It's hard to score a power-play goal or a short-handed goal and leave the game feeling like your special teams weren't good enough.
But the Islanders did just that in a 5-4 loss to Utah in the season opener.
That's because the power play scored once on six opportunities for a total of 10 minutes, 56 seconds, including a four-minute double minor in the third period that could have changed the game.
And because the penalty kill allowed them two goals, including one less than a minute after scoring shorthanded.
All the “good but not good enough” elements were on display on a night where the Islanders earned just one point courtesy of overtime and a ton of frustration.
“It's good to move the puck, but sometimes you have to take shots at the net,” coach Patrick Roy said at 9:22 of the third, during the fourth minute when Ian Cole's stick hit Anders Lee in the face. talked about the power play. The match was tied at 3. “You need a shot on net. And we were able to get in and move the puck well, but come on. We’ve got to get a shot on net here, and that’s what they did. They scored. We need to be better.”
Over a total of 10 minutes and 56 seconds at 5-on-4, the Islanders had seven shots and 11 scoring opportunities, six of which were dangerous.
However, most of that total came in the first period, as well as the only power play goal of the night.
When asked if the troops left something on the table, Anthony Duclair replied, “Sure.” “It's just one game. There's still a lot to work on. The way he's communicating back on the bench. [being] Lively. We have two good units so we have to fill in the opportunities when they come. ”
The penalty kill may make it even harder to be optimistic.
The Islanders struggled in their first game under the new “Flash” system, with the one bright spot being Jean-Gabriel Pageau's shorthanded shot at goal. It was the first of two leads the Islanders briefly took in the final period.
“We need to get better at penalties,” Roy said. “We have to play penalties with pride, block shots and make the right decisions on penalties. Our special forces might have been the difference tonight.”
According to Natural Stat Trick, Maxim Tsyplakov led the team in scoring and six hits in his NHL debut, but the second line of Tsyplakov, Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri lost 16-10. Ta.
