Islanders: Three takeaways from a road loss to the Stars

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NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 18: Jason Spezza #90 of the Dallas Stars returns to the bench after scoring his 900th NHL point with an assist against the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center on November 18, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Stars defeated the Islanders 6-2.(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

2. Teams cannot play only 30-minute hockey games

The Islanders started strong for the first five minutes of the game and then allowed Dallas to take control for the rest of the first period and dominate into halfway through the second period.

It was at about the 10-minute mark of the second where we saw a concentrated Islander offensive effort that lasted the rest of the game. The third period saw the Islanders skate around the Stars in the offensive zone. Unfortunately, they generated very little and what they did get Ben Bishop was able to gobble up.

Against the Stars, the Islanders played a 30-minute game. It won’t take Barry Trotz to tell you, that’s not enough.

I saw a lot of post-game comments about how the game came down to two power-play goals and that it was a special team type of night. I just did not see it that way.

I watched a team being outplayed for 30 minutes. NHL teams cannot play 30-minute games and expect to win, especially a team like the Islanders who are built on defense not on offense.