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Flames 4, Islanders 1: Trip concludes with third loss, rusty Varlamov, Barzal injury

Man, the New York Islanders have the depth and talent to win games without Mathew Barzal, but his absence sure removes a significant comeback threat, no?

The Islanders’ star was a late scratch Friday night in Calgary, one factor in the Islanders’ 4-1 loss to the Flames. It started with a 3-0 first-period hole in Semyon Varlamov’s first game in three weeks, which was a hole they couldn’t overcome — and one that cried out for Barzal’s gamebreaking skills.

For this daunting four-game road trip, that makes four slow starts, regulation losses to all three decent teams, and a nearly worst-case outcome of just one win and two points from the journey.