The Dallas Stars started Saturday where they ended before the 4 Nations Face-Off break — with a win.
The New York Islanders can’t say the same and will begin the challenge of rediscovering the form they displayed for most of the three weeks before the time off.
Dallas will look to complete a back-to-back road sweep while New York will attempt to win the opener of a pivotal stretch Sunday night when the Stars visit the Islanders in Elmont, N.Y.
Four players scored one goal apiece Saturday night for the Stars, who never trailed in a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils.
The Islanders haven’t played since Feb. 8, when they fell 6-3 to the Minnesota Wild.
The win Saturday was the seventh in the past nine games (7-1-1) for the Stars, who are on track to return to the playoffs after reaching the Western Conference finals the past two seasons. Dallas is in second place in the Central Division, two points ahead of the third-place Wild.
“Our goal was to be our best come the end of the year — build the details into our game and get our game to the place where we feel really good about it going into the Stanley Cup playoffs,” said Stars goalie Casey DeSmith, who made 31 saves Saturday. “We’re almost there, so we just got to keep building.”
The Stars have outscored their opponents 37-24 over the past nine games. Dallas raced to a 2-0 lead in the first six minutes before withstanding a comeback attempt by the Devils, who outshot the visitors 33-26 for the game.
“I liked our grit and I loved our goalie,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. “(DeSmith) was our best player tonight, and we needed him to be.”
The direction of the Islanders’ season may be determined by the six games the team is scheduled to play before the March 7 trade deadline.
New York, which is five points behind the Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets in the race for the two Eastern Conference wild-card spots, got back into contention by going 8-3-0 in its final 11 games before the break.
“It’s crazy that, all of a sudden, it’s over and you’re back to the regular grind,” Islanders center Brock Nelson said. “This is equally as important now. You switch the mindset into playoff race now and getting back into it and how important these games are for us.”
The two-week 4 Nations respite came at the perfect time for the Islanders, who entered the break following losses to the Wild and Winnipeg Jets in a back-to-back road set.
Defensemen Ryan Pulock (upper body) and Scott Mayfield (lower body) are expected to return from injuries Sunday after missing the past seven and four games, respectively. Another defenseman, Noah Dobson, will miss his 10th straight game Sunday with a lower-body injury but returned to practice Saturday.
The break also might have helped first-line left winger Anthony Duclair, who hasn’t registered a point in his past seven games and has yet to round into form following a two-month absence this season due to a lower-body injury.
“I would say for all the guys that have been hurt, they’re progressing very well, which is good for us,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said.
–Field Level Media
