Suddenly the Islanders are hot, with a chance to grow even hotter tonight in Atlanta against the Eastern Conference’s bottom feeders.

That’s what the Islanders were until back-to-back wins against Columbus, then at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, when they got stellar goaltending from Joey MacDonald and scored two shorthanded goals in the third period to pull out a 2-1 win.

With Rick DiPietro out 4-6 weeks following knee surgery, MacDonald, a free agent who had cups of coffee with Detroit and Boston after going undrafted out of junior, will have to be the guy.

“Nobody signs up to be a backup, everybody wants to be starter,” said Scott Gordon, but not everybody is capable of being one, either. Yet, game by game, the Isles seem to be growing better instincts for Gordon’s pressure system and hope the organization will help MacDonald keep them competitive.

“The fact that somebody is not in the lineup does not mean you close up shop and call it a year,” Gordon said. “It’s an opportunity for someone else and it makes our team better from a depth standpoint.”