The Islanders may be beyond the worst lows of this season. But they still can’t seem to string together anything resembling momentum.

It’s been six weeks since they last won back-to-back games, and they blew another opportunity to do so on Sunday afternoon, dropping a 4-3 game to the Golden Knights following a shootout in which they failed to score on Robin Lehner as their record fell to 8-12-6.

With just four games left before the calendar flips, it would now be a heavy lift to get back to .500 before the start of 2022.

That’s not where the Islanders thought they’d be right now. But each loss makes the reality more and more heavy on their shoulders, weighing down like cement. Even in a game when the Islanders got a point and played well, it’s not much consolation when you look at the standings.

“We played composed, we played with some urgency when we were down a goal to come back like this against a team like Vegas that keeps pressing,” Jean-Gabriel Pageau said. “I thought we did a really good job tonight to come back and get the lead. It’s unfortunate to give up a goal at the end like this and lose that point.”

The Islanders had a 3-2 lead after Pageau’s goal with 2:20 to go in regulation, but coughed it up as Shea Theodore scored the equalizer with less than a minute left. In six overtime games this year, the Islanders have yet to win one.

“A couple games, we’ve had some looks where we didn’t get it and get the win,” Brock Nelson said. “I don’t know if there’s a trend.”

To make matters worse, the Islanders had two players enter COVID-19 protocol prior to Sunday’s game: Matt Martin and Robin Salo. They joined Mat Barzal, who tested positive on Tuesday. Kyle Palmieri was also out of the lineup, having suffered a lower-body injury against Boston on Thursday.

And thus, an Islanders team that was celebrating being so close to good health such a short time ago was again undermanned on Sunday.

Though they didn’t roll out anything close to the AHL lineup that took the ice during their earlier outbreak — Ross Johnston, Austin Czarnik and Sebastian Aho were just fine in relief — the Islanders got back into character in the form of a third-period, mood-killing loss.

The Islanders had the game in their grasp after Kieffer Bellows tied it at two at 14:19 of the third period, but it wouldn’t last. With this snakebitten team, it never does seem to last.

Cal Clutterbuck seemed to net the winner with just over three minutes to go, sending home Noah Dobson’s pass in the crease. But Vegas successfully challenged the goal for offside. Though the Islanders did take the lead courtesy of Pageau, they gave it up quickly, with Theodore tying the game at three.

“Six-on-five we needed a clear or a block right at the end,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “And we didn’t get it.”

That capped a hectic third period in which the game seesawed back and forth before finally landing on the wrong side for the Islanders.

After nearly 45 minutes of mostly even hockey — and, crucially, mistake-free on the part of the Islanders — Zdeno Chara committed the team’s first penalty of the day, getting called for tripping at 4:34 of the third period.

That opened the door for Vegas, and Theodore took advantage with a slap shot that got past Ilya Sorokin to make it 2-1 at 5:46 of the period.

The Islanders got two chances of their own on the man-advantage just minutes later but couldn’t convert, their best shot coming when Pageau missed the net on a one-timer from the slot.

Both teams got on the board during an otherwise slow-moving first period. Jonathan Marchessault opened the scoring for Vegas at 6:56, cleaning up a rebound in Ilya Sorokin’s crease following a turnover by Adam Pelech behind the net.

Though the Islanders got just two shots on net in the game’s opening 10 minutes, an opportunity opened up for them after Reilly Smith was called for high-sticking at 9:57. Nelson tied the game on the ensuing power play with an intended pass that went off Brayden McNabb’s skate, careening into the Vegas net.

After the fact, Trotz kept the focus on the process — the fact that his team played well — instead of the disappointing result.

“They’re a legit, deep, big, fast, well-coached hockey team,” he said. “A good sign for us. We measured up against a pretty good hockey team.”