Patrick Roy mentioned more than once in the days leading up to Thursday that the Islanders’ preseason was successful not for its results, but for a process he felt was successful.
And though he can keep stressing that message all he wants after opening night, it doesn’t tend to be something people say after wins in the regular season.
More alarming than the Islanders’ 5-4 overtime defeat to Utah Hockey Club to start their season, courtesy of Dylan Guenther’s game-winner, though, is that the manner of defeat was so similar to how they lost so many games last season.
There were issues at five-on-five.
The breakouts, in particular, were out of sync, with Scott Mayfield and Mike Reilly trading turnovers on misfired D-to-D passes in the first period, and the top-six that looked so good in exhibitions didn’t get into a rhythm until late in the game.
But it was the two blown leads in the third period, followed by the inevitable overtime letdown, that gave a bad feeling of déjâ vu.
Thanks in equal parts to Semyon Varlamov, the power play and Utah’s own early season kinks, the Islanders came into the last 20 minutes facing only a 2-1 deficit, with a chance to rewrite the story of the night.
When Bo Horvat’s tying goal within two minutes of the third was followed by Jean-Gabriel Pageau scoring shorthanded on a brilliant hustle play, chasing the puck down the ice and tapping it in after Simon Holmstrom’s initial shot, it looked like they would do just that.
But the lead didn’t even last the rest of the penalty kill, as Dylan Guenther quickly tied the game back up, and when the Islanders got a four-minute opportunity of their own shortly thereafter, they came up empty.
The third period, at least, looked a lot better at five-on-five than the first two, and it looked like the Islanders had won it when Maxim Tsyplakov scored with 2:07 to go for a 4-3 lead.
But in a bad sequel from last season, the Islanders coughed that up before they were even done celebrating, as Josh Doan scored to tie it 13 seconds later — marking the second time on opening night that Utah had scored before the Islanders goal preceding it was announced in the arena.
And in overtime came the inevitable, as Guenther finished a three-on-one rush after an Islanders turnover.
It’s one game of 82, so pick whatever cliché you want, including that one, to handwave the night and say things will pick up in due time.
If you’re looking for encouragement, there was the fact that Connor Ingram made three saves that amounted to outright robbery — one in each period — all plays that could have turned the tide in favor of the Islanders.
Varlamov, too, appeared to pick up where he left off last season, making 21 stops and looking unflappable as ever in nets, a key takeaway as the Islanders try to navigate Ilya Sorokin’s return from back surgery.
But the revamped penalty kill gave Duclair’s goal right back at the first opportunity, letting up one to Lawson Crouse, and Utah extended its lead when Barrett Hayton redirected Mikhail Sergachev’s left point shot at 13:07 into the second.
The few shifts leading up to that goal were the worst moments of the game for the Islanders, who were hemmed into their zone and — particularly the second line — could not find their way out.
It wasn’t a full-scale disaster, and even if it was, no one is pulling the fire alarm after one game.
But with the schedule presenting an immediate road test against Western Conference contenders early, starting Saturday night in Dallas, the Islanders will need to do better than this or find themselves in just the sort of early standings hole they were looking to avoid.
That has been a hallmark of the past couple seasons, with the Isles needing to scramble late to make the playoffs the past two seasons.
A talking point of camp was starting strong enough to avoid such an outcome.
In that respect, at least, this first 60 minutes looked none too encouraging.
