Isles have a plan for their new, packed schedule

And . . . they’re off!

The Islanders at last have schedule clarity and are set to begin a sprint to the regular-season finish line by hosting the Coyotes on Friday night and the Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

But in the spirit of their new neighbor, Belmont Park, the largest thoroughbred racing oval in America, this will be an unusually long sprint, full of back-to-backs, West Coast trips and other assorted obstacles.

The NHL’s revised schedule was released on Wednesday, including makeup dates for the Islanders’ nine postponed games — plus new dates for four others. Their first chance to react publicly came on Thursday.

The official take: It’s a lot, but nothing they cannot handle with the proper approach.

"It can be a grind, whether you’re traveling between or whatnot," Scott Mayfield said. "But I think we’ve been pretty good at back-to-backs since [coach Barry Trotz] has been here.

"It’s something we talk about quite a bit, because we do have a lot of them. We focus on the first game. We prepare shift to shift. So it’s about the game that’s happening first. Then it’s a mental grind you just get through."

The Islanders (13-13-6) still are in last place in the Metropolitan Division, but they are doing what they must to escape that hole. They have won five of their last six games and have picked up at least a point in seven of eight.

That stretch dates to mid-December. But now their pace will pick up considerably, other than during the NHL All-Star break.

They will play seven home games in a row through Feb. 1, then play 43 games in 80 days after the break.

Starting this weekend, the Islanders have 12 remaining back-to-backs.

"We’re going to be playing a lot of hockey, it seems, in a short amount of time, trying to catch up to everybody," Zach Parise said. "So as far as the approach, I think where we are in the standings, you don’t look too far ahead. We worry about our game tomorrow, and that’s it."

Parise noted the Islanders have an edge because of their strong duo of Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov in goal.

"When you have that ability to play one the first night and then the other one plays just as well the second night," Parise said, "that goes a long way for us."

Another potential help for the Islanders is their balance. Trotz said he generally does not "overextend" on playing time. He and his staff will be mindful of workloads and likely will move players in and out of the lineup more than usual.

"It’ll be the extra game a week for seven or eight weeks that may have more of an impact than any back-to-backs or anything like that," Trotz said. "Hopefully not. I think we’re in good shape physically and mentally. I think we’re fine in our game and we’re inching along and trying to climb here."

Note & quotes: Trotz on Adam Pelech making the All-Star team: "I think it’s great. Whoever made the decision is very smart, I know that."

By Neil Best

neil.best@newsday.com@sportswatch

Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.