Semyon Varlamov #40, Brock Nelson #29 and Anders Lee #27 of the Islanders celebrate after a shootout victory against the Florida Panthers at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019. Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac
Something was clearly amiss for the Islanders through their first four games, three of them defeats, though the losses did not define what was going wrong.
They did not have the same defensive crispness, the same consistent goaltending, the same ability to roll four lines, the same all-out willingness to compete for pucks that fueled their run to the second round of last season’s playoffs.