islanders, but it will be a while before they can add to that total with the next seven games away from Nassau Coliseum. The seven-game trek is the Islanders longest since another seven-game trip Nov. 11-23, 2009. The first stop will be Winnipeg (19-11-7), where New York has gone 4-0-1 since the Jets relocated there for the 2011-12 season. The Islanders have some firepower up front, Jets center Mark Scheifele told the teams official website. Were going to stick to our game. We dont want to get into a track meet with them. Scheifeles team suffered a rare regulation loss Monday, falling 3-2 to visiting Minnesota to drop the Jets to 9-2-4 in their last 15 games. Power-play goals by Michael Frolik and Mathieu Perreault staked the home team to a 2-0 lead, but the Wild scored three unanswered in the second period. The Jets remain without their top four defensemen - Toby Enstrom, Zach Bogosian, Jacob Trouba and Mark Stuart - and forward Evander Kane is out until February with a lower-body injury. Michael Hutchinson had his three-game win streak snapped Monday. He could give way to Ondrej Pavelec, who is 3-0-3 in his last six starts and was in net for the Jets 4-3 victory on Long Island on Oct. 28. Captain Andrew Ladd scored twice in that win, giving him five goals and seven points in his last four games against the Islanders. Jarvis Landry Jersey . -- Felix Girard scored on the power play in the third period to lift the Baie-Comeau Drakkar past the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 4-3 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action Friday. E.J. Gaines Browns Jersey . -- Manager Bob Melvin shuffled the Athletics batting order and got the type of production he was looking for from the top of the lineup. http://www.footballbrownsnflprostore.com...ite-Jersey/.com) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to play spoiler as the Los Angeles Kings will try to match their longest winning streak in over four years in Thursdays battle at Staples Center. T. J. Carrie Browns Jersey . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Keeping The Captain? Brian Giontas agent Steve Bartlett told La Presse on Tuesday that the Montreal Canadiens want to keep their captain - an unrestricted free agent on July 1 - in the fold, while sources tell the paper that the two sides will start talks this week. Antonio Callaway Jersey . So what happens? Stevenson lands a huge left to Dawsons temple only 76 seconds into the opening round and walks away with the championship belt. "I said Id knock him out," said Stevenson (21-1).With the Labour Day Classics now in the books, the CFL schedule makes its midseason turn to the fall. The games get all the more important now leading up to the postseason, but theres just time enough to look back at the first half and award the midseason Most Outstanding Player. It comes down to a three-horse race with two of those horses wearing the green of the first place Saskatchewan Roughriders, but ultimately Toronto Argonauts QB Ricky Ray deserves the most MOP consideration for his outstanding first half. Ray and Roughriders QB Darian Durant have had similarly spectacular starts to the season but what gives Ray the edge is he isnt working with a potential record breaking running back in Kory Sheets (the other candidate for the midseason MOP), taking pressure off the pass game. Ray has missed some time so far this season (and is expected to miss a lot more in the second half) but when hes on the field hes nearly automatic. His 78 percent completion rate is 10 points higher than any other QB in the league and his 15 touchdowns to zero interceptions is almost unheard of. The 33-year-old continues to deliver even with teams keying on the Double Blues passing game. Ray has been without his top RB Chad Kackert for most of the season and Torontos ground game has produced just 718 yaards combined on the season, just more than 60 percent of Sheets total alone.dddddddddddd Durants stat line (21 touchdowns to one interception) is just as breathtaking as Rays; what Sheets has done in the first half is historic (and we all know how much the league loves record breakers); and the Riders league leading 8-1 record all made the decision anything but easy, but Ray and the Argos passing game has led the team to an East leading 5-4 record with little to no help on the ground. You could argue Durant and Sheets are splitting votes at the time. Durant and Sheets will have plenty of time to catch up by seasons end, and with Ray out for up to the next five weeks now the award is all but guaranteed to go to someone else when the votes count, but for now Rays incredible renaissance in the Big Smoke continues. Fringe candidates to keep an eye on in the second half of the season include last years winner Chad Owens and last years runner-up Jon Cornish, and the leagues passing leader Henry Burris. And if the award could be shared among teammates, the Calgary Stampeders trio at quarterback would deserve consideration as well. The Rouge asks: Who is your midseason Most Outstanding Player? Youve heard what weve had to say, now its your turn. As always, its Your! Call. 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