DALLAS — After just two games, it's not yet time to check the guts for the Islanders.
But after 120 total minutes of regular-season hockey, in which the Islanders have rarely looked as organized and consistent as they have throughout much of the preseason, that won't be far off.
Saturday's 3-0 loss to Dallas continued the worst aspects of Thursday's loss to Utah. Primarily, unlike recent Islanders, it was pockmarked by sloppiness and a lack of structural integrity.
To make matters worse, little good came of the four-hour flight to Dallas, where they lost 5-4 in overtime.
It's probably just some early season rust.
But these games are important, the schedule is unforgiving, and the Islanders are operating under a tight time crunch, even if it doesn't really feel like it after two games. .
With a grueling schedule that includes stops in Colorado and St. Louis before returning home, it won't be much of a relief.
When Patrick Roy took over as manager last season, one of his signature phrases was that the Islanders had to transition the puck in “five-man units.” This means that the forwards need to support the defenseman instead of sticking to the opposite side of him. Waiting for 100 feet to pass on the blue line.
In the first two games, there were a lot of 100-foot passes.
There are also moments of confusion in the defensive zone, where not everyone seems to be on the same page as to where they should be.
Dallas' first goal of the night, when Tyler Seguin broke free on a goal with Bo Horvat in no man's land, looked like a textbook example.
Then there was pack management. This is a consistent issue when trying to break out of the defensive zone, and is directly related to the two issues above.
That also led to a goal, as Jamie Benn scored on a Max Tsyplakov turnover to make it 2-0 at 10:58 of the second goal.
The top line was a bright spot Thursday night, but it didn't look like it was going to be the same for much of the night.
To be fair, that's true for just about everyone.
And so was his inability to get inside when he ended up holding the puck in the offensive zone for long periods of time.
Like Thursday, it took until the third period for the Islanders to start playing together and forcing Jake Oettinger to work.
However, with Oettinger in the other net, they are already down 0-2, which is not where anyone wants to be.
In fact, Oettinger, the Islanders' biggest chance of the night, came out with his glove early in the third to stop Horvat and quell the rally before it could get serious.
Later in the period, it was Horvat who struck the nail on the head. In the end, I ended up missing out on another chance to get an A grade.
Seguin sealed the deal with an empty net goal.
In the end, Oettinger finished with 33 saves and Semyon Varlamov made 24.
It's early for everyone, and even the Stars, last spring's Western Conference finalists, have had their moments of rust and confusion.
Overcoming that will be the key in October, and if we can keep everyone firing on all cylinders in the second half of the season, that will be important.
Provided, of course, that the season has not left the islanders by then.
It could happen without you even realizing it, see the 2021-22 Islanders. And even at this early stage, the Islanders may need to start operating with a little more urgency.
