Islanders Fan Poll Results: Keep playing, we’re feeling much better!

Tracking the weekly SB Nation Reacts fan survey is starting to fascinate me. It’s not that the results are terribly shocking: when the Islanders are winning, we tend to feel better about the direction of the team, when things are going south, we tend to feel all our worst fears are coming to pass, the team’s roster flaws exposed.

But there is some unavoidable look-at-the-wreck, peek into the zeitgeist fun as these results swing with the in-season record.

Last week we reported a season low in confidence (35%), as the Islanders’ tough start and depth issues were top of mind as they came off a winless road trip and long pause due to opponents’ Covid issue, even as a points streak was starting to begin.

This week the “confidence” rebound is in full effect, with a survey taken before the two latest wins but after that points streak had reached five games. (As of today, it’s at eight, thanks to a sweep of the Sabres.)

So it’s 50 percent in the latest poll, up from 35 but still down from 61% two weeks prior. The weekly survey asks other questions, sometimes league-related and sometimes more specific to the team. (The latest survey, which we’ll report on next week, relates to management and coaching. Sign up here to participate.)

League-wide: Can we keep playing?

Last week’s other question was a league-wide one, posed in response to the many teams that were facing long layoffs due to Covid outbreaks. The league has since added new protocols, and perhaps all teams will take the measures seriously now that they’ve seen the disruption that can result.

But at the time, many sincerely wondered whether the NHL shouldn’t just pause the season altogether. The SB Nation Reacts survey of fans from all teams found less than one-quarter of fans thought a league-wide pause was necessary.

We are but feeble humans with short memories, so who knows what added factors will affect our next mood!

This is SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NHL. Each week, SB Nation sends out questions to the most plugged in New York Islanders fans, and fans across the country. Sign up here to join Reacts.