ST. LOUIS — This is why, despite an underwhelming 1-1-1 record, if I were Patrick Roy or Lou Lamoriello, I'd be pretty happy with how things are going.
Three of the biggest questions about the Islanders when they reported to camp a month ago were how Anthony Duclair and Max Tsyplakov would fit, and how they would fit after offseason back surgery and last season. It was about how Ilya Sorokin would react after a combination of bad endings to the season. The first three games of the season gave a positive answer.
Problems surfaced during the first 180 minutes of hockey, with a clear disconnect between the forwards and defense in particular contributing to both Islanders losses. But that's not that hard to fix, at least in theory, and it actually looked like an improvement in Colorado on Monday night.
If Duclair fails to perform on the top line, if Tsyplakov proves not to be ready for the NHL, or if Sorokin appears to be a broken item, all of those problems are quickly resolved. It wouldn't have seemed possible. The Islanders will be playing against them for the foreseeable future, and with the exception of Tsyplakov, who is on a one-year deal, these are players they have invested significant amounts of time and money into.
