DALLAS — It’s not fairly intestine verify time for the Islanders after simply two video games.
However that’s not too far off after 120 collective minutes of regular-season hockey over which the Islanders have not often appeared as structured and coherent as they did via a lot of the preseason.
Saturday’s 3-0 loss to Dallas carried over the worst facets of Thursday’s defeat to Utah, primarily in that it was pockmarked by sloppiness and an absence of structural integrity in contrast to the Islanders of latest classic.
Worse than that, not lots of the good issues from that 5-4 additional time loss made the four-hour flight to Dallas.
It is perhaps — it in all probability is — simply early-season rust.
However these video games do rely, the schedule is unforgiving and the Islanders are working on a time crunch, even when it doesn’t actually really feel that approach two video games in.
A troublesome early schedule, with stops in Colorado and St. Louis earlier than returning dwelling, gained’t present a lot reprieve.
When Patrick Roy took over final season, one in every of his hallmark phrases was that the Islanders needed to transition the puck as a “unit of 5” — which was to say the forwards wanted to be supporting the defensemen, quite than hanging out on the reverse blue line and ready for a 100-foot move.
These first two video games have featured plenty of 100-foot passes.
There have additionally been moments of confusion within the defensive zone, the place it doesn’t fairly look as if everyone seems to be on the identical web page concerning the place to be.
Dallas’ first aim of the evening, the place Tyler Seguin bought free within the slot with Bo Horvat in no-man’s-land, appeared like a textbook instance.
Then there was the puck administration, a constant downside when making an attempt to exit the defensive zone and one which ties in straight with the 2 points talked about above.
And it, too, led to a aim in opposition to, with Max Tsyplakov’s turnover giving Jamie Benn a glance which he transformed to make it 2-0 at 10:58 of the second.
The highest line, a vibrant spot on Thursday evening, didn’t look to be on the identical web page for much an excessive amount of of the evening.
That, in equity, went for just about all people.
And so too did an incapacity to get inside once they have been capable of maintain the puck within the offensive zone for any consequential time period.
In one other parallel to Thursday, it took till the third interval earlier than the Islanders began enjoying cohesively and compelled Jake Oettinger to work.
Already down 2-0 with Oettinger within the different web, although, shouldn’t be a spot anybody desires to be.
Certainly, Oettinger bought the glove out to disclaim Horvat early within the third on what was the Islanders’ greatest likelihood of the evening, quelling the rally earlier than it ever actually bought going.
Later within the interval, it was Horvat who struck iron — ending up on the improper finish of one other grade-A chance.
Seguin sealed the cope with an empty-net aim.
Oettinger in the end completed with 33 saves to Semyon Varlamov’s 24.
It’s early for everybody, and the Stars — Western Convention Finalists final spring — had their moments of rust and discombobulation, too.
Working via that’s the secret in October, and if everyone seems to be firing on all cylinders within the second half of the season and past, that’s what issues.
Supplied, after all, that the season doesn’t get away from the Islanders earlier than then.
That may occur earlier than you realize it — see the 2021-22 Islanders — and even at this early juncture, the Islanders may want to begin working with slightly extra urgency.
