NY Islanders struggle with execution and effort in pre-season finale loss to Devils

The New York Islanders spent training camp learning Pete DeBoer's system. Their preseason finale provided a reminder that learning it and consistently executing it are two different things.

The Islanders finished the preseason with a 4-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at UBS Arena, getting outshot 26-15 and trailing 4-0 after two periods. The Isles finished the preseason 1-3-0, though it went 1-1-0 in games featuring a veteran-heavy lineup.

"I really liked parts of it," DeBoer said of the preseason. "The Ranger game, I really liked how we looked and how we played. Tonight, I didn't."

There were examples Saturday of why this remains a work in progress. Defensive breakdowns contributed to New Jersey's third and fourth goals, while the Islanders generated only five high-danger chances at five-on-five compared with 11 for the Devils, according to Natural Stat Trick. The offense also passed up shooting opportunities, something that didn't help a lineup already missing Mathew Barzal, Matthew Schaefer, Brayden Schenn and Tony DeAngelo.

Not everything can be blamed on learning a new system.

"We got just outskated and outworked in general tonight, so that's not a system adjustment thing," Kyle Palmieri said.

Still, DeBoer's system is going to take time. He noted that when he took over San Jose in 2015-16, the Sharks didn't fully grasp what he wanted until around Christmas. That team eventually reached the Stanley Cup Final.

The Islanders won't have until Christmas to start winning, but Saturday showed why some patience may be required.

"As a group we kind of have a good taste for what's going to make us successful, even though we kind of got away from it tonight," Palmieri said.

The experimenting is over now.

The Islanders open Wednesday in Toronto, and the next time their execution breaks down, it will cost them more than a preseason loss.

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