Lane Lambert would rather avoid calling this road trip a measuring stick for the Islanders.

But three straight road games against teams that were in the playoffs last year — the Islanders having lost the first 5-4 on Wednesday at Prudential Center — is certainly a pretty big test for a team that has yet to record a victory against any such team.

After the Islanders cobbled together some momentum with a six-game points streak prior to collapsing in the third period against the Devils, you might even say that games on Thursday in Carolina and Saturday in Florida amount to a chance for the Isles to prove that was not mere fluff.

“It’s gonna be a hard-nosed game, we know that,” Casey Cizikas told reporters of the Hurricanes after the team held an optional practice in Raleigh, N.C., on Wednesday. “That’s their style, that’s the way they play. They wanna play in your face, they wanna play up the ice and not give you any time out there.

“So we know what to expect, we know how we have to play against these guys. We’ve played them a ton of times. So we’re looking for this battle.”

This is the Islanders’ first trip back to Raleigh since losing to Carolina in the first round of the playoffs last year — a series in which the Isles lost twice in overtime after letting a third-period lead slip away.

That turned out to be a prelude to their late-game issues this season, which returned in vogue on Tuesday when the Devils overturned a 4-2 final-period deficit to win in regulation.

Their first game against the Hurricanes this season stood as a particularly egregious example of that problem as well, with Carolina staging a comeback down 3-0 to win in overtime.

“The battle from the guys, that’s the main thing,” Cizikas said. “When it’s not easy or it’s not going easy, it’s easy to get away from your game or start to question things, but I think guys are battling out there. They’re trying, they’re trying their hardest. The way it’s going, it’s definitely tough, but these are games that you learn from.”

The Islanders have just about used up their margin for learning experiences by now.

The season is only about 25 percent done, but it is no longer early, per see.

And though they are still very much in the mix in the Metropolitan Division, Thursday represents a crucial chance to make up points on second-place Carolina.

There is only so long the Islanders can depend on the struggles of other teams before their own issues catch up with them.

“We did a lot of good things,” Lambert told reporters when asked about Tuesday’s game. “We entered the third period with the lead and then the negatives are that we don’t hold onto the lead for a couple different reasons which we have to fix.”

That applies to quite a lot of losses for the Islanders this season.

There are nine times in 21 third periods that they’ve allowed a game-winner or allowed the game to be tied and then lost in overtime.

They are surrendering a 31-13 scoring margin in the third period. There are the seven times they’ve lost a two-goal lead, and the 17 games in which they’ve led at some point with just eight victories. It all comes to the same conclusion.

The Islanders need to figure out their problems in the last 20 minutes of games or else see the season slip away in a series of devastating losses.

Measuring stick or not, this road trip would be a good time to start.